ASTM D6199: quality of wood members of containers and pallets

ASTM D6199 answers one question: how good does the lumber in a pallet or crate have to be? Its title is Standard Practice for Quality of Wood Members of Containers and Pallets. It is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Subcommittee D10.12 (packaging). The current designation is D6199-18a, which ASTM lists as reapproved since. It replaced D6199-07 and earlier versions dating back to 1997.

#What does ASTM D6199 cover?

It covers quality requirements for three classes of hardwood and softwood members used to build boxes, crates, pallets and blocking and bracing. It excludes man-made or fabricated wood composites such as plywood, OSB and laminated veneer lumber.

The classes exist because a member's defects affect performance differently depending on how it is used and how hard the service is. The standard sets class requirements related to the member's function in the container or pallet and to the service it must withstand.

#Which defects does it limit?

The numeric limits for each class are in the standard. Requirements specific to one container or pallet design (for example, no knotholes where the pallet must be siftproof) belong in that design's own spec, not in D6199.

#How it relates to other standards

#When should a buyer cite ASTM D6199?

• Government and military work, where it is the expected lumber reference and contracts often cite it.
• Crates, skids and blocking and bracing, where the Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets does not apply but you still need a defined lumber quality.
• Mixed packaging programs that buy pallets and crates from the same supplier and want one lumber spec for both.

For commercial pallets in North America, a Uniform Standard quality or a PDS lumber grade is the more common reference and is what most pallet shops quote against. See pallet lumber grades.

#How to reference it on a spec sheet

• "Lumber quality per ASTM D6199, Class [x], for all wood members."
• "Moisture content at shipment [value]% maximum, measured per ASTM D4442." (D6199 does not replace a moisture requirement; state one if you need it.)
• "Species: [list or species group]." Lumber quality classes do not define species, and species drives strength as much as grade. See pallet wood species.

#Common mistakes

• Citing D6199 without a class number. The standard has three classes, so "per ASTM D6199" alone is incomplete.
• Assuming a quality class controls strength on its own. Species, moisture content and component size matter as much as defect limits.
• Applying it to panel components. Plywood and OSB decks need their own grade statement (for example an APA-rated sheathing grade).

Name the class on the drawing next to each component group if different parts need different classes, for example a higher class for stringers than for interior deckboards.