# Pallet dunnage management software that keeps every treated board, stamp and pool balance on one record

> Pallet dunnage management is the control of the wood that carries and braces a load: pallets, skids, crating, packing blocks and the loose dunnage wedged around freight. Once that wood crosses a border it is a regulated article. Under 7 CFR 319.40-1 regulated wood packaging material covers dunnage, crating, pallets, packing blocks, drums, cases and skids, excluding wood pieces less than 6 mm thick. Neurobird holds the pool, the treatment and the mark on one record.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/palletdunnage/
- Product: Neurobird Pallet Dunnage Management Inspection Tracking Platform
- Niche: pallet dunnage management
- Buyer: shippers, warehouses and pallet pools
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-22

## What Neurobird Pallet Dunnage Management does

- Hold pool balances per customer and per location so the quarterly argument becomes a statement
- Separate treated and marked stock from domestic stock at the point it is received, not at the dock door
- Attach the treatment certificate to the lot it covers rather than to an inbox
- Record dunnage issued against the load so an export shipment can be reconstructed after a refusal

## How it works

1. **Receive the wood** Treated and marked stock is booked separately from domestic stock, with the supplier, the mark and the certificate recorded against the lot.
2. **Issue against the load** Pallets and dunnage leave against a shipment and a customer, so the pool balance moves as the freight does rather than at a stocktake.
3. **Prove the shipment** Every export load can show which lot of treated wood carried it, which is the only answer that helps when an inspection stops a container.

## From the source material

> Heat chamber is defined as any enclosed equipment used to heat-treat lumber or wood packaging material and includes kiln, heat boxes, or any other appropriate apparatus.

Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory GTR-282, https://www.fpl.fs.usda.gov/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr282/chapter_20_fpl_gtr282.pdf

## Industry context

- **56 degrees Celsius** Minimum core temperature for conventional heat chamber treatment under ISPM 15, held for a minimum of 30 minutes. Where dielectric heating is used, the wood must reach 60 degrees Celsius for 1 minute continuously throughout the entire profile, including its surfaces. (source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory GTR-282, https://www.fpl.fs.usda.gov/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr282/chapter_20_fpl_gtr282.pdf)
- **6 mm** Thickness below which wood pieces fall outside the definition of regulated wood packaging material. Above it, dunnage, crating, pallets, packing blocks, drums, cases and skids are all regulated articles when used with cargo. (source: 7 CFR 319.40-1, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/319.40-1)
- **2 opposite sides** Where the mark should preferably appear on each article: in a visible location, legible and permanent, in a form approved by the International Plant Protection Convention, after treatment in accordance with 7 CFR part 305. (source: 7 CFR 319.40-3, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/319.40-3)
- **2 percent** Maximum share of the surface of all regulated articles in a lot that may retain bark, with no single article above 5 percent. For raw lumber, debarking must remove 100 percent of the bark. (source: 7 CFR 319.40-7, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/319.40-7)
- **3 years** Maximum interval between evaluations of a powered industrial truck operator's performance, which is the rule that governs the forklift moving every pallet in the building. (source: 29 CFR 1910.178, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.178)
- **12 months** Retention period for the written agreements and procedures behind sanitary food transportation, counted from when those agreements and procedures are last in use, which reaches the dunnage and packaging used in a food load. (source: 21 CFR 1.912, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/1.912)

## Pricing

- Single site: $159 per month
- Network: $489 per month
- Enterprise: $1,250 per month

## Questions

### What is pallet dunnage management?

Pallet dunnage management is the control of the wood that carries and braces freight: pallets, skids, crating, packing blocks and loose dunnage. It covers what you hold, whose it is, which of it is heat treated and marked for export, and which lot carried a particular load.

### What are the ISPM 15 requirements for wood packaging?

Under 7 CFR 319.40-3 regulated wood packaging material must be treated in accordance with 7 CFR part 305 and marked in a visible location, preferably on at least two opposite sides, with a legible and permanent mark approved by the International Plant Protection Convention. Conventional heat treatment means a core temperature of 56 degrees Celsius held for at least 30 minutes.

### Is dunnage regulated in the same way as a pallet?

Yes. 7 CFR 319.40-1 defines regulated wood packaging material to include dunnage, crating, pallets, packing blocks, drums, cases and skids, so a loose brace board is as regulated as the pallet under the load. Wood pieces less than 6 mm thick in any dimension are excluded.

### How much bark is allowed on treated wood?

Under 7 CFR 319.40-7 no more than 2 percent of the surface of all regulated articles in a lot may retain bark, and no single article may retain bark on more than 5 percent of its surface. Raw lumber must be 100 percent debarked.

### Does this replace our warehouse management system?

No. It sits beside it. The warehouse system moves inventory. This holds the wood: pool balances by customer, treated stock kept apart from domestic stock, the treatment certificate against the lot, and which lot went out on which load.

## Sources

- [7 CFR 319.40-1, definitions of regulated wood packaging material](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/319.40-1)
- [7 CFR 319.40-3, importation of regulated wood packaging material](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/319.40-3)
- [7 CFR 319.40-7, treatments and safeguards](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/319.40-7)
- [USDA Forest Products Laboratory, heat sterilization of wood packaging](https://www.fpl.fs.usda.gov/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr282/chapter_20_fpl_gtr282.pdf)
- [29 CFR 1917.14, stacking of cargo and pallets](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1917.14)
- [US Customs and Border Protection, wood packaging materials](https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/protecting-agriculture/wpm)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/