It has been especially difficult to evaluate how they would perform when subjected to switching impacts and pallet marshaling shocks. Switching impacts occur when a railroad puts together a train in a switching yard. Railcars are impacted into one another so their couplers will latch properly. Ideally, impact speeds should not exceed four miles per hour, but accidental impacts up to eight mph, or more, do occur. Pallet marshaling shocks occur when pallets and racks are moved, usually by forklift truck, in a plant or warehouse.
Accidental collisions can happen as the forklift moves through aisles.
They also happen when operators off load pallets while the forklift is still moving, causing the pallet to slide into nearby obstructions. In both cases' impact speeds can go up to 4 mph. Ford has established a new Advanced Transportation Simulation Facility to attack these problems. The carriage of Ford's HITS can accommodate racks which are the Full width of a standard U.S. rail car. Total test item weight can be up to 5,000 pounds.