“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”
That mantra was drilled into me more than 40 years ago by my managers at the Safeway distribution center. In the 1980s, we didn’t have online dashboards or cloud software. We tracked repairs and mis-sorts on clipboards and tally sheets. Shift or employee production variations were often a red flag. They alerted us to the need to review the process or initiate retraining.
And sometimes it was a big fat opportunity. We had one new pallet repairer who was kicking out 30% more than anyone else. We took the time to analyze what he was doing better so we could share his efficient technique with others—and to check if he was cutting corners. Despite the simplicity of our early tracking efforts, that level of recordkeeping helped us stay accountable and make data-driven decisions.
Fast forward to today, and while the tools have changed, the principle still holds. But in the pallet industry, many businesses start informally. People are juggling multiple hats, patching together workflow on the fly. And when you’re going full tilt trying to meet orders, who has time to log downtime, record production by grade, or figure out why shift A is lagging behind shift B? But here’s the thing: what if you made time from the very beginning?
That’s what Adam Walker did.
Adam is the director of Born Again Pallets, based in Adelaide, Australia. These days, Born Again Pallets has an impressive retail showroom and a separately located modern plant for pallet recycling and new pallet production. He launched the business in 2016, repurposing unwanted pallets into furniture on his day off from his previous management job at a local gym. It was a green side hustle that kept old pallets out of the landfill.
The accumulating pallets quickly swallowed his front yard and back. His wife, Danni, came up with a solution. She got him a rental storage unit as a Christmas present so she could reclaim their home.
From the very beginning, Adam Walker insisted on capturing key performance data, even when it was a grind. In the early days, he would spend up to three or four hours a day manually transcribing numbers from handwritten tally sheets submitted at the end of the shift. Today, things are much slicker. Workers scan QR codes to log their activity, and the data flows more seamlessly, but the foundation was built on discipline and consistency.
Inventory is equally fastidiously tracked. Forklift operators carry a laminated yard map with designated locations and log stock movements. Procedures are in place for potential bottlenecks or overstocks. If the designated storage for a particular stock pallet is filled, then a decision is made to stop production or to expand storage, depending upon current demand.
The thing is, when you have a good organizational structure, you don’t lose control as you scale. From the start, Walker tracked production data. If something dipped, whether productivity or recovery, he didn’t have to guess why. He had the numbers to back it up. And by having the numbers, he was able to engage with employees meaningfully and build a mindset of continuous improvement.
Being organized isn’t just about spreadsheets or software. It’s a mindset and a competitive edge. A business owner who knows their productivity rate, downtime by shift, output per repair station, or average turnaround time for an order is not just managing; they’re leading with purpose.
When you track your metrics:
- You create structure. Even if you’re using a clipboard and pen, consistent data collection signals order and discipline.
- You spot problems and opportunities early. Declines in recovery rate or production volume aren’t mysteries; they’re opportunities to correct course. And of course, if you have a rock star performer, look under the hood. Can this be replicated?
- You empower your team. When workers know their output is measured (and recognized), accountability rises.
- You make informed decisions. Data reduces guesswork and supports better resource allocation.
As someone who’s spoken to countless pallet operators over the years, I know that many don’t begin that way. You launch the company because you have a free pallet source or a friend who is a customer. You hustle, you repair, and you deliver. You’re just trying to get through the day. But just imagine: what if from Day One, you built not just a production flow, but a system for tracking and learning?
Adam Walker’s story is a compelling example. Born Again Pallets now operates a full-scale pallet recycling and manufacturing plant. They run four band dismantlers, multiple resaws (one is a 6-head), repair stations, and both semi-automatic and automatic nailing lines for hybrid and new pallets. Being in Australia, much of the equipment is sourced from China. They do, however, lean on the Pallet Connect ERP system. “We have used it for several years, and it’s now the backbone of our operations,” he said.
With Australia sitting at the crossroads of international trade, they sort incoming pallets into 18 different categories, a necessity given that country’s diverse pallet market. They deal with sizes from Asia, North America, and Europe in addition to the 1165×1165 Australian standard. (Adam isn’t a big fan of GMA pallets with their thin deck boards. Australian deck boards, he notes, are one and a half or twice as thick, and as such are much easier to recover and reuse.)
They also produce their cut stock to improve quality and reduce cost. They reclaim damaged pallets and resell the recovered lumber to DIYers and contractors through their retail location. Adam’s success wasn’t an accident. It happened because the operation was built on instilling organizational discipline from the beginning.
These days, thanks to automation, tracking capabilities are now increasingly automated for many companies. Accumulating reams of data has never been easier. But the story of Born Again Pallets underscores the importance of not only gathering the data but also proactively acting upon it. This approach remains a crucial continuous improvement tool for companies large and small.
