Stretch Film breaks are more than just an annoyance; they are the first problem you need to solve if you want to improve your warehouse’s efficiency and productivity.
It is not unusual for this to happen from time to time, maybe even a few times a day. If you begin to see breaks more than half-a-dozen times per roll, you will need to address a few things to maintain the operator’s sanity who is running the machine.
After all, the whole purpose of stretch wrapping is to keep your products safe during the distribution process. If your stretch wrap keeps breaking repeatedly, it will not wrap your products correctly, and they will not be adequately protected.
On top of that, film breaks can cause missed delivery dates, affect your warehouse’s efficiency, and create larger production problems in the long run.
Here are the most common reasons why stretch film breaks:
Improper tension settings
Most stretch wrappers only allow for the tension to be adjusted manually and changing it during a wrap pattern would require full operator attention. For this reason, the majority of all pallet loads are wrapped using the same tension across the whole load. Manual tension control does not allow for sharp edges at the pallet top or light loads at the top. Having the same tension throughout without the ability to change it at multiple levels will either cause film breaks at sharp edges or improper load containment.
Beware of sharp corners
Sharp corners are responsible for most film breaks. This applies to anything that could tear, puncture, or stress the film in any way.
Most sharp corners come in the form of a sharp pallet corner or a protruding box. With older technology stretch wrappers, you are forced to either turn down your tension setting and risk load containment or swap out machine gears in order to change prestretch settings. Naturally, in almost all situations, operators turn down the tension and add additional wraps to avoid film breaks. Unfortunately, neither of these actually helps with the only reason we wrap our loads and you end up with more film waste and unstable load.
These issues can easily be avoided by using new technology available in stretch wrappers. If sharp corners are the reason why your stretch film breaks, you should consider investing in a new stretch wrap machine or having a stretch analysis done to see if perhaps there is a more appropriate and/or cost-effective film available.
Combining a new machine and the right film can apply the exact amount of stretch wrap needed to keep your load safe with the right amount of containment force.
To Err Is Human
If your hand wrapping pallets, workers could be wrapping the loads incorrectly to finish the task faster. This can potentially make user errors one of the leading causes of your film ripping apart.
There is a much more significant margin of error when a team member must wrap a product by hand than when you use an automatic (or semi-automatic) stretch wrap machine.
There is a better way
At Korpack, we have helped thousands of businesses like yours solve their stretch film break problems, ensuring their products arrive at their destination without any damages. We can help you get into a semi-automatic or automatic stretch wrapper machine at often little to no-cost. Our FREE stretch wrap analysis can also save you considerable costs on stretch film, often upwards of 30% or more.
With our 100+ years of combined experience, we can help you find the right solution for you. Contact us today to learn more.
