Common Pallet Wrapping Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Using the wrong type of stretch wrap doesn’t just result in unnecessary use of excess materials. It can also cause load instability and impairments, increasing the risk of injury and countless other occurrences that are easily avoidable.

It’s important to analyse the different stretch films on the market to decide which one works best for your warehouse. Consider cost-effective value pallet wrap if you need an economical way to hand-wrap large loads, or black stretch wrap if you’re looking to increase security of valuable or confidential contents. Choosing the correct type of stretch film increases pallet stability, bundling cartons tightly and securely to ensure packages stay organised and upright while keeping damage to a minimum during transit.

In addition, remember to check the size of the stretch wrap as well as the type. If your warehouse staff are applying incorrectly-sized pallet wrap, several problems can arise. You’ll use an unnecessarily high amount of film, increasing wrapping costs as well as waste. This leads to lower levels of storehouse productivity alongside a greater risk of improper load containment.

The size of your stretch wrap should be decided by the shape and size of your products, as well as the width and height of your pallets. Once you’ve totalled this calculation, you’re well on your way to efficiently wrapping your pallets.

Another way of verifying an effective pallet wrapping procedure is by consistently checking that the settings being used by operators on high-quality packaging machines are correct. A basic pallet wrap tool can only bond the cartons, and cannot stretch the film. The manufacturer often sets the tools to a standard programme, rather than a programme focused on the customer’s needs.

Strapping machines are usually end-of-the-line products, and the companies buying them don’t always have the available resources to learn the information needed to understand which machine is best suited for their warehouse. This requires technical specialists to be employed to partake in the wrapping process when using the tools.

The more specialist automatic pallet wrapping machines have additional settings that can be adjusted to stretch the film as well. If your pallet sizes differ, you can change your settings as many times as needed to efficiently cover parcels. Using incorrect settings that don’t suit the pallet being wrapped can have negative effects on the cartons and wrapping quality. If your stretch wrapping technology is missing the correct containment force throughout the load, or it’s dragging film tails, this can result in impairment during shipping.

To avoid machine inefficiencies and wrap breakages, check to make sure the stretch wrap is threaded properly and that the film tension is set correctly. Check the film clamp on the tool for any cuts on contact surfaces and ensure that the air pressure is correct for vacuum clamps.

It may sound obvious, but you need to ensure your operators are over-prepared when wrapping pallets. There must be enough material available to make parcels stable and secure. To do this, you’ll need enough stretch film to wrap around the pallet at least five times – this is especially important if your staff aren’t using machines, as they can’t take an easy route out when using manual pallet wrapping techniques.

If you’re not in a position to incorporate wrapping machinery into your warehouse, we recommended using a stretch film dispenser. It helps your staff work more efficiently to improve productivity, lift morale and increase safety when wrapping cartons on pallets manually. Dispensers make the job a lot easier and discourage operators from taking shortcuts when applying the stretch film. If you do decide to let your staff cover pallets by hand, a useful tip is to twist the wrap every other rotation to increase the durability.