The obvious reason for wrapping pallets is to protect your palletized goods in transit and storage. However, a lot can go into proper pallet wrapping that may not be readily apparent at first glance. It protects not just your goods but can safeguard your workers from potential injury and keep you from being held liable for damaged shipping trucks or warehouses. So, how can you ensure your pallets are properly wrapped, and what are the risks associated with improper wrapping?
Risks Of Improperly Wrapped Pallets
- Using The Wrong Size Or Type Of Wrapping Products: Using the wrong type or size of stretch wrapping can waste products, time and potentially harm workers handling improperly wrapped pallets. Further, it can cause breakdowns in machinery and risk your entire business with a single broken pallet. Always test your wrapping material with any specialized machines and look out for any peeling, fraying, or excess material used in the wrapping process.
- Snapping And Tearing: Not all wrapping materials and techniques fit every situation. If your stretch wrap shows signs of damage and apparent tearing at any point, even sometime after the wrapping process, it may mean that the pallet has become unsecured and could compromise the safety of the pallet. The two most common causes of snapping and tearing include the following:
- Load Profile: Any sort of hard edges, sharp corners, nicks, and pressures on the wrapping material.
- Failure To Calibrate Machinery: Settings should be checked and rechecked constantly.
- Not Using Enough Wrapping Material: A common, yet notable, mistake is not using enough stretch wrap. When you start wrapping, you should have enough material to wrap around the pallet at least five times, more for heavier loads or those with sharp corners.
What Steps To Take For Ensuring Proper Pallet Wrapping
If you have noticed a large influx of tearing or damaged pallet wrapping and are looking for a convenient way to address it, it may be as simple as one of these steps.
- Audit Your Stacking Processes – Ensure your stacking procedures reduce gaps between palletized materials. Put heavier materials on the bottom of pallets with half-full or lighter boxes on the top. The most efficient stacking method is to create columns and ensure no packages hang off the edge.
- Keep Your Area Clean – Keep your work area clean and free of potential hazards. Debris can quickly get between layers of stretch wraps, causing damage and lowering the overall safety of a pallet with even just tiny bits of detritus.
- Use Extra Wrapping Material – Always keep at least two feet of stretch wrap to thread through the bottom of the pallet and create a secure anchor point for your wrap.
- Start From Top When Wrapping – If you place the heaviest materials on the bottom, starting close to the ground and working your way up can ensure those larger parcels create a solid foundation for those stacked atop.
- Use a Wrapping Machine – You may be tempted to wrap your pallets by hand, and while this is fine for smaller operations, a wrapping machine can make your stretch wrap consistent and easy to increase volume without sacrificing work time.
- Double-check Everything – Don’t accept shoddy work. Always check your packaging before, during, and after the wrapping of products.
Get Your Wrapping And Strapping Products From USA Strapping
We have a wide range of strapping materials and bring you the highest quality warehouse supplies at a fraction of the competition’s price. Browse our online storefront for everything available, and check out our blog for more warehouse tips. If you have any questions about our wide array of strapping products, feel free to contact us today at 888-768-0001.