When you’re focused on efficiency in your warehouse, one of the road bumps you may come across often is your stretch film breaking. Stretch film normally breaks a few times throughout a normal workday, but when it gets to be more than seven to ten times per roll, it can start to cause major delays in productivity and lessen the integrity of your secondary packaging. Secondary packaging is essential to keeping your products safe and secure during your distribution process. Check out the most common reasons for stretch film breaking so you know how to prevent it and what to watch for on your assembly lines.

User error

User error is one of the leading causes of stretch film breaking. When workers are wrapping product by hand, there is much more room for error than with an automatic—or even a semi-automatic—stretch wrap machine. Often, hand wrappers will wrap the product improperly or try to get through it too quickly, causing careless rips in the stretch film.

Overstretching the film

When the film stretches beyond its physical capabilities, it will break more often than normal. Use your large or small stretch wrap machines as directed. Some warehouses or operators attempt to reduce the amount of film used by wrapping too tightly. Stretch film can only stretch so much. Keep the settings as directed based on the load being wrapped, and be careful not to overstretch the film to prevent excess breaking. More film is lost in overstretching to save on film than in simply using the right amount of film to begin with.

Sharp corners

When wrapping your products, if you have sharp corners you could risk more breakage of your stretch wrap film. This is a common issue that is slightly harder to avoid without new technology.

When overstretching and sharp corners are the most common reasons for stretch film breaking in your warehouse, you should consider investing in Cube Technology from Robopac USA. It overcomes these issues and keeps your products safer by ensuring the precise amount of stretch wrap film necessary is applied at exactly the right position with exactly the right amount of containment force. Contact Robopac USA today to learn more about our stretch wrap machines, Cube Technology, and more ways we can help your business.