Packaging Line Is Vital For The Product Packaging Industry

To measure your packaging line efficiency, you’ll have to compare the actual output of materials to the expected output you create. When creating your expected output, you’ll need to be realistic based on the equipment and labor available to you. A small company without automation can’t expect to output as many products as a national company with fully-automated packaging lines.

You also need to factor in timing to your expected output. This means determining how many products should be sealed away each time your packaging line is run. The efficiency of your packaging line is timed only when it’s running. This means eliminating any time spent setting up or performing routine maintenance. These times will be factored into the total amount of time spent running the whole packaging system from setup to palletization, but they are not included in the time it takes your packaging line to complete a run.

Once you have your estimated output determined, you’ll want to monitor your packaging line to see if the actual output is similar or if there is a big difference in the numbers. If you find the actual output is not meeting your expectations, it’s time to think about how you want to improve the efficiency of your packaging line to reach the desired output of materials.

How to Recognize Areas of Improvement?

When monitoring the packaging line to determine its efficiency, you’ll want to make detailed notes about when the system stops, how long it’s stopped for, and why it stops in the first place. You’ll also want to recognize when production is slowed and why it’s slowed. There are a lot of factors that can determine when a system stops or slows, and identifying these situations is the first step to finding areas of improvement.

Often, stops in the system or slower periods of production are caused by the materials used. How packaging supplies are stored before use can affect how they perform on the production line. If materials are exposed to hazardous environments with high humidity or extreme temperatures, they won’t perform well during application. This remains true for fibrous boxes and cartons that can warp under pressure from their environment. When supplies are warped before use, they cannot be effectively run through machines for folding. This can cause machines to stop running or slow down to produce the erected box. Manual laborers also experience setbacks because warped materials are harder to form into the correct shape before filling.

Other improvements can be made by upgrading old and worn-down machines or switching to newer materials that are easier to work with. These changes are more expensive and time-consuming, but they should be done every few years when necessary to keep your packaging line up to speed with the latest improvements in the industry. You should be measuring your packaging line efficiency often to ensure your business goals are being met. When they are not being met, you should find ways to improve the system. If they are being met, then you know you have high packaging line efficiency. High efficiency allows you to maintain your profits by supplying the correct number of products in the right amount of time.

Now that you understand how to measure your packaging line efficiency and how to make improvements, you can optimize it to produce your desired output. There are endless ways to improve the packaging line, but you have to understand how to measure your current packaging line efficiency to get your starting point.