It’s time to talk trash!
Keeping clear of rubbish in your DC
While it’s easy to kick aside excess wrap and bits of broken pallet in the thick of a busy day in the DC, ensuring all waste is correctly contained will likely save ongoing costs on machine maintenance and repairs.
Hey, you! Everyone knows you can’t even keep your pallet wrapping area clean, you dumbhead.
Ok, we’ll admit it, our trash talk isn’t that great. However, when it comes to keeping your DC clean and cutting back on costly maintenance bills, the trash talk here is worth paying attention to.
Here are five simple ways to be a tidy kiwi, prevent damage, and keep everything moving in the right direction.
- Stick it in the bin (and make sure there’s a bin nearby too). Yes, it’s common sense. But sometimes, when time is of the essence, those two extra steps to access a bin can feel like two steps too many. This is when bits of film and pallet scraps get pushed under the turntable accidentally, causing all manner of disarray for your precious machinery. Have many bins at hand and this is less likely to happen.
- Make sweeping part of your operator’s (twice or three times) daily routine. Like the bins, a well-placed broom or five will help prompt your operators to sweep up debris regularly. Make this a habitual and essential part of the routine for those who work with the machines by writing it into processes and doing spot checks to ensure it happens. Once they have dealt with the stress of a broken machine, most operators are likely to be pretty keen to prevent damage from occurring again.
- Keep an ear out for unusual sounds. When parts are not running smoothly, your machine will tell you all about it. Listen out for any whirring or clunking, which may indicate that a loose item has become caught in the machinery. If this isn’t fixed quickly, excess film can wind around the wheels, stalling the turntable and causing serious damage. Make sure everyone knows what a healthy (and unhealthy) machine sounds like.
- If it’s broke, do fix it. It’s important not to truck on with a machine that isn’t running as it should. If something has become caught up and a machine is just hanging in there, stop the wrapper straight away, turn it off and call us. Our technicians will get there quickly and sort it for you before any further damage can be done. It’s also important to foster a working environment of responsibility to prevent any team member from staying quiet about broken gear.
- Schedule regular check-ups. Even if you have been keeping a tight ship and the machines are purring along, it’s still important to get our technicians in for regular services to make sure everything stays as it should. Much like showing up for your annual dental check-up, it’s important to get a regular clean bill of health for your machinery. Prevention is better than cure, as they say.
