The Correct Procedure For Using Warehouse Shrink-Wrap For Packing
If you have several items that you want to ship from your warehouse, but you want to bundle them together and keep them safe, then warehouse shrink-wrap might be the best option. However, many people tend to misuse or misapply the shrink-wrap, and subsequently it slips off and the bundled items fall or become damaged. Here is the proper and correct procedure for using warehouse shrink-wrap, as well as a list of the additional packing supplies you will need to make this work.
Step 1: Place Your Items on the Pallet
When you place the items on the pallet for shipping, try to fit them as close to each other as possible. You want a nice, tight fit with little open space between the items on the pallet. The closer together the items are, the more secure the shrink wrap will make them and prevent wobbling.
Step 2: Use Cardboard Pieces to Help Immobilize the Objects
Even with very careful placement, you may still have some wobbliness between objects on the pallet. Use pieces of cardboard to stabilize and support these areas before you apply the shrink-wrap. Doing so will make sure that, when heat is applied to the shrink-wrap, the objects will not begin to tumble inside the packaging. You can also put individual pieces in boxes so they stack neatly together.
Step 3: Incorporate Teamwork
To keep the shrink-wrap seal nice and tight, have one person hold the cut end of the shrink-wrap to the surface of the objects on the pallet. The other person, who is holding the roll of shrink-wrap vertically, will walk around the pallet, unwinding the shrink-wrap and pulling it taut over the items as he/she goes. As the "unwinder" works around to the person holding the end of the wrap in place, the wrap is cut, and the freshly-cut end overlaps the first end. Smooth and press firmly. Now you have a single layer that will hold things in place on the pallet while your crew unwinds and wraps more shrink-wrap all the way around until there is shrink-wrap covering the whole of the object grouping.
Step 4: Apply Heat EVENLY
There are a couple of different ways you can do this. Some warehouses park space heaters all the way around the pallet and turn them on simultaneously so that the shrink-wrap is blasted from all sides and shrinks evenly this way. Other warehouses break out several hairdryers and each dock member picks up a hairdryer and picks a side. Using a side-to-side and up-down sweeping motion, the plastic is heated and shrinks accordingly. The last method involves heat lamps, but very few warehouses have these installed.