Did you know that 50% of damaged pallets are caused by ineffective pallet wrapping? Avoid the hit on your products and your pocket with Signet’s guide on how to wrap a pallet by hand.
Pallets can face a lot of movement during transit - abrupt starting, stopping, vibrations, sharp turns - all of which are out of your control once it leaves your warehouse. So, if they're not wrapped correctly, you run the risk of your products being damaged or potentially harming others.
What happens when your pallet is not wrapped correctly...
So your pallet doesn’t end up in a YouTube video, follow our three simple steps on how to properly wrap a pallet by hand.
1. Choose a Hand Pallet Wrap
Before you start wrapping your pallet, there’s one critical tool you need — Pallet Wrap of course! However, it’s not always as easy as picking up the roll and starting to wrap. There are a lot of different Pallet Wraps available, and the most suitable one to use can differ depending on your application. However, at the core they’re all based on two types of film, Blown and Cast.
Blown Film is a hi-tack, strong stretch film that’s best used for heavy or irregular loads. Its ‘sticky’ exterior is tear and puncture resistant, while its two-way stretch helps with overall pallet strength. You’ll most commonly find Blown Film in its clear form, but coloured films are also available to colour code your pallets for identification purposes and an opaque black and white wrap for security.
On the other hand, Cast Film is typically the more affordable solution out of the two. It doesn’t have any tack like Blown Film, and instead ‘clings’ to itself, like cling wrap. This means it’s much clearer (and quieter while wrapping) than Blown Film, making scanning barcodes through the wrap easier.
You can find many different variations of these two films on the market to suit more specialised applications or that help with application, like hemmed, pre-stretched, UV stabilised, and ventilated. Additionally, with businesses working to reduce their environmental impact, PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) and degradable films are also gaining more traction.
As you can see there’s a long list of Pallet Wraps to pick from, but don’t let it overwhelm you! When choosing a solution, it’s important to remember to pick the one that meets your requirements but doesn’t exceed them. This will ensure it’ll be the most cost-effective and sustainable for your application.
2. Pick a Hand Pallet Wrapping Tool
Of course, you can just go straight ahead and start wrapping your pallet. However, being such a manual and labour-intensive process, using a manual pallet wrapping tool can help reduce the strain on your body and increase efficiency when you’re wrapping multiple pallets a day.
Like Pallet Wrap, there are several Hand Pallet Wrapping Tool options available and can vary from simple roll holders to variations of Pallet Wrap Dispensers, such as Long Handle, Adjustable, and OH&S. When choosing a Hand Pallet Wrap Dispenser, it’s important to pick the solution that will be the most cost-effective and ergonomic for your application.
In addition to accessories that assist with wrapping the pallet, consider what other solutions you might need to help protect the pallet contents while in transit, such as cardboard corners, pallet caps, and pallet pads.
3. Stack your cartons and start wrapping
Now to the fun part, wrapping the pallet! So, once you’re locked and loaded with your Hand Pallet Wrap and Hand Pallet Wrapping Tool, the first step is to tie off the film to one corner of the pallet.
Then hold the roll of film at a 45-degree angle, to protect it from any sharp edges that may exist on the pallet and start by doing one rotation around the pallet base. Once the product is attached firmly to the pallet base, lock the product to the pallet by completing two more full rotations.
From there start to work your way up the pallet, ensuring there is a 50% overlap of the film with each rotation — this will better secure the product and add to the overall pallet strength. While you’re wrapping the pallet, it’s recommended to stand 250mm away and at each corner stretch the film 30-40% to assist with the overall film strength.
Once you’re at the top of the pallet, secure the load with two complete layers, cut the film off approximately 30cm from the corner and smooth down the tail against the pallet.
While pallet wrapping is a small step in your shipping journey, it's one of the most important in ensuring the safety of your products and of others throughout the supply chain. To learn more about Pallet Wraps and Stretch Films and get access to more expert content, visit Signet’s Pallet Wrap Hub.
Get started today by browsing our range of Hand Pallet Wraps and Dispensers. Still unsure, or looking to upgrade to an automated pallet wrapping solution? Reach out to our team by calling 13 7446, emailing sales@signet.net.au, or Live Chat with us at www.signet.net.au.
