Best Practices: Stretching the Imagination

When shipping multiple pallets per week, manually stretch-wrapping each one is time consuming and can cause fatigue and discomfort to the person doing the wrapping.

This was the case at the Washington, D.C.-based Amtrak Headquarters Reprographics Facility until about four years ago. In his daily meetings, in which he and his staff discuss the state of the in-plant, Manager Michael Smedberg had been hearing numerous complaints about the stretch-wrapping procedure.

In a previous job, Smedberg had used a fully automatic stretch wrap machine that spun a pallet on a turntable while stretch wrap was administered by a moving pole. Unfortunately, machines like that cost between $5,000 and $10,000 and take up about 100 square feet. Smedberg knew he couldn’t justify that cost to management, since the in-plant was shipping just three or four pallets each week.

Then he was approached by long-time employee Tamiru Negussie, who had been browsing through a supply catalog and came across the Uline Portable Stretch Wrap dispenser. The price tag ran approximately $700 and the device would only require four square feet of floor space.

“He’s one of the people who has not liked to wrap pallets because it’s been such a pain to do,” Smedberg states. “He was motivated to try to find an alternative. He saw it and recommended it.”

The dispenser is on wheels and features a pole, which can be affixed with stretch wrap 40˝ to 60˝ high. While it does still require the user to walk around the pallet, it takes significantly less time and it is a far easier procedure.

“We bought it, and have been very happy with it ever since,” Smedberg says, adding that the dispenser has made the in-plant about twice as efficient at wrapping pallets.

Smedberg is very appreciative of Negussie for presenting the idea. Through the in-plant’s morning meetings, Smedberg says his in-plant has developed a culture that fosters constructive communication.

“People are fairly free to say what they like and what they don’t like,” Smedberg says. “That’s good for me because it helps us improve our work.”