When it comes to managing your supply chain from production through packaging and distribution, safety always has to be your number one priority. Unsafe working conditions can undermine all the benefits of an otherwise productive, efficient and profitable operation.
The human cost of injuries can be significant for employees who may have to take time off work to heal, or may be forced to change careers. The financial cost of higher workers’ comp premiums may be only the most visible “expense” of a bad safety culture. Poor morale, high turnover, frequent downtime, and other intangible harms quickly add up.
With safety in mind, we would like to take a deeper look at your packaging systems. Your packaging process can have a number of crucial safety concerns that you need to consider:
- Product Packaging
If your products are packaged poorly, damage and dissatisfied customers will be the result. It can even be dangerous if boxes have sharp edges or certain items aren’t secured properly. You want to have good product packaging design that not only has marketing appeal, but makes sense for shipping, distribution and final sales. - Bulk Packaging for Shipping
How you package your products for shipping and distribution is enormously important. Load integrity is critical to safe arrival, “out of sight” shouldn’t lead to “out of mind”. Safe transit & distribution should be prioritized just as quality manufacturing and primary packaging are. Consider how many people may contact your product once it is loaded on a truck. Each of these individuals safety should be ensured. - Packaging and Shipping Equipment
Significant, complex custom packaging equipment are found throughout manufacturing and product finishing. This equipment needs to be properly installed, configured and maintained to prevent breakdowns and accidents. Any operator using the equipment need to be sufficiently trained and follow all necessary safety precautions. Periodic retraining and refresher courses are strongly recommended. Any workers not qualified to be around these machines should be kept away to avoid conflicts and possible injuries. - Worker Safety
Last but certainly not least, your employees and supervisors need to be working with safety on their minds at all times. This comes down to training, education and oversight to minimize the risk of workplace industries that can cost your company a lot of money or, even worse, possibly cost someone their life.
Safer and Smarter Packaging Solutions
What you don’t know about safety could be significantly hurting your business in more ways than you even realize. You want your workers to be safe. You want anyone handling your products throughout the shipping and distribution stages to be safe. You want your end customers to be safe and feel good about buying your goods and services. If packaging is a major part of your business operation, safety must always come first.
Your safety plan and standards should ultimately drive your packaging systems. It may be a detriment to hire inexperienced employees or buy cheap and ineffective packaging materials. What good is saving a penny per box if it ends up costing you more in lost profits when you have an injury, the product gets damaged or the consumer returns it for a refund? You have to be smart when it comes to designing a packaging system specifically for your business. This includes your packaging supplies, equipment and technology systems that will help you operate more efficiently while keeping safety and quality at the forefront.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Is your packaging center as safe as you want it to be? Are you cutting corners when you probably shouldn’t be? Are you doing everything you can to have the best possible work environment?
If the answer is “no” to any of these questions—or if you are at all concerned about the safety, efficiency or quality of your packaging systems—you should contact First Packaging Systems today. We’ll be happy to perform a thorough audit of your packaging systems and make our professional recommendations for a better way of doing things. Call us at (909) 613-5955.
