A one-page strapping instruction card for packing operators

Many packing teams are working under new arrangements in June 2020. In the United Kingdom, the government’s COVID-secure guidance for factories, plants and warehouses, published on 11 May 2020, asked employers to keep people 2 metres apart where possible and otherwise to use measures such as screens, side-by-side working and fixed teams, as summarised by Make UK. Where teams have been split and shifts staggered, the operator at a strapping station may not be the person who learnt the job there, and the experienced colleague who used to answer questions may be on another shift.

A one-page instruction card is a modest tool for exactly that situation. It keeps the essential method at the station, so the strap, closure, tool and checks stay the same whoever is working.

What belongs on the card

The card should answer six questions for one specific pack. If a station handles several packs, make one card for each rather than a single card that tries to cover everything.

Card section	Content
1. Pack identity	Product or pallet type, pack reference, card revision and date
2. Materials	Strap type and nominal width, closure type with its internal item code, the approved tool
3. Strap positions	Number of straps and where they go, shown on a photograph or simple sketch of the actual pack
4. Making the joint	Photographs of a correctly formed joint, with the sequence taken from the tool and closure instructions
5. Checks	What the operator looks at before releasing the pack
6. Stop and ask	When to stop and who to call

Write the joint section from the approved method

The joint is where improvisation does most harm. A sheet metal clip crimped with the wrong tool, a wire buckle threaded the wrong way or a seal of the wrong profile for the strap can all look acceptable from a distance. Take the method from the approved packing specification and from the instructions supplied with the tool and closure, then photograph a correctly made joint on your own line.

Show the finished joint from the angle the operator will see it. If your team agrees it helps, add one photograph of a typical fault, clearly marked as wrong. Avoid copying generic catalogue diagrams; they may show a different closure, strap or tool.

When strap or closure changes, update the card at the same time as the packing specification. Our line changeover guide describes how to run that change as a controlled trial, and the joint selection guide explains why strap, closure and tool are approved together.

Checks an operator can make in seconds

Keep the checks short and visible. A typical list:

• The correct strap type and width is loaded in the dispenser.
• Closures come from the labelled carton for this pack, not from a loose mixed tray.
• Straps sit in the positions shown, square to the pack edges.
• Edge protection is in place wherever the card shows it.
• Each joint matches the photograph, with the closure seated and no visible damage to the strap.
• Strap tails are trimmed and cut-offs go into the scrap bin.

Include handling and safety, briefly

The card is not a risk assessment, but it should reflect the one your organisation has made. Name the personal protective equipment required at the station and the cutter to be used for strap, so that nobody reaches for a knife.

Manual handling belongs here too. Rolls of strap and cartons of metal closures are heavier than they look and are often lifted from floor level. The UK Health and Safety Executive’s revised leaflet Manual handling at work (INDG143), dated January 2020, sets out simple risk filters for lifting, lowering and carrying, and explains what employers need to do under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. Use your own assessment to state where supplies are stored and how they reach the station.

Keep COVID-19 hygiene and distancing rules on a separate notice. They change on a different timetable from the packing method, and a card that has to be reprinted every time a hygiene rule changes soon stops being read.

The stop-and-ask list

Give operators explicit permission to stop. A short list might read:

• The closure in the carton does not match the photograph or the label.
• The tool will not tension, cut or crimp as normal.
• A strap breaks during tensioning or a joint slips.
• Cartons or trays crush under the strap.
• Materials from two different labels have been mixed.

Name the person to call by role rather than by name, so the card stays valid when rotas change.

Layout and revision control

Use one page in landscape format, with photographs taking more space than text. Print it in the main working language of the station and use pictograms consistently. Laminate it or put it in a clear holder at eye level next to the tool, not in a binder in the office.

Add a revision number, date and approver in one corner, and withdraw old copies whenever a new revision is issued. A card that disagrees with the packing specification is worse than no card at all.

The same card is useful to purchasing: its materials section is an exact description of what the line uses. When a closure is due for reorder, browse sheet metal clips and galvanized wire buckles, and send that section with your request through the enquiry page.