The hidden cost of manual packaging

The subject of this month’s newsletters entails the true cost of packaging boxes by hand and how it compares to automated packaging lines. In our 45 years of experience of visiting factories in the UK and Ireland the manual case erecting station is where businesses create money pits without realising it.

Many firms focus on material costs pallets, film and tape but ignore the huge cost of manual packaging. At first glance manual packaging seems like the default choice as it is easier to set up in the short run and does not require large capital investment. In recent years, the efficiency of manual packaging operations has declined as recruitment costs, training requirements and staff turnover have continued to rise. Productivity also becomes heavily dependent on labour availability. Staff absence, sickness, and holiday cover all reduce output while increasing the cost per case. Furthermore, Low skilled labour positions are also increasingly difficult to fill as many workers see it as monotonous and unfulfilling. The issue of low applicant response is often raised by operation managers that we have spoken to in various industries who recruit labour for packaging.

To calculate the true cost of manual packaging you can easily input your own figures into this framework:

Cases erected per shift   -----

Sustained manual rate (cases/min time it) -----

Hrs per shift spent erecting -----

Fully loaded labour cost per hr (Wage+NI+Pensions+Holiday cover) £/€---

Weeks pr yr---

Annual manual erecting cost= hrs x loaded rate x shifts x weeks

If you would prefer, we will do the calculations for you.

Our team can visit your site, measure the actual performance of your manual packaging operation, and provide a realistic annual cost analysis, together with a projected payback period based on your production volumes. This service is completely free and carries no obligation.

Many businesses are surprised by the total that’s why automated packaging is the answer. Yes, it requires capital investment but long run efficiency in terms of cost and productivity can hugely impact businesses profit margins for the better.

What Maters suggests:

Many businesses will feel they have to automate an entire factory in order to reap cost and efficiency benefits. This is simply not the case; many customers choose to place one case erector or sealer into a former manual operation. This removes the manual jobs many managers struggle to find applicants for. It also set a stable line rate and improves the finished product by producing identical sealed cases.

As an authorised Lantech distributor we can specify semi-automatic units suited to lower volumes and mixed case sizes right through to fully automatic high-speed erectors and sealers. Every system is specified, installed, commissioned, and supported by our own experienced engineers, ensuring you receive a solution that is built around your operation.

Packaging machinery. Done properly