Most facilities do not design their end-of-line packaging process with a blank slate. Instead, they build around what already exists. Many inherit their equipment from previous expansions, introduce new machinery to meet their new demands, or adjust their existing systems to support new products.
The setup may continue to run without major issues, but it can become harder to scale, optimize, and adapt as production volumes, product lines, and packaging requirements change.
As your operation grows, you may start to notice the effects of these gradual changes. You may find that your existing line has less room to handle higher volumes, while your operators spend more time making manual adjustments.
And because these changes happen gradually, they can become part of your normal production before it becomes clear that your end-of-line system no longer meets your current requirements. If this sounds familiar, it may be time to take a fresh look at whether your current setup still makes sense for the way your operation works today.
Use the following questions to evaluate your current approach.
Your equipment may still be doing its job, but the way you use it may have changed.
If maintaining the same output now takes more time, labor, or maintenance, identify exactly where those additional resources are going. Look at changeover time, operator hours, maintenance frequency, adjustment time, and production time lost to delays.
Then compare those figures with what the line required when the equipment was first installed. If the difference has become a regular part of running the equipment, calculate what that additional effort costs over a month or year. This should give you a clearer basis for deciding whether to keep operating the equipment as it is, improve it, or replace it.
Say your end-of-line setup now requires:
That gives you:
0.5 hours × 2 shifts × 250 days = 250 extra labor hours per year
Using $46.30 per hour:
250 × $46.30 = $11,575 per year
Suppose your equipment requires an additional 8 hours of maintenance per month:
8 × 12 = 96 hours per year
At the same $46.30 labor cost:
96 × $46.30 = $4,445 per year
So, your increased labor and maintenance time alone comes to roughly:
$11,575 + $4,445 = $16,020 per year
Note that this still does not account for the production time lost while your line is unavailable.
Workarounds are a normal part of every production. Your operators will always find ways to keep your line moving when a material, product, or process does not run as intended.
But if your operators have to rely on the same workarounds every day and those workarounds are affecting your output, labor, or operating costs, it may be time to look at why those steps have become necessary in the first place.
Have you improved your workflow, upgraded your materials, or increased production capacity without changing your end-of-line equipment? If yes, look at what changed after the improvement.
If you are seeing these changes, your end-of-line equipment may now be handling demands it was not originally set up for. Review how the equipment is performing under the new production conditions and whether it can support the gains you have made elsewhere.
It is common to review your equipment and packaging supplies separately. Your equipment meets its specifications. Your packaging supplies meet their requirements. Job done.
But many production issues can arise when you put them together.
A material change can affect feeding, handling, changeovers, or the amount of adjustment your equipment may need.
That is why at York Container, we consider packaging equipment and supplies as a system, rather than two separate components that just need to exist and perform well. We understand that your equipment, packaging supplies, handling, replenishment, and production requirements are all interconnected.
Looking at them together helps us understand how your equipment, packaging supplies, and production requirements work together, so we can provide the appropriate solution for your operation.
Once you have answered these questions, you should have a clearer picture of where your current end-of-line system is working well and where it may be creating limitations.
Some findings may point to a specific adjustment. Others may show that a piece of equipment needs to be upgraded, that your packaging supply approach needs to change, or that several parts of the system need to be reconsidered together.
At York Container, we look at these decisions from a systems perspective. Your equipment, packaging supplies, production requirements, and material handling all affect one another. The most appropriate improvement may not be obvious when each part is reviewed separately.
If your current setup is no longer aligned with your operation, York Container can help you assess how your equipment and packaging supplies work together and identify where improvements can make the greatest difference.
Contact our packaging experts to discuss your current setup and find the right solution for your production requirements.
A. Start by looking at where the current equipment is creating limitations. Review cycle times, accumulation, changeovers, material flow, equipment connections, maintenance history, and available space. Then consider how a modification could affect the equipment around it. A change to one machine can alter how the rest of the line operates, so the surrounding equipment should be part of the review.
A. It depends on where the limitation is and how much of the system it affects. If the equipment is still in good condition and the issue comes from a specific format, capacity, feeding, or handling requirement, a targeted modification may be enough. If several parts of the line are limiting your production or making future changes difficult, a larger redesign may be worth considering.