Stretch film audit checklist: what to check at the customer's wrapper
Download the checklist as PDF
Before the visit
- Customer and site
- Contact person at the customer
- Pallets per day and working days per year
- Load types: cartons, bags, bottles, irregular goods
- Damage or rejection history, if the customer will share it
- Current film: producer, brand, thickness, width, roll length and rated pre-stretch
- Current film price per kilo, and the price of your film
- The film or films you want to test
At the wrapper
- Wrapper type and model: turntable, rotating arm or ring (see types of pallet wrappers)
- Film carriage: brake or powered pre-stretch
- Photo of the wrapper settings
- Rollers clean and not worn, roll mounted the right way round
- Wrapping pattern: bottom wraps, top wraps, overlap, roping
- Pallet size and load height
- Photos of the wrapped pallet, front and side
Measure the current film
- Weigh the roll (or the film) before wrapping
- Wrap one pallet with the customer’s normal settings
- Weigh again and note the grams of film used on the pallet
- Count the revolutions of the wrapping cycle
- Note the real pre-stretch and compare it with the film’s rating (see the right pre-stretch)
Check load stability
- Tilt test on the wrapped pallet: angle reached and whether the load held
- Containment force at fixed points: three on the width side, three on the length side (see containment force)
- Acceleration test, if a bench is available (see EUMOS 40509)
Run the alternative film
- Same load, same pallet size, same wrapper
- Settings adjusted to the new film’s rated pre-stretch
- Weigh, count revolutions and photograph as before
- Repeat the same load stability tests at the same points
After the visit
- Film per pallet and per year for each film
- Cost per year for each film
- Estimated CO₂e, with the factor used stated in the report
- Load stability results side by side
- Recommended film and wrapper settings
- Report sent, and a follow-up date agreed
Palletseal guides reps through every step of this checklist in the app and builds the report before they leave the site.
Questions we often get
What is a stretch film audit?
A test at the customer's wrapper that measures how much film the customer uses per pallet, compares it with an alternative film on the same load, and checks that the load still holds.
How long does an audit take?
Usually a single visit. Most of the time goes to wrapping and weighing pallets and to the load stability tests.
What equipment do I need?
A scale to weigh the film, a phone or tablet, and for containment force a pull gauge or force gun. An acceleration bench is only needed for a dynamic acceleration test.
What should the audit report contain?
Film per pallet and per year for each film, cost per year, an estimated CO₂e with the factor used, load stability results, the wrapper settings and photos.
