There are millions of fragile and delicate items that are transported every hour of every day. Anybody packaging products delicate or durable should consider the possibility of transportation shock. Transportation shock can come from a variety of different external factors during transportation.
Those external factors can range from the vibration of the transportation vehicle to how the worker unloading the product handles it. When packaging products for transportation, a packager should consider the product as well as how it will be shipped. That will enable the packager to take the proper steps to protect the product.
Some questions to ask that will help determine the proper materials for packaging are:
1. How fragile is the product? Electronics and glass products will obviously have different packaging needs than more durable products such as lumber and metal objects.
2. How far will the products be transported? The distance of the move can effect the amount of transportation shock to the products. Longer moves can have more consistent shock than a shorter move.
3. How will the products be transported? The vehicle for transportation should be considered when trying to figure protection against transportation shock. Different vehicles have different exterior factors and vibrations that can have an impact on the transportation shock of a product.
4. Who will transport the products? A national shipping or freight company will have different handling and shipping methods compared to your own employees. You may have the ability to give specific instructions to your own employees that you would not be able to specify with a national or international shipper.
Those questions will help establish a starting point to determine which packaging materials should be considered to help reduce the amount of transportation shock to product. Below are some packaging materials commonly used to help reduce shock.
1. Permanent Molds- Often used for fragile products. Molds restrict the amount of movement and limits movement to only movement within the mold. Molds are typically used for high output productions because of the cost.
2. Cellulose Wadding- Typically affordable and conforms to the product
3. Indented Kraft Paper- Great for absorbing shock and often made from recycled materials.
4. Polymeric Cushioning materials- Polymeric materials are often used for loose-fill. Such as packaging peanuts. Polymeric materials covers a wide range of materials and each one of the materials should be looked at and considered for each packaging purpose. Polymeric materials can be both natural and synthetic materials.
5. Newsprint- An affordable paper that is commonly used to print newspapers. Newsprint is often made from recycled paper and can be recycled after used.
We have only scratched the surface on materials and questions to consider when choosing how to protect your products against transportation shock. If the proper steps are taken along with use of the proper materials, a business can dramatically reduce the amount of product damage during transportation.
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