Acceptable Reject Rates for Corrugated Packaging
March 19, 2020
Ed asks,
I wanted to run something by you and see if you could point me in the right direction.
We have a client who orders a lot of different sized RSC’s in quantities of 2500. At one point we were having some issues with gluing and had to re-glue the boxes. However, we addressed the issue and it seems to have fixed the problem. But now every time this customer finds a box that isn’t glued properly he expects us to re-glue it. I am not sure if we should be expecting every box to be perfect, or if we are shipping them some bad boxes but not billing them for it.
Do you have any information on acceptable “non-conforming” box rates? Is there an industry standard for this?
TAPPI’s Waste and Productivity Survey provides a lot of valuable information, but I saw nothing specific to glue tab or manufacture’s joint failures.
I talked with Ken Robinson at Baumer hhs. Here are com points to consider.
- If you have a contact system you will probably always have an issue.
- Two percent failures are to be expected.
- Pre-cleaning the glue tab before it hits the gluing station helps.
- Operator training should be constant.
- An inspection system can reduce the reject rate to 0.1%.
If there is not a published industry standard reject rate then it most likely will fall back on the contract/agreement between the boxmaker and the customer. Does your contract address percentage of rejects?
Customers, especially those running or supplying automated packing lines may be looking for zero defects. Of course every boxmaker strives to deliver the highest quality with minimum rejects at the most competitive price. However, there is a cost associated with ensuring the delivery of zero defect loads. Is the customer(s) willing to pay that price? They too are looking for the best, most competitive prices. However, if the cost of ensuring zero defects is less than the cost of lost productivity and products, then they may be.
— Ralph
