Bales in the yard
The baler runs all day, compressing trim from the die-cutters and rejects from the folder-gluers. Bales stack up in the yard until the waste merchant collects them. A weighbridge ticket and a rebate statement arrive later. Nobody checks the ticket against anything, because the plant does not record what went into the bales.
At the same time, customers are asking about waste and recycling figures, and the job costing assumes a waste allowance nobody has measured.
Waste is invisible until it leaves
Waste is treated as something to get rid of rather than a material with a value and a story. It is not weighed at source, bales are not labelled by grade, and collections are not reconciled. The only numbers come from the merchant.
- Waste is not weighed at the machine or the baler.
- Bales of different grades are mixed or not labelled.
- Merchant weighbridge tickets are not checked.
- Rebate rates and payments are not reconciled.
- Waste figures do not reach job costing or customers.
What unmeasured waste costs
Unmeasured waste hides problems on the floor, such as a machine producing far more reject than it should. Mixed grades earn lower rebates than sorted ones. Without your own records, you cannot query the merchant's weights or rates. And customers asking for waste and recycling data get estimates rather than figures you can stand behind.
There is also the cost that sits inside every job. If a die-cutter's trim waste has crept up because of a layout habit or a worn forme, the extra board is paid for on every run, and the only place it shows up is in the size of the pile by the baler.
Housekeeping is part of the picture too. When nobody is measured on waste, cages overflow, grades get mixed on the floor and the baler runs on whatever arrives, which is exactly what drives the lower rebates on the next statement.
Waste records we build
- Each bale is weighed on the baler's scale or a platform scale and labelled with a code, grade and date.
- Where waste is collected by machine in cages or bins, those are weighed and recorded with the machine and job before baling.
- Bales are scanned onto each collection, producing your own list of what left, by grade and weight.
- The merchant's weighbridge tickets and rebate statements are read and matched against your list, with differences flagged.
- Waste by machine and job feeds job costing as actual waste, not an assumed percentage.
- Monthly figures by grade and destination are available for customer requests and your own reporting.
| Record | Now | With waste records |
|---|---|---|
| Waste by machine | Unknown | Weighed at source |
| Bale grade | Mixed or unlabelled | Labelled and scanned |
| Collection weight | Merchant's ticket only | Your list, matched to theirs |
| Rebate | Accepted as stated | Checked against grades and weights |
| Waste in job costing | Assumed | Actual |
Waste you can see and use
Waste becomes a measured part of production. Machines with high waste are spotted and investigated. Grades are kept separate, and rebates are checked. Job costing reflects reality. And customers asking about waste receive real figures.
Is your waste a guess?
- You do not know how much waste each machine produces.
- Bales are not weighed or labelled by grade.
- Merchant tickets and rebates are not checked.
- Job costing uses an assumed waste percentage.
- Customers ask for waste figures you cannot easily provide.