Lean theory suggests that the possibilities for quality improvement exist everywhere. Rarely does that concept translate to a damaged corrugated box in a warehouse—but it should. The cost of damaged packaging, particularly cardboard containers, is very significant in bottom-line costs (damaged merchandise, replacement, and reshipping costs) as well as negative customer satisfaction costs.

Cardboard box makers cannot guarantee that orders will be free of gluing defects, the primary source of box quality defects. Even technology that promises box makers the ability to provide 100-percent visual inspection of every glue tab to ensure their perfectly glued boxes, falter under weight capacities and stacking realities.

The Fibre Box Association (FBA) and the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) have attempted to help companies benchmark plant performance with the newly updated Productivity and Waste Survey, which provides useful benchmarking data. The report provides metrics so that companies can evaluate productivity, waste, and starch consumption data against participating plants. Surveying top performers, it includes information on machinery and labor operations, as well as waste from box plants in U.S. operations, as well as several international plants.

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