Protective strip roller conveyor

Some accessories are bought to make something possible, others to make something stop happening. The guard strip for roller lanes belongs to the second kind: it is mounted on the lane and protects the place where goods and lane meet, so packaging does not scuff itself apart against edges and the exposed parts of the lane do not take a beating from thousands of passing parcels.

Damage of this type is sneaky because it creeps up on you. A carton scuffing against an edge is rarely damaged so it shows right away; it is at the receiver, after transport, that scuff marks and torn corners become visible and turn into complaints. The guard strip costs a fraction of what one damaged delivery does, counted in money and even less counted in trust.

The strip weighs 0.17 kg and is, in other words, a small article in both weight and size. Exact dimensions, material and fastening are given in the manufacturer data sheet that we link on the product page; check there that the strip fits your particular lane model before you order.

Where does it do the most good? At feed-in points where goods are set or dropped onto the lane, in transfers where parcels are steered around and change direction, and along stretches where operators work close to the flow. In short, everywhere goods and lane meet more often or harder than along a straight, undisturbed run.

The lane itself also gains from the protection. An edge ground down by thousands of cartons turns sharp over time, and a sharp edge damages packaging faster with every month that passes; that is a spiral a guard strip breaks early. Protecting the lane is in that way the same thing as protecting the goods.

In Swedish warehouses and packing departments the strips usually sit at high-tempo stations: e-commerce packing lines, goods reception with mixed parcel sizes and dispatch areas where cartons are redirected at the last moment. The more hands and the higher the tempo, the harder the edges have to work; that is where the strip pays for itself first.

The arithmetic is easy to do yourself. Pull out last year packaging complaints and look at where in the flow the damage happened; if you find a point where goods keep meeting an edge, you have also found the place for your first guard strip. It is rarely the whole lane that needs protection, but the two or three points where the flow really takes a hit.

Mounting is described in the manufacturer instructions. What matters is that the strip is fastened properly and replaced before it is worn through; a loose or broken strip can at worst become the thing that tears the packaging itself, and then the accessory has changed sides.

Treat the strip as a wear part. It is there to take what would otherwise have gone into the goods and the lane, so a strip that looks worn has done its job and deserves a successor. Keeping a spare at hand turns the swap into a five minute job instead of an ordering matter.

If you are ordering a new roller lane at the same time, it is wise to include a guard strip from the start in the spots you already know will be exposed; that is easier than retrofitting the day scuff marks start showing on the goods.

Do you want to make sure the strip fits your lane? Get in touch and we will check it against the data sheet before you order.