One of the most overlooked keys to bulk bag filling success is training.  This post reviews how properly trained operators facilitate a much more productive bulk bag filling operation.

Preparing the bulk bag for rigging.  

On the surface rigging an empty bulk bag to a piece of filling equipment appears simple indeed: attach the four loops and the inlet spout and that’s it.  

Of course, those are the basic tasks, but how an operator accomplishes these tasks determines whether it is a minutes long struggle or a 30 second or less fast task.  

Properly preparing the bulk bag to be rigged is the first, absolutely critical, step to minimizing bulk bag rigging time and hassle.

While a bulk bag is being filled the operator should prepare the next for rigging.  Preparation involves the following steps:

1. Unfold the bulk bag and expand it by stretching out the top corners.
2. Unfold the inlet spout.  Many operators find that folding over the lip of the inlet spout to form a collar makes it much easier to slide the spout over the fill head.
3. Place the bulk bag within easy reach of the rigging position.

Rigging the bulk bag.  

There is a simple and effective way to minimize motion and time when rigging a bulk bag.  

• When the bulk bag filler is ready for a bulk bag to be rigged, pick up the bulk bag with the aft loops on each side held in each hand. 
• Rig the aft loops first. 
• Then rig the front loops. 
• Only then should the inlet spout be slid over the bulk bag filler’s fill head. 

Rigging a bulk bag in this sequence guarantees that the operator does not have support the full weight of the bag and wrestle with it during rigging.  

Average operators can easily rig a bulk bag in 30 seconds or less following this procedure.

Using bulk bag filling equipment.  

Generally, bulk bag filling equipment is easy to use when initiating a filling cycle.  

However, in any operation things go wrong occasionally and operators who have been trained to properly suspend the filling operation in mid-bag and re-start the filling process after the problem has been solved minimize lost productivity.  

There are times when bulk bag filling must be aborted mid-bag (due to upstream problems or a host of other reasons).  Again, operators who know how to safely abort bulk bag filling and remove a partially filled bulk bag minimize down time.

Tying Off The Bulk Bag Inlet.  

Many bulk bag filling operations can instantly made more productive simply by tying off the inlet spout outside of the filler instead of within it.  

When a bag has been filled and is ready to be removed from the filler do not tie off the inlet spout before the bag is removed.  

Instead, remove the bulk bag, rig the next and start the filling cycle, then tie off the spout of the bag that was just removed from the filler.  

This applies to both automatic bag removal and forklift removal systems.  Immediately initiating the next fill cycle and then tying off the just-filled bag is always the most efficient method - even if the forklift operator has to wait for the filler operator to tie off the inlet.

Operators trained to accomplish these simple tasks will consistently perform to a higher level of productivity.  

Read on to learn how to fill lined bulk bags.

Typically, bulk bag liners are made from polyethylene film and are, in effect, ‘inner bags’ that are placed within a bulk bag or FIBC.  The product contacts the liner not the bulk bag.

There are generally two types of liners: loose and form fit.

1. Loose liners: a cylinder of PE film that is stuffed into the bag.  Loose liners are occasionally glued to the bulk bag.
2. Form fit liners: a PE film ‘container’ that looks just like a bulk bag (four sides, top and bottom, inlet and outlet spouts) that is placed within the bulk bag.  Often, form fit liners are attached to the bulk bag by various methods including tabs that are sewn into the top (and sometimes bottom) seams of the bag.

Filling Bulk Bags with Loose Liners

The most critical factor in filling a bulk bag with a loose liner is to ensure that the liner has expanded and ‘taken’ the cubic shape of the bulk bag before it is filled.  Otherwise, there is a high probability that the unexpanded loose liner will have folds in it that the product will fill over thereby making it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to discharge.

Blowing air into the liner, generally referred to as inflation, is the quickest and easiest method to expand a loose liner.  A fan blower can be used or a device called an eductor connected to a source of compressed air that draws in ambient air are the two most common inflation methods.

The other consideration when filling loose liners is to allow the inlet of the liner to slide down as the bag is being filled while still maintaining a secure grip.  If the liner inlet is held so that it cannot move it is highly likely the top corners of the bag will not be filled because the liner will form a peak extending from the fill head where it is clamped to somewhere down the sides of the bag.  In this case it would be impossible to fill the bag to target weight unless the bag is significantly oversized.

Filling Bulk Bags With Form Fit Liners

If your bulk bag filler is designed so that the bulk bag rests on a pallet or other flat surface throughout the filling cycle even bags with form fit liners that are attached to the outer bulk bag should be inflated.  Otherwise, as with loose liners, the bag may be folded or creased in such a way that the product will fill over the folds or creases thereby impeding discharge and the ability to completely fill the bulk bag.

However, if your bulk bag filler features ‘hang filling’ where the bulk bag spends part of the filling cycle hanging suspended from its loops, inflating form fit liners is unnecessary.