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.