Stretch Film Gauge and the Containment Measurement Record

A film order specifies the material entering the wrapping process. A containment measurement describes the wrapped load produced by that process. Keep both records when evaluating a replacement roll: matching the old gauge is not the same as demonstrating the required result on the load.

Separate the input from the measured result

MSF20805C is a 20-inch-wide, 5,000-foot, 80-gauge cast machine stretch film. Those dimensions identify the purchased roll. They do not supply a measured containment value for a particular arrangement of cartons.

Lantech explains containment force as the combined effect of wrap force and film layers. Its containment-force tool description distinguishes the total force at a point on the load from the film specification. This is why the purchasing record and the completed-load record answer different questions.

Record positions instead of one general result

Lantech's containment-force guidance calls for measurements at the top, middle, and bottom and cautions against comparing readings from different types of tools. Use the chosen tool's instructions and the wrapping process owner's established requirements. This page does not prescribe a target force or a machine adjustment.

Give each measurement its own field. Record its location, value, and unit alongside the tool identification. A single entry reading “containment checked” loses the distinction between the three locations. A single average also conceals which position produced each reading. Keep the individual observations available to the person deciding whether the wrapping arrangement meets its requirements.

Make a changed load recognizable

Imagine that a warehouse changes from uniform-height cartons to an arrangement with a shorter upper layer. Purchasing may continue ordering the same MSF20805C roll, but the load record should show the changed geometry. Add a drawing or photograph that identifies the arrangement and the positions used for the measurements.

Use separate trial records for the previous arrangement and the changed one. Keep the approved wrapping-program reference with each record, rather than assuming a common film SKU means the same completed-load result. If the film also changes, record that change explicitly so a reviewer can distinguish a material change from a load change.

Turn the result into a useful reorder decision

The purchase approval should identify both the selected film and the load arrangements for which the wrapping process has been approved. A request to substitute “another 80 gauge” then has a concrete review boundary: the new material must enter the established evaluation process before it replaces the approved roll.

Use the cast machine stretch-film guide to compare stock descriptions. Retain the measurement record with the process approval, including unresolved results and the decision owner. Neither the roll's gauge nor a completed worksheet by itself guarantees transport performance.