Film Splice Stops: Reel Changes on Wrappers, Baggers and Sealers

Key takeaways

• Every film machine has a reel change rhythm: reel length divided by film use per minute.
• The loss is the stop plus the bad packs after the splice, not the stop alone.
• "Waiting for film" is a material stop; keep it apart from the reel change itself.
• Reel changes are good SMED candidates: they happen many times a shift.
• Stage the next reel at the machine before the current one runs out.

Film splice stops come from three places: reel changes, splices that fail, and the packs lost after a splice while the film settles back into position. On machines without automatic splicing, every reel change is a stop. With an automatic splicer, the stops come from failed splices and the waste after them.

Fabrico, an OEE and light MES platform, logs each stop with its reason and shows rejects next to downtime by line and shift, so a reel change and the bad packs after it can be seen as one event. This guide covers which machines change film, why changes stop the line, how they show up in OEE, and how to cut them.

Which machines change film reels?

• Flow wrappers, on snacks, bars and bakery. See flow wrapper OEE.
• VFFS baggers, on snacks, frozen and powders. See VFFS machine OEE.
• Shrink wrappers, on multipacks of bottles and cans. See shrink wrapper OEE.
• Tray sealers and lidding machines, with top film.
• Stretch wrappers at the end of the line.

On a flow wrapper or bagger, the film is often the machine's most frequent planned interruption. A machine that uses a reel every hour changes reels several times a shift, every shift.

Why do reel changes and splices stop the line?

• Manual reel change: the machine stops while the old reel comes off, the new one goes on and the web is joined.
• Failed splice: on an automatic splicer, tape, alignment or tension problems can break the web at the join.
• Registration after the splice: printed film has marks that tell the machine where to cut and seal. After a splice the position can shift, and packs are cut or sealed in the wrong place until it settles.
• The splice itself: packs containing the joined section are usually rejected.
• Waiting for film: the next reel is not at the machine when it is needed.
• A new reel lot: a different film lot can need small setting changes.

How do film changes show up in OEE?

Decide once how your plant treats routine reel changes. Most count them as a loss with a standard time, so faster changes show up as gains. If you count them as planned, measure the minutes over the standard as a loss.

How should film stops be coded?

• Reel change: the routine change, with a standard time per machine and film.
• Splice failure: the join broke or did not hold.
• Registration after splice: short stops and rejects while the print position settles.
• Waiting for film: material group, because the fix is staging and supply.
• Film quality: a lot or supplier problem, with the lot in the note.

Count the rejects after each splice too. Without them, a reel change looks like a 3 minute stop when it is really a 3 minute stop plus a pile of bad packs.

What does a shift of film changes cost?

Sample line (illustrative numbers, not a customer): a flow wrapper running 150 packs a minute, with manual reel changes. One reel lasts about 50 minutes, so a 450 minute shift needs 9 reel changes. Each change takes 3 minutes, and the first 60 packs after each splice are rejected while registration settles.

• Stopped minutes: 27 + 8 = 35 minutes, or 35 x 150 = 5,250 packs not made.
• Rejects after splices: 9 x 60 = 540 packs.
• Total: 5,790 packs lost to film handling, about 8.6% of the 67,500 packs the shift could make at rated speed.
• The single wait for film cost almost a third as much as all nine reel changes, and it was the easiest to avoid.

Which fixes cut film splice stops?

• Stage the next reel at the machine before the current one is half used, so nobody waits for film.
• Treat the reel change as a mini SMED project: a reel cart at the right height, the next reel prepared and the splice tape ready while the machine runs. Our SMED guide explains the method.
• A splice routine: the same steps, the same tape, the same position, every time.
• Registration settings per film, written down, so the machine finds the print mark fast after a splice.
• A film lot check when a new lot starts.
• Bigger reels, where the machine and handling allow, to reduce the number of changes.

Where Fabrico fits

Fabrico is a computer vision enabled Manufacturing Performance Platform. OEE and light MES come first, with computer vision on stops.

• Automatic downtime logging, so every reel change and splice failure is counted.
• The operator confirms the reason in one tap, so reel change, splice failure and waiting for film get different codes.
• OEE live by line and shift, with rejects next to stops.
• Every loss priced in money and ranked, stops and splice waste together.
• A camera clip as evidence for a stop, where a camera watches the film path.

You start with a pilot on one line, with a baseline and a decision date agreed in advance. There is no free plan and there are no tiers: each plant gets a quote. See how stops are captured on our computer vision OEE page.

Frequently asked questions

Is a film reel change downtime?

Usually yes, with a standard time, so faster changes show as gains. If your plant counts it as planned, measure the minutes over the standard as a loss.

Why are packs rejected after a film splice?

Packs containing the joined section are rejected, and the print position can shift after a splice, so packs are cut or sealed in the wrong place until it settles.

How often does a flow wrapper change reels?

Divide the reel length by the film the machine uses per minute. A machine that uses a reel in about 50 minutes changes it about 9 times in a 450 minute shift.

Should waiting for film be coded as a reel change?

No. Code it as a material stop. The fix is staging the next reel, not a faster change.

How do I reduce reel change time?

Prepare the next reel and the splice while the machine runs, use a reel cart, and follow the same splice routine every time.

See your film losses in a demo

Bring one line and a week of stop and reject data. We will show what reel changes really cost.

Request a demo · Contact us