Performing an adhesive audit is critical in any industry or application where you use adhesives. The strength and efficiency of an adhesive can change for many reasons, from operator error to temperature, age, and a change in the materials you are adhering to. We typically suggest that you perform an adhesive audit at least once per year, and potentially more often, depending on your operation and the volume of adhesive that you use.
What is an Adhesive Audit?
An adhesive audit is a unique service offered by adhesive suppliers. A Technical Representative will visit your facility and review your process, regardless of which adhesive you are using.
To obtain the necessary information, the specialist will observe your equipment in operation and record vital information necessary to determine whether you are operating in the most efficient manner, such as
- What you are gluing
- Type of equipment
- Method of adhesive application
- Compression times
- Open times
- Adhesive temperature (if applicable)
- Machining characteristics of the adhesive
- Consumption, mileage and waste
Who Should Do an Adhesive Audit?
Anyone who uses adhesives will benefit from a regular adhesive audit. Performing an audit prevents you from wasting time and resources creating products that will fall apart in short order. The best part: it’s often free!
When Should You Do an Adhesive Audit
Ideally, you’d do an adhesive test before you have a complaint from your production team or your customers in hand. Any time you switch to new adhesive products or new materials you should perform an adhesive audit. You should also perform an audit at least once per year so that you have the opportunity to remove poorly performing adhesives from your production line or identify process issues that could be remedied internally or by utilizing a different adhesive.
Why do an adhesive audit?
You have selected an adhesive, ran some trials, and determined if it is the correct adhesive for your operation. Simple, right?
But wait! Fast forward, and the jobs you now run have changed, or perhaps your board/carton manufacturer has switched the kind of coatings they use, or maybe they have switched to a board that contains more recycled content. These are just a few things that can change and can be virtually undetected by you until there is a problem and your line comes to a screeching halt.
The problem is it’s not always so obvious that a problem exists. You may not experience any downtime because your adhesive is still doing its job. However, your present job or board, or equipment settings may have changed enough that your existing adhesive is now “over-kill.” You are throwing money away because a more economical adhesive would suffice.
These are just a few examples of how a routine adhesive audit can ensure you are running in the most efficient manner.
Want to learn more about adhesive audits and their importance? Contact our team at Bond Tech Industries today.
What Parts of My Company’s Packaging Process Will Be Audited?
When a technician visits your plant, they will bring their vast knowledge of industry best-practices so they can ensure that you are receiving the best adhesive resolution for your business.
An assessment will typically cover:
- Your current machinery
- What you are gluing
- The amount of adhesive used
- Application speed and method
- Compression and open times
- Adhesive ability to adapt to the machine using it
- Waste
- Consumption
- Overall assessment of equipment
- Plus many more
Regardless of the materials that you are bonding, an adhesive audit will be able to determine the proper adhesive by testing the current substrates that you are using.We can also identify any inefficiencies with your equipment and suggest adjustments.
Investigating Packaging Requirements
The audit will also look into the requirements that your packaging needs to stand up to.
If your manufactured goods need to stand up to extreme temperatures or must be water resistant, an adhesive will be chosen to endure those requirements by design.
The need for qualified solutions in today’s manufacturing industry is a given, and you will be provided with resolutions based on your total process cost, all while taking into account your shipping, purchase regularity, monthly volume, and other factors that can affect your bottom line.
This will, in turn, allow you to enhance your fabrication process all while lowering costs.
Adhesive audits can also identify equipment issues
Not every business has the luxury of having maintenance personnel on staff whose sole responsibility is to ensure your equipment is operating at maximum efficiency. Our technical sales representatives have extensive knowledge and experience in the field and know exactly what to look out for. This invaluable service is extremely underutilized by the industry.
Contact Us to Book Your Audit
Is it about time you conduct an adhesive audit? Perhaps you are already a Bond Tech customer or maybe you purchase your adhesives elsewhere…it doesn’t matter! It’s a service that costs you nothing and could potentially save you thousands of dollars in downtime or loss of efficiency.
Schedule an audit with our team and see if we can improve your bottom line. Give us a call today at Bond Tech Industries.
