The rapid pack method of packing fruit

i^K

Division of Agricultural Sciences

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

*''^*Q

The RAPID PACK

METHOD of

PACKING FRUIT

ROY J. SMITH

CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL
Experiment Station
Extension Service

MKMXKXKXX

CIRCULAR 521

THE SIDE PACK OPERATION requires packers to turn sideways and stoop to pick up the fruit —

contributes to excessive fatigue.

This circular describes a new and fast method of packing citrus
fruit — a method which could very probably be applied to other fruits
and to some vegetables.

Many of the operations and much of the machinery described here
have been tried out and proved workable; some of the suggestions
made are just that — suggestions for further refinement of machinery
and techniques.

The subjects discussed are as follows:

Special Requirements for Rapid Pack 5

Carton Forming for the Rapid Pack 9

Seating the Packers 12

Training the Packers 14

Rapid Pack Bagging 16

THE AUTHOR:

Roy J. Smith is Professor of Agricultural Economics, Department of Horti-
cultural Science; Agricultural Economist in the Agricultural Experiment Station
and Citrus Research Center: Agricultural Economist on the Giannini Founda-
tion, Riverside.

The drawings used in this circular were made or developed by Charles C. Papp.
Scientific Illustrator in the Agricultural Experiment Station and Citrus Research
("enter. Riverside.

APRIL, 1963

THE RAPID PACK METHOD has the packers working face-on; eliminates much of the turning and
twisting — is conducive to greater speed.

THE RAPID PACK METHOD . .

how it works

The photos above show the two basic
methods of packing oranges now being
used by packing houses. In the older, side
pack method, the packer is obliged to
lean twisted over the bin side as she
reaches for fruit. In the newer, rapid

pack method, the packer simply reaches
forward across the rollboard, picks up
the fruit and places it in the carton.

The rapid pack method is aimed at
eliminating body bending and twisting,
maintaining an erect posture, developing

[3

f

short, easy motions that will save time,
and cut down on the strain and fatigue
present under the side pack method.

The rapid pack method (or what pur-
ports to be the rapid pack method) has
been observed in nine packing houses in
California, two in Florida, and one in
Australia. Other houses are converting
to the system.

Packing rates

Table 1 presents some of the data ob-
tained in several packing houses. Rates
of pack range from 26.1 cartons per hour
to 32.6 for the side pack and from 30.4
to 46.7 for the rapid pack. In all opera-
tions the rates have been adjusted from
the actual average rates to an estimated
one based on an average fruit size at 113
fruit per carton. The reduction in cost
from rapid pack in House A, as compared
with the side pack in other houses, ap-
proximates 2% cents per carton. As com-
pared with the other rapid pack houses,
the reduction in cost in House A approxi-
mates 1% cents.

The packers reported on in table 2
had all had at least 10 years of experience
with the side pack prior to 1956 and had

been using the rapid pack method since
that time. The increases in rate of pack
range from 28 per cent to 51 per cent
and are for the entire season of work —
nearly six months' packing each. Every
regular experienced packer in the house
is included.

Some instalations have not resulted in
any significant change in rate of pack.
In one house (not recorded in the tables)
there had been no increase in rate of pack.
In still another house (not recorded) the
packers would not use the rapid pack
position but returned to the side pack and
worked at about the same rate as from
earlier bins. (See pages 6-7.)

Worker fatigue and strain

Strain is a very complex subject — it
can result from many different actions
such as twisting and stretching. Because
of the more or less straight-line action
required in the rapid pack system, twist-
ing and stretching have largely been
eliminated.

While fatigue cannot be eliminated
entirely, the possibility of excessive tired-
ness in rapid pack houses has been
watched for on numerous occasions and
the conclusion is that there is no undue

Table 1.

Comparison of rates of pack and cost per carton

Packing house

Variety

Year

Rate of pack

Person
forming
carton

Cost of

Side pack

Rapid pack

packing

Val

Val

Val

Val

Nav

Val

Nav

Val

Val

Val

1956
1959
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960

Cartons per hour

packer
packer
packer
former
former
packer
packer
packer
packer
packer

Cents per
carton

A

A

A

52.6

46.7
46.5
33.3
32.9
31.6
30.6
30.4

4.60
3.21
3.23

B

B

4.50
4.56

C

4.75

C

4.90

D ... .

4.93

E

27.6
26-1

5.43

F

5.75

These are seasonal average rates of pack in cartons per hour, per person in crew, including packers, special
formers, and time of others distributing flats. Rate of pack has been adjusted to size of 113 fruit per carton. Costs
of packing show seasonal average rates of pack per person in crew to return $1.50 per hour to each crew member.

[4]

Table 2. How rapid pack system increased rate of pack in House A

Rate of pack in cartons per hour

Per cent increase over 1956

Packer No.

Side pack
1956

Rapid pack

1959

I960

1959

I960

1

43

62

65

44

51

2

36

46

28

3

38

49

51

29

34

4

35

47

50

34

43

These were the experienced packers of House A. The figures are for their seasonal rates of pack in cartons
per hour, adjusted to 113 count size.

fatigue. Packers themselves state that
they are not so tired at the end of the day
as they were using the side pack method.
This lessening of fatigue is due to the
natural, simple, short, hand, wrist, and
arm movements made in the rapid pack
system. No body motions are required,
but if used, they are very simple. In fact,
no significant physical effort is required
other than that associated with speed.
Under an incentive wage system the mat-
ter of speed is up to the packers' choosing

between the extra effort required and the
extra earnings to be obtained. If freedom
is assured the packer to set the pace,
there would appear to be no serious rea-
son for concern as to fatigue.

Packers occasionally race each other,
but proper management can usually pre-
vent this. If packers think they will soon
run out of fruit, they tend to overexert
themselves while fruit is available. Thus
fruit supply for all packers is an ex-
tremely important factor.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

for the rapid pack method

Storage at packstands

At best there is variation in the supply
of fruit by sizes to the packstands but
this variation can be materially modified
if there is storage in bins at the pack-
stands. Such storage has been standard
for the side pack operations. However, if
the old standard sizers with their bins
are properly rebuilt for rapid pack, the
storage space can be increased. Part of
the increase can come from the rollboard
and baffle systems, the designs for which
are extremely exacting.

When converting standard sizer and
bin units into a rollboard system for
rapid pack operation, design the ma-
chinery to:

• Deliver to the rollboard edge a row
or layer of fruit to be easily picked up.

• Allow individual fruits to roll
through an empty bin to the rollboard
edge, but never allow them to gain
enough momentum to roll over the edge.

• Provide for as much storage space
as possible.

The key to such storage is a baffle
system which will hold back a pile of
fruit and automatically allow a single
layer of fruit to roll out. The drawing on
page 6 shows such a baffle system.

Maintaining correct posture

Good posture for the packers is essen-
tial to the success of the rapid pack sys-

[5]

Baffle system for a rapid pack rollboard.
Slope in floor is 314 inches to a foot. The
longer baffle slows individual fruits and pre-
vents them from gaining a speed that will
carry them over the edge. The two baffles to-
gether hold back the pile and allow only one
layer to reach the rollboard edge. Wing nut
allows adjustment. Drop in rollboard floor pre-
vents fruit from wedging against the baffles.

Posture and positioning of rollboard, carton,
and fruit for rapid pack method. Rollboard
edge and carton top are just 41 inches above
the floor.

tern. The system encourages good posture
which, in turn, enables the packer to
work faster without strain.

The rapid pack method is designed to
keep the packers standing erect. Some tall
packers may have to stoop a little to fill
the bottom layer of a carton. In some in-
stallations it was noted that the cartons
were placed much too low, causing the
packers to stoop and resulting in strain.
To avoid such conditions arrange the
cartons so that:

• The packers' elbows will just swing-
clear of the carton edge when packer
stands naturally.

• No stoop is required except a mo-
mentary one for very tall packers when
filling the bottom row.

• The far edge of the carton and top
front edge of the rollboard are together
and at the same level.

• The rollboard edge is low enough so
that the packers' forearms need not work
at a slope greater than 15°.

These requirements leave little margin
for variation. The rollboard edge must
be about 41" above the floor and the near
edge of the carton about 38". (See
drawing above.)

Wrist alignment for packers is ex-
tremely important. When rollboard edges
are too high packers must stretch their
arms, wrists, and hands to reach the
fruit and this results in a condition illus-
trated on page 7.

In one packing house studied the roll-
boards were too high and the rate of
pack was no faster than that for the side
pack method. In fact the packers found
it so diffieult to reach the fruit they turned
their boxes and resumed the position
used in the side pack.

6]

s^

Packstand is too low. Stooping causes serious
strain and fatigue.

High rollboard edge makes it difficult for
packers to pick up fruit.

Sketch of wrist bones showing (top) normal position of the wrist, and (bottom) area where strain
occurs when reaching over high fruit stop on the rollboard edge.

[7]

Removing packed cartons

The above picture of a rapid pack
installation shows the most common
equipment for removing packed cartons.
Smoothed waxed boards are installed at
intervals reaching from the packstand
to a conveyor belt running behind the
packers. A space is provided in each
board for workers to pass. The packer
can push her packed carton easilv around
back to the conveyor.

Careful design as to level is required
so bottom flap edges will not catch. The
conveyor belt should, if possible, be below
the level of the packstand. Care must be
taken also as to the number of such
boards and the spacing between them; a
packer should always have one at hand,
on one side or the other, yet no more
should be installed than are needed.

A second method of removing packed
cartons is to install a conveyor belt below
the rollboard, back of the packstand. The
photo (right) shows such an installation.
The complication with the system is
placing the packstand so that it will be at
just the right height for packing and yet
allow space to move the packed carton
back under the rollboard to the conveyor.

Proper packstand positioning requires
that the edge of the carton next to the roll-
board be at the same level as the rollboard
top edge. In such an arrangement the roll-
board edge prevents the carton from be-
ing pushed back onto the conveyor.

Consequently a mechanism must be
provided for moving the carton. A trip
mechanism might drop the packstand a
few inches, thus allowing the carton to
be pushed back. Such a trip mechanism
appears simple but none has yet been
seen.

Spacing of packers and
supply of fruit

It is recommended that a minimum of
3 feet per packer be allowed along the
I packstand. Materially lower rates of pack
have been observed where there was
crowding among packers but there is no
reason to think that crowding had any
bearing on the differences listed in
table 1.

Where the supply of fruit fluctuates
materially, crowding of packers around
the peak sizes can limit the efficiency ob-
tainable. A better distribution of fruit
along the rollboard and among the pack-
ers would eliminate this problem.

There is no particular problem as to
p sizes, however — the problem is within a
given size of fruit. If there is only enough
fruit to keep one packer busy it should be
sent to one position only (as is now usu-
ally done) . The flow should be narrow
enough so that the packer will not have
to reach too far to one side.

Where there is enough fruit in a size
for two or more packers, the fruit should
be distributed in such a way that each
packer has enough room and that only

one end packer has the partial supply.
(This assumes a "pack-around" system
with each packstand position being taken
in rotation to equalize the opportunity for
maintaining rate of pack.)

It will be noticed in table 1 that House
A packed fruit in 1956, under the old
side pack, materially faster than the other
houses using the side pack. This differ-
ence was almost entirely due to the con-
stancy with which fruit was kept in front
of the packers. It is normal to find pack-
ers in these other houses idle part of the
time because of the fruit supply in the
bins being low. This lack of fruit rarely
happens at House A. The reasons for this
difference are largely matters of manage-
ment policy and apparently subject to
control. The relationships involved are
very complex, however, and will not be
discussed here.

It should also be noted that House A
has continued these policies as to supply
of fruit with the Rapid Pack and they
constitute one reason for the very high
rate of pack that now obtains. In fact the
policies are relatively more important
under Rapid Pack than they are under
the old pack.

FORMING AND HANDLING CARTONS

for the rapid pack method

While both House A and House B
- (table 1) used the rapid pack system of
packing, the packers in House A formed
their own cartons; those in House B had
the cartons delivered to them already
formed by someone else.

Both work-sampling and motion pic-
ture studies were made of these tasks in
House A. A standard work time of 19
seconds was established for forming and
handling. (In the studies the average
time came out to 18.6 seconds but when
some inexperienced people were included
in the tests and some crowding occurred,
the time went to 19.6 seconds.) A break-
down of the time required for the differ-
ent tasks is shown in table 3.

The average packer takes 7.8 seconds
to form her carton. This time includes
reaching for the flats. She takes a total
of 11.2 seconds to do the handling tasks.
The rates of the very fast packer (table
3) indicate what perfection in motions
will enable a worker to do. It may be
noted that at another packing house
(House D) packers appeared to have a
more consistently good procedure in
forming their cartons than those in
House A. They were judged to be faster,
although timing was not attempted.

An additional cost in time must be in-
cluded for the distribution of flats in
houses like House A. Since flats come in
bunches, usually of 20. constant attention

[9]

Table 3. Time required for carton
forming and handling

Task

Average
packer

One very
fast packer

Seconds

Carton forming

7.8

2.2

9.0

19.0

6.4

Fitting to packstand,
placing treated paper

After-packing tasks
(stamping, etc.)

2.2

7.7

TOTAL

16.3

This table shows the total time required for carton
forming and handling between the packing of two suc-
cessive cartons. The overall time accuracy for the aver-
age packer rests on a work sampling coverage of a total
of 2,551 cartons being packed under normal conditions.
The breakdown in time and the rates for the very fast
packer are based on motion picture studies. The study
of the very fast packer did not include the addition of
treated paper; time shown for her is assumed to be the
same as for average packer.

is not required. The responsibility is usu-
ally assigned to one man, who, however,
always has other responsibilities. Other
people often gave the matter some atten-
tion. An exact study was not possible, but
in House A with 2.000 cartons packed
daily, it was estimated that a total of two
hours was required. This calculates out
to 3.6 seconds per carton. Adding this
time to the standard time of 19 seconds
for forming and handling by the packer
gives a total carton forming and handling
time of 22.6 seconds. The figure, 3.6 sec-
onds, is included in the total time re-
quirement per carton (table 1) for
houses where packers form their own
cartons.

Time required by "formers" in House
B was established from the incentive
wage records. Over a full season the
time per carton averaged 13.8 seconds.
Phis time was for forming cartons, some-
times the inserting of treated paper, and
pushing the cartons down the chute.

The men who formed cartons in House
B were capable of considerable speed.
They averaged 10.1 seconds per carton
for one 11 -hour week. 10.6 seconds for

one 34-hour week, and 10.8 seconds for
one 39.5-hour week. Even then, however,
their time never equalled that of average
packers at House A, which was 7.8 sec-
onds per carton. The forming at House B
was in the chute; pushing it could take
only a moment, even though it required
some strength. When treated paper was
added, it also required but a moment.

The synchronization of formers with
the needs of packers is very difficult.
Much of the time the formers could not
be kept busy. The number of cartons re-
quired per week varied from 2,169 to
13,154. During one week the rate of
forming dropped to 20.2 seconds per car-
ton, simply because the packing was
slow.

At any given time, synchronization of
forming and packing is difficult. A solid
line of packers can empty a full chute
of formed cartons in about two minutes.
The former must maintain an exceptional
zeal if a full supply of formed cartons is
to be maintained for all packers.

Enough formers must be on hand to
take care of peak packing demands and
the incentive rate per carton must be
high enough to attract formers during
times of low demand. Thus costs cannot
be kept as low as when forming is a
minor task of the total packing job.

A further difficulty with forming car-
tons beforehand is that when formed
cartons are squeezed tightly in the chute
they are often difficult to get out. In
many instances the bottom flaps come
loose and more time is taken to fold them
in again than was needed to put them in
originally.

A further generalization but a very
pertinent one is that the interval between
the packing of two cartons, when used to
form a new carton, constitutes a com-
plete change in motion for the packer
and, as such, provides a moment of re-
laxation. This interval of change is quite
in contrast to the task of the specialized
former who does one simple task over
and over.

I KM

Supply of carton flats. Where the
cartons are formed by the packers, ob-
servations have shown that efficiency can
be gained in supplying flats by:

• Keeping the level of the feed line as
low as possible to prevent the strain of
reaching. (This may require lowering
the level of the packed carton conveyor,
then lowering the feed line to a point
where it just clears the top flaps of the
cartons on the conveyor.)

• Setting bunches of flats on the feed
lines in such a way that they can be
pulled out and formed without having
to be turned around. I sually this is done
by having the flaps pointed toward the
packers.

• Keeping a watchful eye on the feed
lines to make sure they are fully sup-
plied at all times.

Forming motions. Certain specific
procedures can be suggested for efficient
forming of cartons by packers.

• The packstand, the point where the
packed cartons are disposed of, the sup-
ply of carton flats, and the place for form-
ing should be close together.

• There must be a fixed, solid place
for forming the carton.

• The two carton halves can be fitted
together best by fitting the bottom half
into flaps of top — or by fitting flaps of
top half over the bottom half.

BACK BOARD

Packer in third sequence grasps ends of bottom flaps, squares them up and forms the

half — all in one motion.

[in

Any of the following sequences may be
used by packers working standing up,
and able to turn around easily:

1. Pull out the bottom half by the ends
of the end flaps; square the carton;
place carton butt-end down on the
solid surface; fold (push down) in
the end flaps (already being held
in hands) ; fold in side flaps, all in
one smooth motion. Pull out top
half; square it; fit its flaps down
over the bottom half in a second
single smooth motion. The whole is
then turned over, pushed together,
and fitted to the packstand. Or,

2. Pull out the top half by its end flaps;
square it and set it in the packstand.
Pull out bottom half by end flaps;
square it; set it down on a solid
place and push in flaps. Slide hands
to corner of the formed half, turn
it over and set it down between flaps
of top half; push it to the bottom
and fit whole to packstand. Or,

3. A third sequence is proposed and
may be used if a space of about 22
inches in height can be provided
above the bundle of bottom halves
so that these halves can be formed
right there. The packer then squares
up the bottom half (see drawing)
by grasping ends of end flaps and
twisting with hands. As half is
squared, end flaps can be pushed in
almost in the same motion; push in
side flaps and slide hands to corner
of the formed half and grasp it.
Turn with formed half and set it
down into flaps of top half (as in
2nd sequence).

To use third sequence, bottom halves must
be at right height so packer can use weight to
push in flaps.

This 3rd sequence differs from the 2nd
in that height of feed chute for bottom
halves must be close to 36 inches, other-
wise packer cannot use her weight when
pushing flaps; there must be a back-
board against which packer pushes to
form flaps. But no other "place"' is
needed for forming bottom halves, and
the packer saves time of setting down the
bottom halves to form them, and then
picking them up again.

SEATING THE PACKERS

requires adjustments in equipment

The possibility of seating packers has
been tested several times and the idea
has both advantages and disadvantages.
The packers found they could work just
as fast seated as when standing and, of

course preferred to work seated as it was
less tiresome. It is common to find
graders who had to give up packing be-
cause of the strain of standing: all dav

so

t is possible that if seating can be

[12

Diagrammatic outline of seating for rapid
pack. Note level of foot rest relative to the
floor.

made practical for packing, older ex-
perienced packers can be kept on the job
over a longer period of years. Such pack-
ers can do much to keep down costs.

On the other hand, seating packers
would require additional investment in
equipment and will decrease the ease with
which packers can move about.

Changes in equipment. Use of seats
requires that rollboards and cartons be
at exactly the right height and that the
cartons be sloped as shown in the draw-
ing.

The seat is actually only a partial seat
with just enough space for the buttocks
to catch hold. The packers' legs must
extend straight down at the same slope
as the carton side and right against the
carton. To keep the packers from slip-
ping off the seats, a foot rest must be
placed at exactly the right height for
each packer and must hold the feet firmly
in place.

The seat cushion must be resilient but
not slippery — a cushion which will allow

Experimental test of rapid pack with packers
seated. Note plywood to hold carton on the
packstand.

the packer to settle in 1 inch is advisable.
An adjustable back rest similar to those
used on "Secretary" chairs must be pro-
vided and should normally be from 4 to
6 inches back from the front edge of the
seat.

Rollboard and cartons must be at the
height specified for standing so that pack-
ers can stand at intervals for relaxation
and still continue to pack.

Foot rests should be movable so that

This shows how carton and legs are sloped at
same angle when packers are seated.

the packers can use them while seated
but push them out of the way when
standing. Also, taller and shorter packers
might have to take their foot rests with
them when moving to different stations
in the pack-around system because all of
the seats would be at a standard height.
Forming cartons while seated pre-
sents some problems. Delivery of the flats
involves using two conveyors — one for
tops and another for bottoms — or alter-
nating bundles of tops and bottoms on
one conveyor. The latter system would
require less room but would demand
very close attention from the person

keeping the feed lines supplied. The flats
must be arranged so they reach the pack-
et "s with the butts of the bottom halves
and the top flaps of the top halves facing
out.

A suggested sequence for forming car-
tons while seated is: Pull out bottom
flaps: turn butt of carton down and drop
onto packstand; square carton; push
flaps down and in.

Pull out top half by flaps; square up
carton; turn flaps down and fit over bot-
tom half. Turn whole carton over; fold
top and side flaps back as carton is fitted
into packstand.

TRAINING THE PACKERS

will pay off in efficiency

There is considerable difference in the
rate of pack among packers and undoubt-
edly some of this difference is in the
temperament and native ability of the
individuals. But there are also differences
that are due to faulty ways of doing
things- — ways that can be changed or
never allowed to develop if packers are
correctly trained in their work.

This is especially true if the training
can be given to new packers — it will be
difficult to break bad habits of long
standing in experienced packers.

might be de-

While some traini
sirable in the tasks of forming cartons,
stamping, use of treated paper, and re-
cording the pack, most of these routine
procedures will be learned quickly by the
packers from watching those alongside.

The various pack patterns take a few
days to learn, but two weeks' experience
seems to be sufficient to make these al-
most automatic.

Picking up fruit is one of the diffi-
culties of inexperienced packers. Train-
ing might help here.

t

thumb

fingers

B

t

weight balance

fruit

thumb

fingers

Contrast in methods of picking up fruit; A — with all fingers above middle of fruit,
and B — with fingers below.

[14]

Some packers have the ability to pick
up two fruits in one hand and this gives
them an advantage in speed over others.
Practice can be important in learning to
pick up two easily.

A flat, tight layer of fruit can be diffi-
cult to pick up; the fingers do not easily
reach under the fruit and occasionally
fingers have become sore from pushing
between the fruits.

The drawing on page 14 shows two
commonly used methods of picking up
fruit — the pressure grasp (A) and the
full hook grasp. In the pressure grasp all
fingers and the thumb are above the
largest circumference of the fruit and
pressure must be exerted to prevent the
fruit from slipping out of the hand. In
the full hook grasp fingers and thumb
are on the lower part of the fruit and no
pressure is required to hold it. Obviously,
the full hook method is less tiring. Two
measures can be suggested to help. The
rollboard recommended (see drawings
below ) has a "riser" at the edge and the
floor of the rollboard is flattened for

about four inches to reduce the pressure
on the first row of fruit behind. This fea-
ture, together with the low fruit stop, or
rollboard edge, makes it possible to pick
up the first row of fruit quite easily. The
second measure is to have beginners
watch experienced packers and see how
they fit their fingers around the fruits.
It is not simply a matter of pushing but
of watching for spaces between fruit and
of fitting fingers into these spaces. Alert-
ness in eye and practice in finding these
spaces can help a great deal.

Arm motions. Observations have
shown that usually one of four different
arm motions is used; two hands in uni-
son, one hand alone, hands alternating,
or an arm sweep. Using two hands in
unison is undoubtedly the fastest method,
but a variation in arm methods is recom-
mended to reduce fatigue.

The use of one hand alone should be
avoided except when it is necessary to
use the other hand to hold fruit in posi-
tion to build a pattern in the carton. The
alternating motion is very fast at times,

Left — how packer should get her fingers
between fruits in a solid layer. Above, leaning
over the fruit is an unnecessary exertion and
can be avoided.

[15]

Standing on one leg is awkward and leads
to fatigue. Tall women should wear flat heels
and short women should wear elevator shoes.

but usually results in only one fruit be-
ing picked up at a time whereas using
two hands in unison seems to make it
more practical to pick up two fruits in
each hand.

In the arm sweep method the packer
simply leans over and encircles a dozen
or so fruit with her arm, then sweeps
them over the edge into the box. While
fast, this method tempts the packer not to
arrange the fruit in the desired pattern
and may also lead to damaged fruit.
Some packing houses prohibit the prac-
tice. Its proper use seems to depend on
supervision by management and a sense
of responsibility by the packers.

Posture. A prime purpose of the
rapid pack system is to enable the pack-
ers to stand or sit erect while working,
and thus reduce strain and fatigue. Draw-
ings on pages 15 and 16 show two bad
habits followed by packers. While bad
posture habits may be extremely difficult
to break in the more experienced packers,
management (and workers) would both
benefit greatly by training new packers
in good posture.

RAPID PACK BAGGING

has worked well in trials

Mechanical equipment for bagging
has long been available and considered
satisfactory for large-scale operations
working over long periods of time, but
where the use of bags is intermittent or
on a small scale, the operation has usu-
ally been performed by hand. Doing the
job by hand has been slow and inefficient.

The following are suggestions for ma-
chinery and procedures that could be
adapted to the rapid pack rollboard
equipment for small-scale bagging of
many kinds of fruit when desired. The
recommendations made are based on
trials with experimental machinery, none
of which is currently available commer-
cially.

Rapid pack bagging equipment may
be used in conjunction with a rapid pack
rollboard. The fruit on the rollboard is
at a convenient height for efficient opera-
tion and can be rolled down through a
slot, directly into the bag. The equipment
needed is not expensive, but its design is
quite specific. (See drawing page 17.)

The drawings on page 18 show the se-
quence of motions for bagging fruit. The
packers can maintain a comfortable pos-
ture and stretching is reduced to a mini-
mum.

The empty bags are laid in bundles
on the machine board. A new bag is
always at fingertips, ready to be opened
and fitted over the bag mouth holder. It
need only be moved about 3 inches.

[16]

Plan view of bagging equipment. A — rollboard of rapid pack equipment; B — rollboard edge
with opening at F; C — packstand; D — bag holding machine; E — bag ready to be fitted over gate;
F — gate or bag mouth holder; G — sealing equipment; H — bagged fruit in container. The bag
holding machine was designed and built by Haruo Najima, former Assistant Specialist in the
Agricultural Experiment Station, Los Angeles.

Drawing of side view of bag holding machine. Note the
bundle of new bags lying underneath the bag being filled.

[17]

CLOSES BAG AT
CLOSING UNIT

t

Sequence of motion activities in bagging fruit.

[18]

The bag mouth holder and the gate
are the same device. When the gate is
opened the fruit can roll through into the
bag; when closed, the same device pre-
vents fruit from rolling through.

The bag filling machine (as shown in
the drawing on page 17) would be sup-
ported at one end by the rollboard and
at the other by legs. The length of the
legs should be adjustable so the slope of
the filling machine can be changed — the
tighter the fill wanted, the steeper the
slope should be. Some testing of tightness
of fill (and hence slope) will be required
to determine just what management
wants, but it should be kept in mind that
the bag of fruit is given a final settling
as it is taken off the mouth holder and
lifted for closing.

As the bag is being filled its bottom
end rests against a cleat set crossways.
The cleat prevents the fruit from pulling
the bag off its holder when the fruit hits
the bottom of the bag.

The bag mouth holder shown in the
photo has a thin plywood board for its
lower side and a wire frame for its top
and movable side, but a plastic material
molded into a rounded form would be
better for both sides. The inside surfaces
should be smooth and nonabrasive; the
outside surfaces should not be slippery
but should hold the bag securely. A
clamp to aid in holding the bag might be
built into the lower side and should be
actuated with the opening and closing of
the gate.

When a bag is full and the gate is
closed, the gate may come to rest on top
of fruit which was held back by that in
the bag. Thus care must be exercised in
design of the gate so that there will be
no chance of damage to the fruit. Also,
the mouth of the gate must be flexible
enough so that a single fruit will not hold
the mouth open and let other fruit roll
by.

Fruit being counted into bag of prototype
machine.

Prototype bagging machine with bag being
fitted over bag mouth holder.

Bag closing

If a simple band or tie is used to close
the bags, the bagging machine described
offers an ideal position for holding the
bag as it is closed. As the bag is released
from the mouth holder, the bag top can
be drawn together and fastened. The ties
or clasps could be held in a small box
near the closing mechanism.

If heat-sealing or stapling are used,
both hands would lift the bag from the
bag mouth holder, into the sealing mech-
anism, then lower the sealed bag into the
container.

Design and manufacture

As stated, the equipment proposed
here will require a degree of exactness
in design. A different size bag holder
will be required for each bag size and
since various manufacturers offer bags
in different dimensions and materials it
would seem desirable that each build his
own gate and bag mouth holder. These
could be sold or leased as an adjunct to

the sale of bags. The same might apply
to closing units.

Bagging at wholesale or retail

Where the operation is of sufficient
size, the machinery and procedures out-
lined here could be adapted to wholesale
or even retail locations that could pro-
vide a rollboard or circulating belt. If
fruit is shipped in bulk bins, the bins
could be emptied directly onto the roll-
board.

Co-operative Extension work in Agricullure and Home Economics, College of Agriculture, University of California, and United Stales Department of Agriculture
co-operating. Distributed in furtherance oi the Vets of Congress of Maj 8, and June 30, 1914. George B. Vlcorn, Director, California Agricultural Extension Service.

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