Dunnage Air Bag FAQ
1.What are Dunnage Air Bags?
Dunnage Air Bags are paper bags made up of 5 plys (layers) of paper. They come with an internal inflatable Polyethylene Bladder. They are an innovative and efficient blocking and bracing tool.
2.What are they used for?
Dunnage Air Bags are best used to control movement of cargo loads in railcars, trucks, or overseas containers. They manage the movement of cargo by bracing loads, filling voids, protecting cargo from in-transit damage, and absorbing vibrations. Dunnage Air Bags protect cargo better than any other form of bracing ("dunnaging").
3.How has cargo been braced in the past?
Loads have long been braced by using a combination of empty cardboard cartons, 2 x 4's, and pallets. Shipments which included fragile goods as part of the overall load required stair-stepping standard freight back-to or away-from the fragile freight.
4.What are some of the benefits of using Dunnage Air Bags?
Dunnage Air Bags are a more economical alternative for bracing and blocking cargo than using other more costly methods such as rubber air bags or lumber and nails.
5.What benefits does the shipper reap from using Air Bags?
With ever-changing and constantly rising operating costs, the trucking industry is an ongoing fight for survival. With insurance premiums continuously on the rise, taxes and fuel costs souring, and wage increases and discounts continuing to consume the bottom line, operating improvements must be made to sustain profit margins. Air Bags will have the largest impact on the load factor (a carrier's single greatest expense). One of the main goals of the shipping quality process is to advance organizational productivity. Time lost installing Air Bags will be saved at the destination terminals because the carrier can do away with the "Re's"(Re-working Restacking, Re-shrink-wrapping, Recouping, and Re-banding the load). Consequently, more efficient use of container space can be made at the same time.
6.How is this accomplished?
Air Bags allow double and triple-decking of skids, and stair-stepping can be done away with. Air Bags allow for fragile freight to be loaded anywhere in the trailer. To achieve maximum cube utilization skids can be double or triple-decked and air-bagged either in front of or behind (or both) the fragile freight. Since using Air Bags will allow normal loading behind the fragile freight, doing away with the need for stair-stepping improves the load factor and lowers the transportation or line-haul.
7.What are the effects of shifting loads and damaged freight?
Customer satisfaction is the primary and greatest effect. Undoubtedly when a customer receives damaged freight they are going to be unhappy. Valuable time is wasted at destination terminals putting the damaged freight back together. The need for "Re's" hinder customer relations and negatively affect dock production.
8.What are the most common causes of freight damage?
The most frequent causes of freight damage are associated with double and triple decked skids bouncing and freight falling forward to backward during transit.
9.Can Dunnage Bags be damaged during filling?
Dunnage Bags can burst due to over-inflation and can also be cold burned. Each bag contains a label located near the valve indicating suggested pressure. However, correctly following simple inflation check points with eliminate these issues.
10.Do Dunnage Bags require any type of protection?
To ensure product integrity, it is crucial for a corrugated or some other type of smooth surface be placed on either side of the Dunnage Bag to protect it from anything sharp such as pallets, wooden crates, or other rough edges.
11.What can be done to utilize Dunnage Bags if void exceeds maximum recommended void?
Should this condition arise, reduce unusually large voids with some type of void filler such as old pallets or corrugated.
12.Is a re-usable bag available?
Yes, however, our concerns with selling re-usable bags are:
1.We have no control over how a bag is used. Therefore, we cannot guarantee how many times it can be used.
2.The re-usable air bags are a more costly option.
3.Most customers do not have enough control to get the bags returned. Therefore, they pay for a bag with the intentions of re-using it but do not actually get to.
4.To release the air, many times a bag will be punctured. This renders the bag unusable. We offer labels for the air bags which read "Re-usable Bag DO NOT Puncture."
13.How do I determine what size Dunnage Air Bag I need?
1.Measure the length of the pallets or whatever you are trying to restrain.
2.Measure distance from floor to top of load
3.Measure void between cargo
14.What equipment is needed to inflate Dunnage Bags?
1.Air gauge
2.Inflator tool
3.Compressed air from an air compressor