Manual Cartoning Is Quietly Increasing Overtime Costs in Food Factories
Alyssa/ January 3, 2026 Return
In many food factories, overtime has become normal.
Orders need to go out.
Deadlines are tight.
And when the day shift is not enough,
the night shift takes over.
But one part of the line struggles the most at night.
Cartoning.Get A Quote
Why Cartoning Suffers More Than Other Processes During Overtime
In food factories, most upstream processes are machine-driven.
Mixing, baking, sealing —
they run the same way day or night.
Cartoning is different.
It often depends on people,
especially during secondary packaging
after individual packs are finished.
And when people are tired,
cartoning performance changes fast.Get A Quote
What Fatigue Looks Like at the Cartoning Stage
Overtime does not just mean longer hours.
It changes how work is done.Get A Quote
Speed drops after long shifts
As hours extend:
- Movements slow down
- Coordination weakens
- Output per hour falls
The line is running,
but actual productivity is much lower.Get A Quote
Mistakes increase quietly
Fatigue leads to:
- Missed packs
- Inconsistent box loading
- More rechecks and corrections
These issues may not stop the line,
but they reduce efficiency step by step.Get A Quote
Supervision pressure goes up
At night or during extended shifts:
- Fewer managers are present
- Problems take longer to fix
- Small issues turn into delays
Cartoning becomes the hardest process
to keep stable after hours.Get A Quote
How Overtime Turns Into Hidden Cost
Many factories look at overtime as a necessary expense.
But manual cartoning adds extra layers of cost.Get A Quote
More hours, not more output
Even with overtime pay:
- Output does not rise proportionally
- Cost per carton increases
- Labor efficiency drops
Factories pay more
but get less back.Get A Quote
Safety and compliance risk increases
Fatigued manual work increases:
- Injury risk
- Handling mistakes
- Process deviations
These risks are hard to predict
and expensive to deal with afterward.Get A Quote
Why This Problem Keeps Coming Back
Most factories respond by:
- Adding more overtime
- Rotating workers
- Increasing supervision
These steps help temporarily.
But the root issue stays the same:
Manual cartoning relies on people staying sharp during long hours.
That is not realistic over time.Get A Quote
How a Cartoning Machine Changes Night and Overtime Operations
Here we are talking about secondary packaging —
cartoning after individual packs,
with no direct contact with food.
This makes it the safest and easiest stage
to reduce manual labor during overtime.Get A Quote
Output stays consistent across shifts
- Same speed day or night
- Less performance drop during long hours
Fewer people are needed on late shifts
- Smaller teams
- Less fatigue accumulation
- Easier shift planning
Overtime becomes a backup, not a habit
- Less reliance on extended hours
- More predictable daily output
It’s not about eliminating overtime completely.
It’s about not depending on tired labor to keep the line running.Get A Quote
A Question Worth Thinking About
How much of your overtime cost
comes from trying to keep cartoning stable?
If night shifts and long hours are becoming routine,
should cartoning still depend so heavily on people?
For many food factories,
this is where reducing manual cartoning
starts to control cost and risk at the same time.Get A Quote
| Industry | Factory Type | Production Scenario | Main Pain Point | Solution Keyword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | Biscuit / Snack Factory | Overtime & Night Shifts | Labor fatigue and rising overtime cost | Automatic Cartoning Machine |
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