"""
Knowledge about spoilage management and waste reduction in packaging production.
"""

title = "Spoilage and Waste Management"

content = """
Spoilage (waste) reduction directly impacts profitability and environmental
performance. Understanding spoilage sources and implementing reduction
strategies improves operational efficiency.

**Spoilage Categories:** Makeready waste occurs during press setup: plate
mounting, color matching, and registration establishment. Running waste
includes defects detected during production: color drift, print defects,
structural failures. Finishing waste results from die cutting errors,
gluing failures, and folding problems. Overruns produce extra copies beyond
the ordered quantity to cover anticipated spoilage.

**Industry Benchmarks:** Well-run packaging operations target spoilage rates
of 5-8% for offset, 8-12% for flexography, and 3-5% for digital printing.
These benchmarks vary by job complexity, run length, and substrate. Long
production runs amortize makeready waste; short runs incur higher percentage
waste. Tracking spoilage by category identifies improvement priorities.

**Reduction Strategies:** Standardized makeready procedures minimize setup
waste. Pre-make-ready systems prepare jobs offline. Color management reduces
proofing cycles. Inline inspection catches defects early, preventing continued
production of bad material. Proper storage and handling prevent substrate
damage. Operator training improves first-pass success rates.

**Waste Handling and Recycling:** Trim waste, rejected sheets, and setup
materials enter recycling streams. Paper and board are highly recyclable,
often returning to the same supplier for repulping. Ink and solvent waste
requires hazardous material handling procedures. Landfill diversion goals
drive zero-waste-to-landfill initiatives.

**Economic Analysis:** True spoilage cost includes material, labor, machine
time, and disposal. Tracking spoilage costs by job, customer, and product
type reveals systemic issues. Investment in quality systems (inspection,
training, automation) typically delivers strong ROI through spoilage reduction.
"""

version = "0.0.1"
