ISTA Testing Laboratory Certification Portal
ISTA Lab Certification Portal
PackSight Demo, Benefits and Getting Started
The ISTA and Specright team conducted a live demo of PackSight, a new online test planning and reporting platform for ISTA test procedures. Webinar held May 12, 2020. Click here for the answers to the Q&A portion of the demo.
PackSight Demo of ISTA 6-Amazon SIOC Test and Tips & Tricks
The ISTA and Specright team conducted a live demo of PackSight and the ISTA 6-Amazon SIOC Test. Webinar held July 23, 2020.
Click here for the answers to the Q&A portion of the demo!
ISTA Update: July 28, 2020
Learn about what's happening at ISTA! Check out an update on our packaging community from Greg Batt, Chair of ISTA's Global Board of Directors.
ISTA Update: September 21, 2020
Greg Batt, Chair of ISTA’s Global Board of Directors shares an update about what’s happening with ISTA’s packaging community. Check it out to learn more!
Introduction to ISTA
Learn about the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) and the benefits we offer to packaging, transportation, and supply chain professionals world-wide.
Supplier Uses PackSight in the Lab to Save Time and Ramp Up Testing Volume
Advance Packaging Corporation took us in the lab to share how they've been using PackSight to save time and ramp up testing volume. The ISTA and Specright team provided more helpful tips, platform updates and concluded with a Q&A session. Webinar held November 18, 2020. Click here for the answers to the Q&A portion of the webinar!
Major Brand Uses PackSight to Improve their e-Commerce Strategies & Custom Test Builder Feature
The ISTA and Specright team conducted a live demo of PackSight, a new online test planning and reporting platform for ISTA test procedures. Click here to view the webinar Q&As. February 25, 2021
PackSight Updates & New Custom Test Builder Feature Coming Soon
The ISTA and Specright team recently held a live demo of PackSight at the 2021 Virtual ISTA Forum. The demo included an overview of the new tool and platform updates. March 31, 2021
Laboratory Techniques to Simulate Dunnage Used in the LTL Distribution Environment Webinar
Eric Hiser, Vice President of Standards & Certification, ISTA
Kyle Dunno, Assistant Professor, RIT – Packaging Science Program
Jim Bisha, Manager - Packaging Optimization, Chainalytics LLC
Brennan Lytle, Research Associate, Clemson University
Dunnage materials are widely used in the less than truckload (LTL) shipping environment, due to the wide array of freight handled on a daily basis. While the dunnage is designed to restrict the motion of freight, in doing so, it can sometimes damage the freight as a result of certain events (shocks and vibration hazards) occurring during shipment. The premier transport test standard for simulating general LTL transport is ISTA Procedure 3B. This standard exposes packaged products, both individual and unitized, to different transport hazards commonly experienced by this mode of transport. While the test standard challenges the freight to different laboratory simulated hazards, missing from the standard is the interaction between freight and dunnage material. It was this identified gap that led to the formation of a workgroup to investigate the interaction during shock and vibration events. This webinar provides an overview of the workgroups progress towards development of a test method(s) including investigate work conducted at university partners RIT and Clemson.
ISTA Update: May 27, 2021
Learn about what's happening at ISTA! Check out an update on our packaging community from Greg Batt, Chair of ISTA's Global Board of Directors.
Frustration-Free Packaging Programs at Amazon: Status and Update
Sabrina Burkhardt, Customer Packaging Experience (CPEX) Lab Manager, Amazon
This webinar highlights the Frustration-Free Packaging Programs’ impact in delighting customers through reducing product damage rates and packaging waste. Beginning with a recap of the development and importance of the ISTA 6-Amazon.com SIOC test, this presentation will provide an overview of both successes and learnings from our original Non-Sort Incentive program and what’s coming next: The Frustration-Free Packaging Programs Incentive Expansion, announced June 1, 2021 for North America. After a walkthrough of the 2021 incentive program, we will close with several case studies from brand owners that have redesigned their packaging to be easy-to-open, 100% recyclable, and can be shipped without adding protective packaging.
Build Custom Tests with PackSight!
Eric Hiser, Vice President of Standards & Certification, ISTA
Katie Exum, Product Success Manager, Specright
Jill Kurpershoek, Senior Marketing Associate, Specright
The ISTA and Specright team share a live demo of PackSight’s powerful new custom test builder feature that makes it easy for you to customize a test specific to your distribution chain. This webinar also covered new enhancements to the tool’s reporting and delivery capabilities, including adding hi-res photos, videos and online password protected reporting links you can share with your team and customers. Q&A session included. ISTA's PackSight, powered by Specright is an online test planning and reporting platform for ISTA test procedures.
ISTA Update: September 30, 2021
Learn about what's happening at ISTA! Check out an update on our packaging community from Greg Batt, Chair of ISTA's Global Board of Directors.
ISTA Pharma Committee Technical Exchange Session 1
The ISTA Pharma Committee hosted its annual Technical Exchange in October in two virtual meetings. In this first session, the Pharma Committee provided an update to the industry on the committee’s latest activities including a glossary of terms and development of guidance documents. Meeting was held on October 5, 2021. Link to session 2.
Click here to access a pdf of the Session 1 presentation.
ISTA Pharma Committee Technical Exchange Session 2
The ISTA Pharma Committee hosted its annual Technical Exchange in October in two virtual meetings. In this second session, the Pharma Committee discussed the latest industry trends along with ISTA Standard 20 and 7E. Meeting was held on October 12, 2021. Link to session 1.
Click here to access a pdf of the Session 2 presentation.
The Evolution of Omnichannel in Pandemic Society
The following webinar was presented as part of the 2021 ISTA Omni-Channel Packaging Strategies Webinar Series.
Amanda Lai
Food Retail Practice Leader
McMillanDoolittle
Amanda Lai, Food Retail Practice Leader at McMillanDoolittle, presented current research on consumer shopping behaviors during 2021. She also presented case examples of how brands, retailers and service providers have responded with new omni-channel offerings and provided a point of view on outlook for 2022 and beyond.
The Evolution of Packaging: Leveraging Testing and Data to Cater to Emerging Markets & Trends
The following webinar was presented as part of the 2021 ISTA Omni-Channel Packaging Strategies Webinar Series.
Jonathan Quinn
Director of Market Development & Sustainability
Pregis LLC
Damon Lucenta
Packaging Manager
Pregis
It’s a whole new world out there. Supply chain and fulfillment are looking vastly different than they did just two years ago. E-commerce, labor shortages, sustainability, and raw materials are reshaping the packaging needs of customers. Join Pregis as they share strategies and tactics to better solve the business challenges of today – and tomorrow.
The Robots Are Coming! Packaging Design for the Post-Pandemic E-com World
The following webinar was presented as part of the 2021 ISTA Omni-Channel Packaging Strategies Webinar Series.
Brent Lindberg
Founder / Head of Curiosity
Fuseneo
Rapid e-commerce growth in combination with labor shortages and sustainability pressure has led to increased automation and demands on packaging. Brent Lindberg will be sharing some useful e-commerce packaging guidelines as well as automation considerations for your next packaging project!
New ISTA Tests, Research, and Resources
The following webinar was presented as part of the 2021 ISTA Omni-Channel Packaging Strategies Webinar Series.
Eric Hiser
Vice President of Standards and Certification
ISTA
New ISTA Tests, Research, and Resources
ISTA continues to deliver on its vision of being the leading resource for improving our world through transport packaging globally. As part of that vision, ISTA has created a “Distribution Environment Data Collection Program” to improve current testing protocols, add new testing protocols, and create a world-class data repository that can be leveraged by ISTA, and its members, to better model distribution locally, nationally, and internationally.
Updates will be provided on ISTA’s research projects currently underway in the European Union and China as well as high-level results of observational data captured within several e-commerce retailers in North America. Further, summary results from India research will be shared along with other newly developed test methods that address load stability.
Additionally, learn how ISTA, in partnership with Specright, has transformed the way package testing is performed with PackSight a new online test planning and reporting platform. PackSight not only improves efficiencies by automating test calculations, but it also brings visibility to stakeholders across the supply chain by easily sharing unique password protected web-based final test reports. Beyond that, newly released functionality allows you to build a custom test based upon your supply chain or company needs.
Gain insights on all the new resources ISTA is developing that will help you and your company design effective packaging that minimizes product damage and optimizes resource usage.
Thank You and Happy Holidays!
A 2021 message from A.J. Gruber, ISTA President & CEO.
Impact of a Non Constant Acceleration Pressure on the Toppling of a Load
Baptiste Boutrige
Researcher
METROPACK
During transport, the acceleration phenomenon is very important, and damages can occur on the carried products because of that. This is a thing we want avoid. It's important to understand how this phenomenon happened to can control and limit these impacts. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a non constant acceleration pressure on the toppling of a load and more especially the impact of the acceleration. The study of the pair acceleration-application time of this acceleration will be made because different pair can have the same impact.
An implementation of Machine Learning for Packaging Evaluation
Euihark Lee
Assistant Professor
Michigan State University School of Packaging
The packaging evaluation is one of the important processes to ensure the functionality of packages. When a new package is produced, the new package goes through the evaluation process to certify the package performance. Many different evaluation methods have been developed over the last few decades, and package evaluation using mechanical tests have been used widely. The goal of mechanical testing is to simulate the environment that the package will face during distribution and consumer usage. However, mechanical testing is a very costly and time-consuming process.
To resolve these issues, we are introducing several packaging evaluation methods using machine learning algorithms. Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) and it can learn and improve performance automatically without being explicitly programmed. In this presentation, two different machine learning applications will be introduced for the packaging evaluation purpose. The first application is estimating box compression strength using a machine learning algorithm, especially an artificial neural network. The next application is evaluating package failure using consumer reviews in the e-commerce platform. The proof of concept through the proposed methods will be discussed with case studies.
Correlation Between Horizontal Acceleration Testing and Tilt Testing for Load Stability
Enrique de la Cruz Navarro
R&D Manager
Safe Load Testing Technologies
Transport simulation is the knowledge area which reproduces the effects of the transport hazards. The accelerations produced during transport affects the transported goods. The onboard acceleration effects could modify the load stability and it could become a risk on the road. Different techniques for transport simulation are used to evaluate the load stability subjected to those forces produced during distribution. Two of these techniques are the horizontal stability test and the tilt test. The horizontal stability test produces an acceleration trapezoidal transient equivalent to the transient recorded on transport vehicles on emergency braking situations, meanwhile the tilt test inclines the test sample using the gravity. The regulations from some countries, like U.S.A, Canada, European Union, New Zealand, Australia, and some others fix the minimum acceleration, in which a load should hold on to road transport for safety reasons. Enrique will share the requirements and boundary limits for a tilt test suitable to evaluate the stability of a unit load subjected to an emergency braking of a vehicle and the considerations that must be considered in the unit load to be analyzed and compare the results with the deformation obtained in a horizontal stability test.
Mega Trends and the Impact on Packaging to 2026
Adam Page
Director of Research and Reports
Smithers
A high-level view of the major developments impacting on packaging and an outlook for growth over the next five years based on extensive research across the value chain:
- Headline market overview
- Changing consumer habits and the “new normal”
- Sustainability drivers for packaging
- Impact of supply chain disruptions
- Growth in E-commerce
- Interconnectivity/smart technologies
- Five-year outlook for packaging
Happy Spring Festival by ISTA China Division
The ISTA China Division sincerely wishes everyone a Happy Spring Festival!
ISTA Pharma Committee Technical Exchange
The ISTA Pharma Committee hosted a special Technical Exchange to continue the industry discussion on how to shape the future of ISTA Standard 20 and 7E as well as review and vote on the next committee activity topics. Meeting was held on February 8th, 2022.
Other links:
PDF of this session presentation: Click here
Session 1 held on October 5th, 2021: Click here
Session 2 held on October 12th, 2021: Click here
2022 ISTA Forum | TransPack & TempPack | San Diego, CA
We had a fantastic time hosting the 2022 ISTA Forum, including TransPack & TempPack events April 11-13 in San Diego, California! Check out the video to learn more.
Join us in Houston, Texas! We are pleased to announce we'll be hosting the 2023 ISTA Forum, May 1-3 at the beautiful Marriott Marquis Houston!
Hear from PackSight User
Watch the video and learn what one of our users has to say about the platform, from how often he uses it, to the time savings he's realized.
PackSight Demo & Learn How a Major Brand is Using PackSight
The ISTA and Specright team share a live demo and overview of how PackSight can be used to improve accuracy, save time and promote test team & stakeholder communication for both existing and custom ISTA test procedures. Learn more about PackSight’s Custom Test Builder, brand new global regional vibration profiles and hear some helpful tips and tricks. Plus a top consumer packaged goods company shares how their packaging team is using PackSight in the lab to improve their e-Commerce go-to-market speed and strategies. Webinar held August 10, 2022.
ISTA Pharma Committee Technical Exchange Fall 2022
The ISTA Pharma Committee hosted its annual Technical Exchange on September 7th. Discussion topics included an update on the Pharma Committee's progress, a review of the Thermal Shipping System: Performance Qualification (PQ) and Performance Verification (PV) Best Practice Guideline, what's next for the Pharma Committee and a general open discussion.
Click here to access a pdf of the Session.
Live Demo & Time Saving Features
The ISTA and Specright team held a live demo of PackSight providing an overview of how PackSight can be used to improve accuracy, save time, and promote test team & stakeholder communication for both existing and custom ISTA test procedures. Webinar held March, 2023. Watch now.
2023 ISTA Forum | TransPack & TempPack | Houston, Texas
We had a fantastic time hosting the 2023 ISTA Forum, including TransPack & TempPack events on May 1-3 in Houston, Texas! Check out the video and photo gallery to see highlights!
JOIN US IN SAN DIEGO!
Save the date for the 2024 ISTA Forum to be held April 22-24 at the beautiful Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. We hope you can join us!
ISTA Pharma Committee 'Connect': ISTA PCW-01
ISTA Pharma Committee 'Connect' Virtual Meeting
ISTA PCW-01 | Lane Management Whitepaper
February 6th, 2024
Arminda Montero of AbbVie and Karen Greene of Network Partners, the Co-Leads of the ISTA Pharma Committee Lane Management Working Group, shared key aspects of the ISTA PCW-01 | Lane Management Whitepaper.
ISTAEF Dave LeButt Award 2024 Sam Sheppard Fidler
The ISTA Educational Foundation (ISTAEF) has honored Sam Sheppard Fidler of Smithers with the 2024 R. David LeButt Award. This prestigious award recognizes packaging professionals for their exceptional contributions to education in transport packaging. Sam shared his acceptance through a video, which was showcased at the 2024 ISTA Forum in San Diego, California.
All About ISTA
The International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) is a member-based nonprofit that empowers organizations, and their people, to minimize product damage throughout distribution and optimize resource usage through effective package design. Worldwide, ISTA is the most trusted, knowledgeable and respected authority in predictive package-performance testing and design standards, helping its members develop more effective packaging to withstand the ever-changing risks of the global distribution environment. For more information, visit www.ista.org.
