UK military packaging requirements – An essential guide

If your business supplies products directly or indirectly to the defence sector, it is vital that you have a solid understanding of UK military packaging requirements.

But what information do you require to pack military goods?

UK military packaging requirements include adherence to defence standards (def stan 81-41). Packaging suppliers must also hold the MPAS (Military Packager Accreditation Scheme) certification. Extensive testing, alongside information including Nato Stock number, size and weight, Primary Packaging Quantity (PPQ) and contract number, is also required.

This article provides you with all of the relevant requirements for your defence packaging, including:

• Requirements of your packaging supplier.
• Levels of military packaging, including information on def stan 81-41.
• A checklist of required information when sourcing military-grade packaging.
• Additional considerations and requirements.

Due to the complexities and specialist knowledge required to produce military packaging, packaging suppliers themselves must be certified to the appropriate standards.

From July 2012, any company supplying Military Level Packaged products to the MoD must ensure their packager complies with the Military Packager Accreditation Scheme (MPAS). Designed around the needs of the MoD, this updated accreditation scheme replaces the existing Defence Pkg DR/14 requirements for packaging design for the defence industries.

The MOD created MPAS to ensure that the design and production of military-level packaging meets the relevant defence standards, making packaging safe for handling, transit and storage within the military supply chain.

Besides being MPAS certified, military packaging suppliers must work to a detailed set of defence standards.

Defence standard 81-41 is that which applies specifically to packaging. These standards result from the MOD outlining the requirements of packaging to protect goods against deterioration and physical and mechanical damage. The standard sets out six parts. It mainly focuses on environmental conditions to preserve items during storage, general handling and distribution, or rail, road, sea and air transit.

The six parts of Defence Standard 81-41 are:

• Part 1: Introduction to defence packaging requirements.
• Part 2: Design.
• Part 3: Environmental testing.
• Part 4: Service packaging instruction sheet (SPIS).
• Part 5: Production processes.
• Part 6: Package markings.

Certified packaging companies design military containers for specific requirements to suit the demands of the contract. The design is called a Services Packaging Instruction Sheet (SPIS).

A SPIS is, therefore, essentially a guide to maintaining, cleaning and packing military equipment. An SPIS is only required for military packaging.

Often, the SPIS will dictate the use of a specific material – such as a single wall, solid fibreboard carton traditionally used for small items that are sealed in a polythene envelope within the carton.

A DEFORM 129A is a document a packaging supplier can request to see the current status of an SPIS design, whether one exists, or even discover if a Standard Family Specification (SFS) has been used against the item being packaged.

A DEFORM 129A can also simultaneously request authorisation to send a copy or update the existing SPIS, switch to an SFS instead, or produce a new SPIS design.

In accordance with the Ministry of Defence Standard 81-41, there are three common packing levels for preservation:

• J – for items which may be stored anywhere in the world, within any climatic condition, for up to 2 years.
• N – for items which could also be stored anywhere in the world, in non-climatic conditions (clean and dry), for up to 5 years.
• P – Similar to commercial packaging and can be designated to items which need to be stored for up to 5 years but only in normal storage conditions.

Depending on the items you need to be packaged and stored will determine which type of packaging will be required.

Having identified the relevant product info and packaging level for preservation, you’ll need to provide various information to your MPAS packaging provider.

The information required to pack military goods typically includes:

• A Nato stock number (NSN) is a 13-digit, unique identification number allocated to every item that the Ministry of Defence (and most other military forces) uses.
• The name and description of the item which is going to be packaged.
• Which department of the Ministry of Defence (Army, Navy or RAF) is responsible.
• The manufacturer’s part number.
• Size and weight of the items.
• Primary Package Quantity (PPQ).
• If the MOD is likely to keep your item in storage, and for how long.
• Your items’ fragility factor.
• Your items’ level of resistance to g-force.
• Your items’ centre of gravity (this can be essential for safe lifting and loading during transportation).

It is essential also to consider several other elements of your military packaging, especially for large or complex items.

Labels must also comply with Part 6 of defence standard 81-41. However, You can find certain materials used in labelling under different standards – both def stan 75-3 and def stan 80-132.

You must safeguard external paper labels using either a waterproof and transparent strip of tape with pressure-sensitive adhesive or a layer of adhesive emulsion and polyvinyl acetate.

Other labels, such as IPSM15, already exist for pallets, whereby the wood is heat-treated to allow you to ship goods between countries.

The decision on whether military packaging necessitates handles or lifting aids rests with the designer and will be contingent upon the characteristics of the item(s).

Suitable handling equipment is necessary when items are excessively heavy for manual lifting.

Guidelines from the Ministry of Defence (Defence Standard 81-041 Part 1, Section 5.5 b) stipulate that packaging design should facilitate reuse and/or recovery whenever feasible to reduce the environmental impact of packaging waste. Nonetheless, for specific items, reusing packaging may not be practical.