Packaging and crating specification

At a glance

Practice guidance on museum packing principles, not a standard. Partner workshops state their own methods. Glass lighting: see the glass chandelier sheet.

Six decisions a packing specification settles

A packing specification is shorter than people expect. It settles six things, and the museum world, which has thought hardest about moving finished objects, gives a sound order for them. The Canadian Conservation Institute’s note on safe shipment (CCI Notes 20/3, 2021) starts from the object and the route, then reduces the object’s susceptibility, for example by disassembling complex items, then protects it close to the surface with primary packaging, then cushions it on all sides, and only then chooses the crate, which it calls the first line of defence. It says the cushioning should be the most flexible part of the package, so that the object moves with relative ease on it as a single unit. It is written for museum objects, not furniture, so treat it as the order of the questions and not as a specification.

1. What touches the finish. A clean, soft layer, and nothing with adhesive on the finish. Ask the finisher how long a finish must cure before it is wrapped, and have the answer in writing.
2. How the piece is held. Loose doors, drawers, shelves, glass and legs removed or secured, the piece blocked so it cannot move, and cushioning on all sides.
3. The outer shell, chosen by the route (next section).
4. The climate. A moisture barrier where the route or the timber needs it.
5. The wood in the packaging. Whether it needs the ISPM 15 mark.
6. Marks and papers, and what happens on arrival.

Ask the maker for a packing method statement by type of piece, submitted with the shop drawings, so the method is approved before the piece is made and the packed sizes and weights are known when the delivery access survey is done. A piece that cannot travel whole should be specified in sections that join on site, with each section labelled.

Match the outer protection to the route

Choose the outer protection from the route, not from habit. The CCI note rates transport networks by how rough they are for a package: a controlled specialist handler going door to door is the lowest hazard and a parcel courier network the highest for small and medium packages, with commercial carriers in between. The table maps that idea onto furniture routes. The ratings are the CCI’s, for museum objects; the third column is our practice.

Climate. Finished timber and upholstery move with humidity, and a route that crosses climates changes the humidity around them. The CCI note says to wrap humidity-sensitive objects, that typical packaging gives between 30 minutes and several hours of protection from a sudden temperature change, and that where temperature control is needed the packing should be insulated and the vehicle temperature-controlled, giving 15 to 25 °C as the standard it specifies for reliable control in its museum setting. We give no humidity or temperature limit for furniture: ask the maker, and see timber movement in panelling and veneer. For hand-made glass lighting, see packing, shipping and installing glass chandeliers.

Who carries the risk on each leg, and which Incoterms rule the quote uses, is a contract question: see Incoterms 2020 for FF&E projects. Packing does not move risk; it reduces it.

Wood in the packaging: when ISPM 15 applies

Wood used to pack a load is regulated when it crosses a border, and the rule catches more than the crate: pallets, skids, bearers and loose wood braced round the load all count. The international standard is ISPM 15, adopted by the International Plant Protection Convention in 2018 and published in 2019. It covers wood packaging made from raw wood: crates, boxes, packing cases, pallets, cable drums and dunnage. It covers the packaging, not the furniture inside it.

What is outside it. Wood packaging made wholly of processed wood, such as plywood, particle board, oriented strand board and veneer made with glue, heat or pressure; wood 6 mm thick or less; and sawdust, wood shavings and wood wool (ISPM 15, section 2.1). Cardboard and foam are not wood packaging. Gov.uk lists the same exemptions.

What it asks for. Debarked wood, one approved treatment and the mark. Small pieces of bark may remain if each is less than 3 cm wide, or wider but with a surface area under 50 cm² (Annex 1). The approved treatments are heat treatment (code HT), which needs a minimum of 56 °C for at least 30 continuous minutes throughout the whole profile, core included; dielectric heating (DH), a minimum of 60 °C for one continuous minute throughout; and fumigation with methyl bromide (MB) or sulphuryl fluoride (SF). The mark has a symbol, the ISO two-letter country code, a code for the producer or treatment provider, assigned by the national plant protection organisation, and the treatment code. It must be legible and durable, not hand drawn, visible when the packaging is in use and preferably on at least two opposite sides, and red or orange should be avoided (Annex 2). The mark replaces a phytosanitary certificate for the packaging (section 3.1).

In Great Britain. Gov.uk (updated 22 April 2026) says solid wood packaging imported into Great Britain must meet ISPM 15 from any country, the EU included, that non-compliant packaging could be rejected or destroyed, that exporters should check whether the destination requires it, and that moves from Great Britain to Northern Ireland must use treated, marked packaging. Producers have to join the UK marking programme and register with the Forestry Commission.

What to specify. Ask which parts of the packaging are solid wood. If any are, every piece, pallets and bearers included, carries the mark, and a photograph of the mark goes on the packing file. If the crate is plywood, the standard does not apply, but ask the forwarder whether the destination has rules of its own, because some countries add to the international standard.

Marks, labels and papers

• Number every package as 1 of n on the lid and the sides, so a missing crate is noticed before the van leaves (US National Park Service, Conserve O Gram 17/3, 1993).
• Put the identity on the outside: item code, project reference, destination room or level, and gross weight. Give handling marks, such as this way up, fragile or keep dry, in the standard pictorial form (BS EN ISO 780:2015, current) instead of inventing symbols, and only where they are needed.
• Keep the outside discreet. The CCI note advises discreet labels such as “fragile” or “handle with care” and says not to label the crate “art”. Do not describe the value of the contents on the outside.
• Put the contents list and the unpacking instructions in an obvious place inside the lid, and add a photograph of the packed layout, so the piece can be unpacked in the right order and repacked if it has to travel again (Conserve O Gram 17/3).
• Send a packing list before dispatch, keyed to the FF&E schedule: item codes, quantities, packed dimensions and weights, with a numbered set of photographs of the packed pieces.
• Treat tilt and shock indicators as a prompt to look. They record that a limit was passed in handling. They do not show whether the contents are damaged.

On arrival: an unpack protocol that makes evidence

Arrival is where the evidence is made. The carrier-liability and notice-period material is on the glass chandelier sheet and is not repeated here. The steps below apply to any finished piece.

1. Before signing, count the packages against the delivery note and look at each one. Write any damage on the delivery document in plain words before signing, and photograph it with the date visible.
2. Take the packages, upright, to the opening area and let them settle there. The Park Service checklist for museum objects returning from a journey says to prepare a secure area in which the object can acclimate before unpacking. For timber and upholstery that has changed climate, ask the maker how long the closed crate should settle. We give no period. If a crate is wet or an indicator has tripped, open it promptly and record why.
3. Open with the right people present and the packing list and instructions to hand.
4. Count and inspect. Count the contents against the packing list, inspect the crate and the packing materials, and inspect each piece against the drawing and the finish sample. Photograph each damaged piece where it lies, with its packing around it.
5. Report in writing, with the photographs, inside the agreed period, to the supplier and, if the contract says so, the insurer. The checklist says to report damage to the shipper at once.
6. Keep the packing until the matter is closed. A carrier or insurer may ask to see it, and the crate is useful if a piece has to go back.

Each [piece / item code] is to be packed so that nothing touches the finish except [a clean soft layer with no adhesive on the finish]; corners and edges are guarded; loose parts (doors, drawers, shelves, glass, legs) are removed or secured; and the piece is held on cushioning so that it cannot move in transit. Outer protection is [blankets and board / a padded case / a crate built to the piece], to suit the route in survey [ref]. The Supplier states the cure time of [finish code] before wrapping and uses a moisture barrier for [export / sea freight / solid timber]. A packing method statement by type of piece is to be submitted with the shop drawings.

All solid-wood packaging (crates, cases, pallets, skids, bearers and dunnage) for a consignment that crosses a border is to be debarked, treated to ISPM 15 (adopted 2018) by an authorised provider and marked with the ISPM 15 mark: symbol, country code, producer or provider code and treatment code (HT, DH, MB or SF), legible, not hand drawn, preferably on two opposite sides. Processed wood (plywood, OSB, particle board) and wood 6 mm thick or less is outside the standard. The Supplier states in its method statement which packaging is solid wood. Destination rules for [country] confirmed by [forwarder] on [date].

Each package is numbered [1 of n] and carries the item code, project reference, destination [room / level] and gross weight, with handling marks to BS EN ISO 780 only where needed. Outer labels do not describe the value of the contents. The contents list and unpacking instructions are fixed inside the lid. A packing list keyed to schedule [ref], with item codes, quantities, packed sizes and weights, and a numbered photograph set of the packed pieces, is sent [ ] working days before dispatch.

On delivery [receiving party] counts packages against the packing list, writes visible damage on the delivery document before signing and photographs it. Packages are taken to [opening area] and left to settle at room conditions for [ ] before opening, or as the Supplier's instructions state. They are opened with [named people] present; contents are counted and each piece inspected against the drawing; damage is photographed in place. Hidden damage is reported in writing within [ ] days. Packing is kept until [handover sign-off / the claim is settled].

Standards and sources

• IPPC: ISPM 15, Regulation of wood packaging material (adopted 2018, published 2019): read.
• Gov.uk: Wood packaging material for import and export: updated 22 Apr 2026; read.
• BS EN ISO 780:2015: Packaging, graphical symbols for handling and storage: Current (published 31 Jan 2016); text not read.
• CCI Notes 20/3, Five Steps to Safe Shipment (2021); US National Park Service Conserve O Grams 17/1 and 17/3 (1993): museum objects; the NPS ones are old.

Questions we are asked

When does a wooden crate need an ISPM 15 mark?

When it is made of solid (raw) wood and the load crosses a border. Gov.uk says solid wood packaging imported into Great Britain must meet ISPM 15 from any country, the EU included, and exporters should check whether the destination requires it. Pallets, skids, bearers and dunnage count as well as crates. Packaging that stays within Great Britain is not caught by that rule.

Does plywood need an ISPM 15 mark?

No. ISPM 15 excludes packaging made wholly of processed wood such as plywood, particle board, oriented strand board and veneer made with glue, heat or pressure, and wood 6 mm thick or less. Ask the forwarder whether the destination country has rules of its own.

What does the ISPM 15 mark look like and contain?

A symbol, the ISO two-letter country code, a code for the producer or treatment provider assigned by the national plant protection organisation, and a treatment code: HT for heat, DH for dielectric heating, MB for methyl bromide, SF for sulphuryl fluoride. It must be legible and durable, not hand drawn, and visible, preferably on two opposite sides.

What heat treatment does ISPM 15 require?

For conventional heat treatment, a minimum of 56 °C for at least 30 continuous minutes throughout the wood, core included. For dielectric heating, a minimum of 60 °C for one continuous minute throughout, surface included. The treatment is done by an authorised provider, and the mark shows it was done.

What is the best way to pack finished bespoke furniture?

We found no standard for packing finished furniture. Good practice follows the order museums use: start from the piece and the route, protect the surface with a clean soft layer, hold and cushion the piece so that it cannot move, then choose the outer shell to suit the route. Ask the maker for a packing method statement by type of piece.

Are tilt and shock indicators worth specifying?

They show that a handling limit was passed, which is a reason to look at the contents, not proof of damage. They do not protect the piece. A clean crate, good packing and a numbered photograph set matter more.

Do I need to unpack straight away?

Count and note damage at the door, then take the packages to the opening area and let them settle at room conditions before opening, unless a crate is wet or an indicator has tripped. Ask the maker how long a closed crate should settle: we give no period.