Product inspection and productivity
How can modern product inspection technology support wider production goals , such as optimising uptime and reducing operational costs ? In this article , Mike Pipe , product inspection specialist at Mettler-Toledo reviews the key production drivers and explains how product inspection can help address them , using our latest x-ray inspection systems as an example .
KEY DRIVERS 1 . UPTIME Any unscheduled stoppage has an impact on the bottom line . For food manufacturers in particular , the consequences of an outage can be severe : resulting in significant loss of product , not just production time . For example , bread dough may not bake properly if the proving process is interrupted , and frozen beef burgers may thaw on a stationery conveyor while an emergency repair is made further down the line .
2 . QUALITY Whether a manufacturer is working for a retailer or making own-brand products , quality is key . Contributing factors to delivering quality include conformance with any legislative and brand requirements , the ability to produce the same product consistently time after time and the requirement to avoid physical contamination . Failure in any one of these aspects could result in a product recall , which not only represents lost revenue , but also lost reputation .
3 . COST Capital cost is only one factor that affects the decision to purchase product inspection equipment . Increasingly , customers are looking at other means of assessing the return on investment . These include operational requirements like energy consumption and maintenance frequency .
26 FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk
PUTTING PRODUCTION FIRST Mettler-Toledo has put these key production drivers first in developing its latest range of x-ray inspection systems .
For example , the X34 is a single lane x-ray system designed for detecting small contaminants reliably at high-throughputs , within a wide range of small and mediumsized packaged products .
The system comes with advanced software that enables automated product set-up , dramatically decreasing the chance of human error . New products only need to be passed once through the system for the power to be optimised and the intuitive software requires minimal passes to automatically set the contamination inspection tools .
To reduce operating costs , the X34 is equipped with an ‘ Optimum Power ’ generator , which automatically maximises detection sensitivity , and a 0.4mm detector for the accurate detection of very small contaminants , whether metal , high density plastics ,
glass , and stone or calcified bone . These technologies together ensure that power and contrast levels are optimised for every product , so the system does not always have to run at its full 100W output to achieve the best results , delivering power savings to the end user and improving return on investment .
ContamPlus™ inspection software further enhances detection capabilities to help manufacturers achieve a zero False Reject Rate ( FRR ). This is a crucial means of reducing product waste and ensuring product safety .
CONCLUSION
Product inspection equipment has much to offer busy production managers , beyond the basic requirements of contamination detection and compliance . Technological advances are being harnessed to address the key challenges of uptime , quality and cost using automation to eliminate human error , optimise performance and control energy consumption .
www . mt . com / xray-X34