Multi-site milling company advocates automatic testing
One of the largest premium flour and ingredient companies in North America , Ardent Mills , recently implemented automatic testing on several of its conveyor Fortress Technology metal detectors . A number of the company ’ s packaging lines are now also using digital reporting to enhance efficiency , food safety and traceability .
Ardent Mills has an expansive national footprint . Comprising over 40 locations producing flour , quinoa and pulses , organic and gluten-free products , Ardent Mills recognises the importance of embracing the newest digital technologies to ensure that every aspect of its operations remain true to its quality standards . Processing around 22.4 million bags of packed milled product annually , over the last 12 months Packaging Engineer Manvine Bharj and her team , supported by local Fortress food safety specialists , has set up Halo Automatic Testing on six inline conveyor packaging lines .
At the mills that ship packed product direct to retailers and commercial bakeries , Ardent implements an end-of-line HACCP testing point , just before palletising . “ We intentionally test our inspection equipment more often than our customers ’ conformance requirements stipulate , as it provides extra quality assurance and fills us with confidence that our products are the safest they can be ,” notes Manvine .
Activating the technologies preinstalled on their Halo Ready Fortress metal detectors has proven to be an efficiency and safety gamechanger for many of the mills ’ quality managers . The resulting operational savings have been equally rapid . Manvine estimates the ROI on the original
Ardent Mills requested a blue light system to alert operators when a Halo test is running .
Stealth Metal Detector investment has been achieved in six months or less . “ Halo provides the perfect blend of inspection continuity , contaminant detection , machine performance and safety ,” adds the Packaging Engineer .
MAKING THE SWITCH FROM MANUAL TESTING Like many mills and bulk processors , one of the greatest challenges when performing repeatable manual tests is the amount of time and labour it requires and simulating the same conditions for each test . UK Sales Director Phil Brown explains :
“ Manual testing in milling environments often requires placing a test sample in the exact middle of each grain bag , passing this through the metal detector , removing it from the line , opening the packaging and removing the test sample , and inspecting it again . Testing all three metals , every two hours is a lot of heavy lifting , sifting , repacking and potential waste . Not to mention , replicating this test manually is extremely challenging to do accurately .”
Halo Automatic Testing instead independently tests all three
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