SERIES Reducing costs


Cutting production waste keeps costs in check


By Rob Rogers, Senior Advisor for Food Safety and Regulation, Mettler Toledo Product Inspection I


n today’s world it is essential to be considerate: others, the planet and our resources. To a food manufacturer, keeping a watchful – and considerate – eye on resources directly impacts the bottom line, keeping costs in check.


By utilising smart technology


and eff ective product inspection systems, such as metal detectors, x-ray inspection systems and checkweighers, manufacturers can keep a tighter grip on materials being used, resulting in minimal waste, a greater control of resources and an effi ciently-run business.


In food manufacturing, checkweighing systems can reduce product giveaway through better control of fi ll levels and accurate weighing capabilities. Even a tiny overfi ll of an ingredient can add up to a huge volume of wasted resources by the end of a big production run.


X-ray inspection can perform checks to


ensure product completeness, in addition to measuring mass. This technology can also highlight incorrect fi ll levels and help avoid unnecessary waste. Manufacturers don’t even need to buy two machines to add checkweighing and x-ray inspection to their armoury: these technologies can be integrated within a single combination system – another benefi t in the world of effi ciency.


As well as optimising the yield gained


from the materials purchased, these systems can also both measure and adjust automatically, with, for example, control data being fed back to the fi lling machines so that incorrect measures are quickly corrected, without human intervention. The benefi ts are improved productivity alongside easier compliance, without any room for error.


Reducing false rejects Sophisticated product inspection can also avoid unnecessary waste whilst boosting productivity by reducing false rejects. This is where non-contaminated products are incorrectly fl agged as being contaminated


10 February 2024 | Automation


and, as such, rejected from the production line. Whatever the reasons for a false reject being triggered, there is clearly potential to reduce unnecessary waste. Quite simply, by reducing good


product giveaway, raw material costs can be protected. Additionally, with less time needed to investigate incorrect rejects and possible reworking of products, manufacturers can enjoy a boost to productivity. Advanced metal detection systems equipped with Multi- Simultaneous Frequency technology and smart algorithms enable greater sensitivity and optimised detection capabilities. Dual-energy x-ray systems can also discern more accurately between product and contaminant, improving quality and reducing false reject rates.


Proactive approach Unnecessary waste can be incurred by food manufacturers in other ways – which can easily be avoided by a commitment to best practice in product inspection. Manufacturers should ensure that inspection equipment is well-maintained


and operating at its highest level. The danger here is that poorly-maintained machines fail to detect contaminants that are picked up later in the process, possibly after further value has been added to the product. Such a scenario compounds the wastefulness of the initial failure. But, with the right technology in place, this wastefulness can be easily avoided through a proactive approach to servicing, maintenance and performance testing, including automatic testing capabilities that some advanced product inspection systems off er. Productivity can also be improved and


waste reduced by replacing manual sample checks with automated inspection of 100% of products. Combination checkweighing and vision inspection systems can monitor fi ll levels for accurate portion sizes, at the same time as inspecting for label and pack integrity and overall product quality, with x-ray systems performing multiple quality checks in parallel. Some careful consideration really can go a very long way to avoiding unnecessary waste and boosting productivity.


automationmagazine.co.uk


Mettler Toledo Safeline series X36 X-ray inspection system


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