Page 36 - Food and Drink Business Magazine May 2019

TESTING & MEASURING
Reducing wastage is top of mind for manufacturers. AccuPak general manager Auke de Ruyter de Wildt explains why checkweighers can help.
Taking the surprise out of weighing in
THE key to quality food manufacturing operations is how control points for product dosing, weighing and batching are effectively managed. Using highly sensitive intelligent weighing and inspection technologies – or checkweighers – are a crucial asset to many food manufacturers.
WEIGHTY MATTERS
Checkweighers are sophisticated dynamic weighing devices that reduce product loss and wastage through product giveaway or false rejects. They eliminate costly product recalls, and provide transparency and consistency in product delivery which fosters customer loyalty.
Checkweighers not only prevent inconsistencies in product weight by automatically rejecting underweight items and protecting against giveaway of overweight product, they also send signals to the filling quantity regulator to change the product flow. This prevents further under or overfilling and ensures further products are in line with weight requirements.
Food manufacturers are, quite rightly, concerned about possibly violating stringent trade laws (where a product is sold on weight or product count). For this reason, most food manufacturers use a checkweigher as an ‘underweight product ‘policeman’ as insurance against litigation.
“ Five per cent overfill means one in 20 packs are given away free.”
In fact, it is not uncommon for many manufacturers to routinely build in a ‘buffer’
of extra product to ensure the product isn’t underweight. While the ‘buffer’ may only be small, it adds to considerable product giveaway when multiplied by tens of thousands.
For example, five per cent overfill means one in 20 packs are given away free.
However, checkweighers really should be used as a production tool to increase
productivity and profit. High performance checkweighers can provide pinpoint accuracy at top speeds, enabling manufacturers to run to the stated weight.
This results in less giveaway and increased profit.
Checkweigher software can also be configured to meet the exact requirements of your production line.
Your checkweigher can then link to other inspection devices, metal detectors and X-ray scanners. This allows you to create a comprehensive and dynamic automated quality assurance system.
A quality checkweigher also enables business process improvements. It can be used to monitor overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and provide management reports on times of the day when your efficiency drops off.
UNPARALLELED PRECISION
The revolutionary principle of electromagnetic force restoration (EMFR) underlies the rapid and exact working method of weigh cells in a quality checkweigher.
While the basic principle is comparable to a simple beam balance; EMFR weigh cells provide unparalleled reliability, precision and repeatability.
Checkweighers can also
be used in production environments that are subject to external disturbances. When fitted with active vibration compensation technology, the checkweigher is able to accommodate any disturbances and continue to provide precise and instantaneous weight measurements.
A sophisticated and wide spectrum of sorting devices (e.g. pusher, air blast, flap conveyor, sorting device) are available to reject products with incorrect weight reliability without disturbing production throughput. ✷
✷ ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
36 | Food&Drink business | May 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
Auke de Ruyter de Wildt is the general manager of AccuPak, which distributes WIPOTEC- OCS checkweighers.