Do I need a thick or thin client solution for autocoding?
At first glance, thin clients seem to offer advantages over thick clients. So why are thick clients still used for critical compliance processes? We spoke to Harry Norman, OAL’s Managing Director, to understand the difference between thin and thick clients, and why thick clients are preferred for OAL Connected systems.
What are thick and thin clients?
Thin clients
A thin client relies on a central server for its processing power, requiring constant communication with this server to work.
The reduced amount of hardware inside thin clients makes them more secure than other options, cheaper to buy and run, and easier for your IT team to swap out and replace if a unit stops working. However, as the server handles the bulk of the workload, a thin client doesn’t have a hard disk drive for local data storage. If the connection to the server is lost, so is all the data as there is nowhere for the thin client to store it. There are also no connections for external devices such as printers, which may cause problems in certain applications.
Thick clients
A thick client is connected to a central server but will process the data itself and transmit it to the server for archiving, rather than relying on the server to do the work.
Thick clients can cost more upfront as there is more hardware to deploy, however you’ll need fewer servers with thick clients, which can reduce costs significantly. What’s more, as thick clients have their own hard disk drive, they can store production data locally. This means it only requires intermittent access to a server and can operate independently, as well as working uninterrupted, even during an IT upgrade. They also have superior processing power compared to a thin client, which can support greater functionality on your line.
Why does OAL Autocoding use thick clients?
The Autocoding system is used to prevent product recalls and ensure that products are in the correct packaging. The risks of a customer getting an allergen-containing product that is incorrectly labelled can be life threatening for the customer, as well as costly for the manufacturer: product recalls are estimated to cost £150k or more when the total direct and indirect costs are added up.
Because of this, it’s critical that your label & date code verification system is always working. With a thin client, if the network connection to the server is interrupted, there is a high risk that the product won’t be verified. While networks are more robust than they used to be, wireless networks can still be intermittent and wired connections can be easily severed in a power cut or with a loose cable.
Even if your network connection is stable, the connection to the server could be slow as the information buffers. It’s possible that a mismatched label could have already gone down the production line before the mismatch is detected, making it harder to find the problem. In this scenario, you would fail the fail-safe check in a BRC or retailer audit.
Another point to consider is that some retailer Codes of Practice will specify that a thick client is required for automated label verification processes. However, even if your retailer doesn’t specify a thick client, they can give you built-in resilience in your production line should a problem occur.
Finally, if verification speed is critical, you may be looking at using advanced systems such as artificial intelligence to reduce the time for quality checks. APRIL™ Eye, which uses artificial intelligence to read date codes on packages, can scan up to 1,000 packages per minute – but this requires much greater computing power than a thin client could provide.
By using a thick client, verification can continue even if the network connection is lost or slow, as the thick client can use its local storage until the connection is restored. The savings that thin clients offer during installation can easily be wiped out with one product recall – is it worth the risk?
Who uses thick clients?
Many food manufacturers are aware of the many advantages that thick clients offer when it comes to safeguarding their packaging lines and preventing product recalls. For example, Dawnfresh Seafoods had previously installed an automated system, but it wasn’t fit for purpose and was creating significant production delays and downtime. Dawnfresh turned to OAL for a solution to reduce their product recalls and ensure compliance. Because of the thick client architecture of our OAL Connected system, Dawnfresh achieved compliance with M&S’ Code of Practice while also delivering a 10% increase in packaging line throughput.
When should I use a thin client?
Thin clients offer many advantages and are better suited to some applications more than others, such as data capture processes like SCADA. At OAL, we believe that each system has a place in automation, and will help you choose the best solution for your needs.
