ADM Milling UK - Smooth upgrade of production-critical 1980s control panel
ADM Milling is a market leader for flour and bakery ingredients with a strong reputation for product quality, technical support and customer service. At their Corby mill, OAL has seamlessly upgraded and modernised production-critical control panels, achieving zero unplanned plant downtime - a notable achievement given the complexities involved.
ADM Milling is a market leader for flour and bakery ingredients with a strong reputation for product quality, technical support and customer service. At their Corby mill, OAL has seamlessly upgraded and modernised production-critical control panels, achieving zero unplanned plant downtime - a notable achievement given the complexities involved.
Upgrading ageing control panels presents significant challenges, particularly for businesses like ADM that depend heavily on continuous production and cannot risk sales losses due to downtime. In this critical situation, ADM trusted OAL based on several key strengths: OAL's industry reputation for being “easy to work with, their proven ability to meet stringent deadlines, and their commitment to prioritising customer needs in all proposed solutions.
The purpose of this project was to replace the existing obsolete MCP12 control panel.
The panels control three flour packing lines.
The new control panel offers less downtime and easier maintenance moving forward due to up-to-date components and accurate documentation. Furthrermore the new panel meets the latest electrical standards and incoprates extra functions
“OAL showed excellent health and safety whilst on-site. They were a respectful team and a diligent workforce with high standards. Nothing was too much trouble for the team and there was no noise on the project!”
OAL engineers complete the installation of the new control panel.
Challenge
The control panel dated from the 1980’s, so although there was a nearly complete set of original drawings, all the modifications over the years were not necessarily fully documented.
Additionally, the fact that the existing field devices and cabling were to be reused, meant that a lot of survey work was required to ensure there were no unknowns when the old panel was disconnected and the new one installed.
The panel needed to be swapped out during a 14-day shutdown, during which no packing could take place, so it was essential to the business that it was completed on time.
The “old” control panel.
Solution
OAL executed the project using our proven methodology, “The OAL Way”. The key activities completed are highlighted below:
Extensive survey work to ensure there were no unexpected issues when disconnecting the existing old panel. As the old saying goes, “An hour in planning (specification) saves 10 hours of doing!”
Designed and build of the new control panel at our factory in Peterborough.
Software modifications the new PLC and I/O sensors.
Factory acceptance test (FAT) of all equipment at OAL.
Disassembly of the new control panel into sections. Reassembly in situ on site due to access restrictions; it needed to be on the 3rd floor.
The following tasks were completed in the 14-day planned downtime window whilst the clocks were ticking:
Identify and disconnect cables from the old panel.
Disassemble and remove the old panel.
Position the new control panel and reconnect cables
Perform I/O testing of all field devices and recomission each packing line.
The plant was ready for start-up on Monday as planned. OAL provided 24/7 cover for support issues following go-live which has subsequently rolled into an annual support contract.
The new upgraded control panels in situ.
Results
Since the successful completion of the project, ADM has had no electrical component failures. The project has secured future reliability and adherence to DSEAR regulations.
The integration of new, current-specification equipment is expected to significantly reduce downtime and simplify maintenance due to the availability of updated and precise documentation.
Upgrading the control panel construction to meet current standards has facilitated the easy modification of control sequences and enabled the incorporation of several additional functions, as requested.
OAL can upgrade your systems too - speak to our team today for advice and guidance.
At a glance
Customer since: 2004
Challenge
Packing lines reliant on a critical control panel from the 1980s
No original electrical drawings
Lots of survey work required
Strict lead time to begin and complete work
Solution
Extensive survey work carried out enabling an accurate work timeframe
The new current spec allows less downtime and easier maintenance
Up-to-date system documentation
Addition of several extra functions
Results
Zero electrical component failures
Up-To-Date system for reliability and longevity
Documentation now up to date for easier future maintenance
Edwards the Welsh Butcher, UK - Eliminate errors with OAL's AI-Driven Label and Date Code Verification System
As a fast-growing leader in the high-quality convenience meats industry, Edwards needed to ensure the correct application of labels and date codes on its expanding range of award-winning products. OAL automated their manual processes with a state-of-the-art, AI-driven label and date code verification system that has been critical in Edwards growth plans.
As a fast-growing leader in the high-quality convenience meats industry, Edwards needed to ensure the correct application of labels and date codes on its expanding range of award-winning products. OAL automated their manual processes with a state-of-the-art, AI-driven label and date code verification system that has been critical in Edwards growth plans.
Challenge
Edwards, The Welsh Butcher faced the daunting task of maintaining label and date code accuracy amid rapid business growth.
Mistakes could lead to expensive recalls, tarnished brand reputation, and regulatory snags. A rapid expansion from 20 to 50 SKUs alongside similar branded artwork was significantly increasing the risk of error.
Why OAL?
Edwards chose to partner with OAL not only for our cutting-edge solutions but also for our ease of collaboration. Our reputation for being easy to work with made OAL a perfect fit for this critical project.
Solution
OAL provided our OAL Connected system for label and date code verification, a hardware and software solution that automates the set-up of printers to stop date coding errors. It uses cameras powered by AI to verify that the packaging is correct. Key features include:
Digitalised master product database. No more paperwork.
Real-Time AI 100% Date Code Verification: Advanced artificial intelligence inspects and verifies every pack date code, eliminating missing and wrong date codes on the pack.
2D Barcodes for Version Control: OAL assisted Edwards in adding 2D barcodes to their packaging artwork, thereby enabling better version control and traceability.
Seamless Integration: Our system is smoothly integrated with Edwards current manufacturing setup, ensuring minimal disruption.
Scalability: Designed with expansion in mind, the system can easily scale to meet increasing production volumes.
User-Friendly Interface: The system features a straightforward dashboard, requiring minimal training for monitoring and control.
APRIL Eye inspects and verifies every pack date code, eliminating missing and wrong date codes on the pack.
Artwork and technical support
Worried about artwork changes? OAL provided consultancy and advice to assist in the integration of 2D barcodes onto the packaging.
2D codes provide full artwork version control. By standardising 2D code placement, cameras are fixed on the line, eliminating operator interventions.
Key results
After implementing OAL’s AI-based label verification system, Edwards experienced:
Zero Errors: The system eliminated previous issues related to incorrect labelling and date coding.
Operational Efficiency: Automation of the verification process, formerly manual, allowed staff to reallocate their time to other key tasks.
Streamlined Growth: The system’s scalability has been crucial in facilitating Edwards growth initiatives.
Enhanced Compliance: Regulatory compliance is now more straightforward, alleviating administrative burdens significantly.
Conclusion
OAL’s AI-driven label and date code verification system has been a cornerstone in the Edwards growth strategy. By ensuring unparalleled accuracy in labelling and date coding, we’ve enabled them to concentrate on what they do best: crafting quality convenience meat products.
For more information on how OAL's AI solutions can help your business, please contact us.
You can automate and digitalise your operations - speak to our team today for advice and guidance.
At a glance
Customer since: 2023
Challenge
Retailer Code of Practice Compliance
Maintaining Label and Date Code Accuracy
Managing complexity as the business grew from 20 to 50 SKUs
Increased Risk of Errors
Solution
Digitalised Product Database
Real-Time AI Date Code Verification
2D Barcodes for Version Control
Seamless Integration
Scalability
User-Friendly Interface
Results
Zero Errors
Operational Efficiency
Streamlined Growth
Enhanced Comliance
Worldwide Fruit, UK - Stopping human error with automated product label verification
Worldwide Fruit is a growing £200+ million turnover fruit marketing and distribution business. Quality is critical to their customers, and they wanted a solution that could scale across their complex operations handling thousands of SKUs from over 1,000 global growers. OAL has helped Worldwide Fruit automate to ensure all its products have the right date code, right packaging and country of origin.
Worldwide Fruit is a growing £200+ million turnover fruit marketing and distribution business. Quality is critical to their customers, and they wanted a solution that could scale across their complex operations handling thousands of SKUs from over 1,000 global growers. OAL has helped Worldwide Fruit automate to ensure all its products have the right date code, right packaging and country of origin.
UPDATE: Worldwide Fruit is on a SMART Industry journey supported by OAL. The first phase deployed label and date code verification to ensure the right-first-time packaging and date coding in 2020, including the use of AI vision checks with APRIL Eye.
In the second phase in 2023, OAL has helped Worldwide Fruit seamlessly integrate their ERP (Prophet), Label and Date Code Verification (OAL), and OEE (Redzone) systems.
Challenge
The right apple must be in the right packaging with the right date code and country of origin.
Ensuring the highest standards of quality control and food safety are mission-critical priorities for Worldwide Fruit. Previously manual human checks of product labels, date code and country of origin were undertaken, but these methods are susceptible to human error, especially in a high-complexity business.
Complexity to Worldwide Fruit is driven by the different product, grower, and packaging combinations. For one category like apples, there are many varieties of apples from different countries with different packaging and promotion requirements from each retailer.
For a production run, Worldwide Fruit must ensure the right product (apple), is in the right packaging with the right date code and country of origin. Any mistake in the process could result in a product recall and a fine from retailers. To address these challenges Worldwide Fruit turned to automation.
Solution
Phase 1: Label and date code verification - 2020
After a review of suppliers, Worldwide Fruit chose to work with OAL because of recommendations and previous experience implementing the OAL system. Furthermore, they wanted to work with a business that could integrate with their existing ERP system, which OAL could demonstrate.
The priority was implementing an “online” label and verification system across its 16 packaging lines to accelerate its digital transformation. Online meaning, every product is verified as opposed to “offline” where a sample is verified.
“The team at OAL are easy to work with, working together we have implemented a robust automated label and date code verification system. By introducing cutting edge artificial intelligence technology we’ve futureproofed our packaging lines, enabling further automation. Crucially we’ve been able to customise the system to meet our unique requirements. The 24/7 support is quick, friendly, and efficient!”
First, a master product database was installed on a site-based SQL server. This is a database managed by the technical team that stores all product information. OAL’s ex-industry trainers assisted WWF in populating the database.
The OAL system was installed and commissioned comprising:
OAL Line Terminals on every line for operators to start and finish jobs and conduct quality checks related to the job.
Cameras to scan and verify packaging to ensure the right packaging is applied to the product.
Each online printer was connected to the OAL system. The OAL system controls the printer and tells it the date code to print based on the date code rules in the master product database.
The offline print room printers were also under the control of the OAL system to ensure offline printed labels were also correct.
Finally, the site chose to add an extra layer of assurance with APRIL Eye date code verification. APRIL Eye gives the OAL system the functionality to read back and verify printed date codes in an image. This ensures the right date code is applied, it’s legible and in the right location.
At Worldwide Fruit, as part of start-up, interval and end-of-run checks the operator takes a picture of a finished pack with the OAL line terminal hand scanner. The system checks it’s correct and legible against the current job.
Finally, every check, scan and data point is recorded providing a complete digital audit trail to ensure BRC and retailer code of practice compliance.
OAL provide a 24/7 support contract to minimise downtime and ensure the system is functioning to specification.
Phase 2: ERP and Redzone Integration - 2023
Worldwide Fruit had a long-term vision to automate and digitalise its packhouse to ensure the right data first time. OAL utilised the Ignition SCADA/MES Platform to integrate the different business systems driven by works orders generated in Prophet.
The user experience is:
Job scheduled in Prophet
Job appears for selection on the OAL Line Terminal as a works order
Job selection by operator on the OAL Line Terminal sets up cameras, printers and starts a job in Redzone.
“Working with OAL on this project has been great for managing complexity and automating several ERP tasks with the Ignition MES. OAL has made it easy to ensure right-first-time data by integrating Prophet with Redzone and Autocoding applications. We are looking forward to uncovering more opportunities together in the future.”
Key results
Worldwide Fruit has scaled and improved its quality control processes, resulting in happier customers and reduced operational risk. Automation has helped find and prevent “hard to spot errors” whilst reducing the time it takes to complete quality control checks. They have also removed substantial paperwork from the business helping meet and surpass sustainability goals.
The 2023 system integration project has created a single source of truth for Worldwide Fruit helping them make critical business decision based on accurate, real-time data. This integration has resulted in Worldwide Fruit’s SMART Industry Ready Index rank being better than ever and closer to their SMART Industry roadmap.
You can automate and digitalise your operations - speak to our team today for advice and guidance.
At a glance
Customer since: 2020
Challenge
Complex operations with thousands of SKUs
Improve quality control and labelling
Future ERP integration capability
Solution
OAL Connected with Autocoding, Paperless and APRIL Eye functionality.
24/7 support with annual audits to ensure code of practice compliance
Integration with Prophet ERP and Redzone OEE using Ignition SCADA/MES
Results
Improved quality control through an automated system
Deployed AI-based verification to enable further automation
Improved sustainability by removing paperwork
Right first-time data from a single source
Wealmoor, UK - Improving Quality with Automation
Wealmoor has built a reputation for specialty fruit and vegetables, supplying high-volume, high-quality produce every week. Across their UK factories, they have automated their date coding and packaging processes with the OAL Connected system including Autocoding and APRIL Eye functionality. Going digital has enabled them to eliminate product packaging and quality issues and significantly reduce food waste.
Wealmoor has built a reputation for specialty fruit and vegetables, supplying high-volume, high-quality produce every week. Across their UK factories, they have automated their date coding and packaging processes with the OAL Connected system. Going digital has enabled them to eliminate product packaging and quality issues and significantly reduce food waste.
Background
Wealmoor is an established, family-owned business specialising in the growing, packing and marketing of subtropical fresh fruits and vegetables from all over the world. They also produce homegrown seasonal vegetables and herbs.
In 2020, the company began investigating ways to help reduce food waste, product recalls, and complaints by transforming their operations. In particular, product packaging and quality errors in the packhouse were identified as a key area of improvement.
Challenge
Like many fresh produce companies, Wealmoor’s packaging processes were manual and paper-based. Use by dates were being manually adjusted on the printer by an operative checking against a printed reference document, which on occasion resulted in date errors. Shelf life could also be calculated for longer than intended. Possibility of these errors could result in product recalls, damaging company reputation and customer confidence whilst also being very costly.
Furthermore, batch processing was difficult as many products had to comply with a range of different customer requirements. For example, one product had over 40 different SKUs, making it difficult under a multi-tasked, constant pressure environment for line leaders to determine if a product was in the wrong packaging easily. As a result, both products and energy could be wasted.
Finally, Wealmoor’s offline print room was using an end-of-life label design software called Dataguard, which needed to be replaced with an integrated solution for label management.
Solution
Wealmoor chose to implement the OAL Connected system with Autocoding, Paperless and APRIL Eye functionality within their UK factories. These systems allowed them to both digitalise and integrate their systems to reduce manual errors. The controlled and centralised technical database that OAL Connected provided removed a large amount of paperwork whilst also ensuring that customer specifications were correctly adhered to every time.
By implementing the Autocoding and APRIL Eye modules, operational quality control was significantly enhanced. The system ensured that date codes and shelf life were correct and accurate, preventing production errors, rework and product wastage. Structured quality control testing regimes were put in place, which could be tailored to different customer specifications. In addition, a system was introduced that would check for errors and automatically stop the line before production was significantly affected. This made packaging, film, and ingredient errors much less likely.
The OAL solution automated online and offline label printing, replacing the existing Dataguard & Vector label design software with Clarisoft. For operators, this resulted in a streamlined user experience as they use one system for both online and offline printing.
“The introduction of automated systems from OAL has completely changed our operations. Since its installation, we’ve been able to streamline our processes and prevent errors before they caused further issues, protecting our reputation, enhancing trust and confidence. We’ve also seen the significant opportunity in increasing efficiency and operational effectiveness.”
Key results
The new system has prevented human error such as incorrect film application, packaging issues, and incorrect dates and barcodes in the packhouse. As a result, operational downtime has been minimised and wastage and product recalls have been prevented. In turn, this has helped the company protect their reputation and drive sustainability.
A further benefit of digitalising their systems is that is has allowed Wealmoor to upskill their staff and improve employee engagement and retention.
Transitioning to an integrated, automated system doesn’t have to be difficult – speak to one of our team for expert advice and guidance.
At a glance
Customer since: 2021
Challenge
Automate and digitalise existing paper-based processes
Reduce food and energy waste caused by date and coding errors
Improve quality control and correct labelling
Solution
OAL Connected with Autocoding, Paperless and APRIL Eye functionality.
Implemented a controlled, centralised, digital technical database.
Introduced structured quality control testing regimes tailored to customer specifications.
Results
100% compliance with customer requirements.
Reduced energy and food waste through fewer production errors.
Improved quality control through automated system.
SCADA replacement improves data visibility at leading UK bakeries
OAL has replaced an existing SCADA and recipe tracking system across 6 bakery sites improving resilience and providing the tools and date visibility to grow and improve operational efficiency.
OAL has replaced an existing SCADA and recipe tracking system across six bakery sites improving resilience and providing the tools and date visibility to grow and improve operational efficiency.
Customer
One of the UK’s largest vertically integrated baking and flour milling businesses with over five bakeries in the UK.
Challenge
The bakeries were undergoing reinvestment of which a key requirement was to improve operational performance through better control, reporting and visibility of; scheduling, recipe control, product tracking, set points, adherence to plan, yield, waste and water absorption.
The new SCADA system needed to be robust and require minimal levels of maintenance to ensure a low cost of ownership.
The existing project management information system (PMIS) that was used across a number of sites to offer basic SCADA functionality required a complete overhaul, the existing system was over 30 years old.
Solution
Following a review of suppliers, OAL was chosen to replace the old SCADA system and implement their proven bakery product tracking system because of our bakery controls experience.
As part of the enabling works, the bakeries installed a Modicon PLC on each plant. This plc is used to capture data from the various areas of the plant and store in a central location.
OAL’s SCADA system uses these as the primary source to capture data and control hardware on the plant. In addition data is exchanged directly with packaging lines via CompactLogix PLC’s and directly with Mixers via existing Modicon PLC’s.
Legacy devices are connected to the new Ethernet infrastructure. This gives the bakery the opportunity to continue upgrading the rest of their equipment to Ethernet devices in the future, whilst maintaining communication with existing equipment.
The OAL solution included the following highlights to ensure long term operational success and a robust system was delivered on time as part of a phased roll-out to bakery sites:
Paperless
The new system enables paperless recording and reporting of ingredient usage, plant utilisation, waste and yield whilst also providing maintenance/engineering functionality. Significantly the system utilises the newly designed reporting software to improve engagement and visibility of plant data. The new screens pictured look very different to the old screens and uses clever traffic light systems to highlight intolerance's.
The new screens provide a much greater resolution in tracking, and as such it is much easier to view what is going through the plant at a glance. This is due to the re-design of the screens and the use of colour whilst still remaining familiar with the old system.
Reports are web based so that they can be accessed anywhere within the company's Intranet. All sites can view other sites performances and the reports are updated directly from SCADA. This allows for effective real time comparisons across the country without direct contact.
Virtualised SCADA
The OAL solution has utilised a virtualised SCADA system over the more traditionally server installed systems seen in food manufacturers. A key benefit of virtualisation is the ability to reduce downtime because of the real time backup of data. Furthermore virtualised systems require less maintenance and have a lower cost of ownership. Combining the virtualised SCADA with Terminal Services based clients results in an extremely robust infrastructure.
Terminal services based Thin clients reside predominantly on the back of the plant monitors. They provide a remote desktop connection onto the SCADA. The main advantage of this is that a client is not tied to one location, and are interchangeable. If a client breaks it can be simply removed and replaced with a spare.
Another advantage is a saving in cost, not only in hardware, but in software as well. Due to the SCADA software being server side, licensing costs are reduced. In traditional SCADA architecture, each machine would need a software license. With the new client architecture a license is needed for each server (2 in this case), and then special ‘client’ licenses for each thin client. The thin client licenses are significantly cheaper than standard licenses, reducing cost.
Security is also improved as the servers are the single point of contact to the outside world. This means that only the servers need protecting.
Result
The highly technical project was completed to schedule and the bakeries were delighted with the new visibility of the tracking system. Long term trending and intelligence will allow the bakeries to instil best practices across the group and secure operational improvements. Over the last 12 months sites have already begun to see the benefits that include:
● Reduction in yield losses due to enhanced visibility of the process parameters.
● Reduced raw material usage across sites.
● Increase capacity because of improved scheduling.
Dry materials handling project increases production capacity at large doughnut manufacturer
OAL designed, installed and automated a new dry material handling system comprising silos and big bags to increase doughnut production to 50,000 per hour at market leading food manufacturer.
OAL designed, installed and automated a new dry material and liquid handling system comprised of silos, big bags and IBC's to increase doughnut production to 50,000 per hour at market leading food manufacturer with a total project cost of c£870,000.
The new silo designed and installed by OAL at the bakery
Customer
Our customer is one of the largest manufacturers of doughnut and other baked goods in the UK and is a part of an internationally recognised food business.
Challenge
The bakery wanted to improve the handling of both their liquid and dry ingredients and were seeking to:
Minimise the manual handling of ingredients to improve health and safety.
Reduce operating costs associated with ingredient handling.
Improve accuracy of mixes.
The supplier and the solution had to take into consideration:
The bakery operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, therefore it was crucial that the manufacturer trusted their supplier to work to the agreed schedule to ensure that it did not disrupt their everyday operations.
The manufacturer of doughnuts uses multiple dry and liquid materials from various packaging formats, for instance; flour, sugar, yeast and water. The system had to be flexible to work accurately with multiple ingredients of various particle sizes.
The new material handling system was to feed a new batch mixing system with a capacity of 50,000 doughnuts per hour production line.
Solution
Three Big Bag Stations with Sifting
OAL was chosen to supply the automated ingredient handling system based on a comprehensive solution to the ingredient handling system and successful visits to reference sites demonstrating the quality of work, with strong reference to our hygienic design principles. The OAL system is designed to minimise the loss of ingredients through the transfer lines and eliminate the incorrect batching of ingredients. Interesting aspects of the project included:
Silo, big bag & IBC feeds
The ingredient system delivers bulk flour from a silo, concentrates from FIBC's (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) as well as liquids from both IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) and existing plant feeds forming a total of eight ingredient supply points.
Automated ingredient supply points
An HMI and recipe management system make it simple for users to monitor their production line including the ingredient supply points. The flour, powders (FIBC Big Bag Stations) and hand-tips feed a single line that is then split via a diverter valve (PDV100) to supply Mixer 1 and 2 receivers. The receivers then supply the mixers with the powder based ingredients. Each of the liquids has dedicated supply lines to the mixers directly. The control system then automates the flour, powders and liquid additions. When hand-tips are required, the system will prompt the operator for the desired ingredient.
Commissioning
Upon the completion of all installation work, OAL was responsible for ensuring that the plant and system were tested and certified for operation before the project was signed off. To ensure that the system continued to work as required, OAL also offered the manufacturer an engineer on site for two weeks post installation so the initial production could be set up for product trials and validations offering them further peace of mind with their new system.
Results
OAL successfully manufactured, installed and commissioned a dry materials handling system for a large doughnut bakery. OAL worked closely with the project coordinators to ensure that their product and material specification had been met so it was easier to integrate the new system into their current factory set-up. The doughnut production line can now store and transport both dry and liquid-based ingredients more efficiently using OAL’s tried and trusted system.
Upgrading the Largest Flour Mill Control System in the UK
The largest flour mill in the UK has upgraded its control system to improve performance, productivity and reporting with support from OAL.
The largest flour mill in the UK has upgraded its control system to improve performance, productivity and reporting with support from OAL.
Customer
A global food processor operating with multiple flour mills in the UK, processing more than a million tons of wheat a year. They produce a range of white, brown, whole-meal and speciality flours for use in the bakery industry.
Challenge
Their flour mill in Northamptonshire, UK, required a new control system as parts of the previous system were over 30 years old and unable to offer the degree of control, limiting the sites operational performance. Replacing a 30-year-old system represented a number of challenges:
Visualising the complex process of milling on screen for a large site with various product routes
Production requirements meant only 1 software test day was available a week
Solution
OAL installed a state-of-the-art automated controls system at the site. This provided complete control and visibility of the entire milling process. Crucially the SCADA system gives the site the option of bypassing parts of the process to increase the speed of production or avoid faulty equipment.
A key aspect of the project was the flexible deployment of the solution, allowing production to run to target with only 1 test day available a week. The OAL team completed a technically challenging step by step switchover from the old to the new system.
Results
The OAL solution has significantly assisted in enabling the flour mill to achieve optimal performance. The entire site can now be controlled from one point leading to a significant reduction in headcount. Complete visualisation of the process has decreased production time for certain products. More reliable yield data from the factory has allowed improved pricing accuracy of flour.
Heinz Secure Infant Formula Packaging Integrity with OAL System
Heinz secures infant formula packaging integrity with OAL automation system scanning spinning cans at 97ppm.
100% read rates on spinning cans at a rate of 97 per minute to secure packaging integrity of baby formula for Heinz.
Customer
At the HJ Heinz factory in Cumbria, UK, baby milk powder is manufactured and packaged ready for distribution overseas. Due to the sensitive nature of the products, accurate barcode reading is essential to ensure the correct products are identified and shipped to the correct customer.
Challenge
The site was using a label verification system from another supplier where one element could only read ladder barcodes. Although a separate system was created to read the picket fence barcodes, the readers could not cope with the 97 cans per minute high-speed production. Heinz were keen to upgrade to a more reliable system which could achieve 100% read rates, eliminating any risk of packaging errors.
“Heinz chose the OAL Autocoding system because they were the only suppliers we reviewed to offer 100% read rates on products. The integrated quality checks on the Autocoding system and ability to offer 24-hour support have added significant value to the business.”
Solution
OAL installed their Autocoding system using six Cognex DataMan 302X readers, enabling at least two of the readers to read the code on the can as it rotated through 360 degrees. Importantly the system was able to handle the convex structure and reflective surface of the large cans. If incorrect barcodes or ‘no reads’ are detected, alarm beacons and display screens alert the operators who will stop the line and clear the defective product to ensure no incorrect product continues into the packaging area.
Read rates are reported as part of the standard OAL Autocoding system, allowing for easy monitoring of production performance. The system also links to the site’s Domino inkjet printers and Markem case printers to ensure the correct dates are printed on each pack, ready for shipment.
Results
Autocoding has eliminated any risk of packaging errors; 100% read rates prevent incorrect tins being packed and print control has ensured the correct dates are applied. False line stoppages due to ‘no reads’ have been removed improving production performance.