Klinge Chemicals has reduced product giveaway by an estimated 70 pallets of LoSalt a year with the recent installation of an Avery Weigh-Tronix in-line checkweigher and average weight monitoring software. LoSalt is a popular low sodium salt substitute.
Before installation the company would manually sample product from the production line at a rate of 15 tubs every 15 minutes.
This represented just 0.4percent of production output making it difficult to identify any trends in net weight change. This process was slow as results were handwritten on record sheets and filed with a separate printout for traceability purposes. When operators found an under-filled tub, they had to check the whole batch packed since the last sample.
As a result Klinge Chemicals chose to overfill tubs to ensure that it could satisfy average weight legislation.
Under filled packs created a logistical problem as the whole batch packed since the last sample had to be identified and rechecked before despatch.
After monitoring product overfill over a two-year period, the company decided that the levels of product giveaway justified the implementation of a new in-line system. This increased productivity through reducing manual labour and improving operational efficiency.
The Avery Weigh-Tronix Checkpoint S-MB checkweigher was installed downstream of the filling heads, with a RAM pusher reject mechanism to enable any underweight product to be taken off the line into receiving bins for refilling or topping up.
Now every pack is weighed and the data is recorded by the control system. Weight trends are monitored and if the average weight is high, the supervisor can adjust the filling head to reduce the amount deposited into each tub.
The checkweighers have a stainless steel construction and IP65 conveyor motors that are immune to water ingress under normal cleaning conditions. A waterproof cabinet protects the control board.
For more information, visit www.averyweigh-tronix.com
