Ideally, each item that moves down your company’s production line would come out perfect in the end. Of course, product manufacturing and packaging are prone to error like anything else in the real world.
Not every product that passes through your production line will meet your acceptable quality level. You’ll need to make it your mission to inspect your products regularly and weed out those that fall short of the mark.
Selecting the right tool for product inspection is an effective way to improve overall product quality. This will enable you to take full advantage of the latest product inspection technology, maximizing the reliability of your system while ensuring your customers continue to trust your brand and mission.
Below, learn about the factors to consider when sifting through different inspection solutions to make a more informed decision about which would work best in your operations.
Understanding Inspection Requirements
What will you need a product inspection tool for when you welcome it into your company’s facility? This is one of the first questions you should ask when selecting the right tool for product inspection. This is not a time to deck out your production floor with every bell and whistle imaginable for the sake of appearances.
Here are a few inspection requirements to remember as you shop for product inspection tools you will actually use.
Identifying Contaminants
Are there any ferrous or non-ferrous contaminants that might find their way into the products your company packages? If, for example, you run a food processing plant, you’ll need to be mindful of metals that can end up in some food products if you aren’t careful.
Metal detectors are excellent options to consider when selecting the right tool for product inspections if the possibility of metal contaminants is on your radar. You might also go the extra mile with x-ray inspection machines that can sneak a peek inside products to detect the presence of other contaminants like glass, stone, bone, and more for the ultimate quality control.
Weight Verification Needs
Does your company specialize in packaging products at specific weights to meet the FDA’s stringent packaging standards? This is often another thing that those in the food processing industry must consider when selecting the right tool for product inspections.
In this case, checkweighers are useful tools for product inspections since they can quickly and accurately ensure the products your company packages all come in at the correct weight. This will help your company comply with FDA standards and any other rules and regulations that might apply to your industry.
Packaging Integrity
Is it extremely important for the integrity of the packaging for your products to remain intact to ensure safety? This will surely be the case if, for instance, your company packages certain pharmaceutical products and needs them to stay inside their packaging to prevent them from spilling out and falling into the wrong hands.
Vision inspection systems can be useful since many of them can inspect product packaging for things like cap placement and overall integrity. This will give you more confidence in the packaging you’re putting products into before shipping them to other companies and consumers.
Labeling and Aesthetic Inspection
Perhaps you already have a reliable system for weight and safety. But what if you simply want to ensure that the products you’re packaging look appealing to consumers when they appear on store shelves? In that case, visual inspection systems are crucial to upholding that aesthetic standard.
These systems can help your company maintain consistency in labeling and improve the general appearance of your products once packaged.
When To Use Metal Detectors
Consumers tend to panic when they hear new stories about metals being found in food products — and rightfully so. All it takes is one small piece of metal to force your company to issue a recall for food-related products. This is why you should think about using metal detectors to prevent recalls from happening.
Products Susceptible to Metal Contamination
It’s vital for those who work within the food processing industry to make investments in metal detectors that can keep such contaminants out of their products. Here are just a few products that could be susceptible to metal contamination:
- Meats and poultry
- Fruits and vegetables
- Dairy items
- Snacks
- Bakery products
Food inspections that use metal detectors can prevent small pieces of metal from getting into products like this and ruining them for consumers.
Ensuring Product Safety and Consumer Protection
When selecting the right tool for product inspections, you’ll find that metal detectors will work well for food processing plants that want to improve the food safety of their products. These detectors can help find and remove any of the following metals:
- Iron
- Steel
- Copper
- Lead
- Aluminum
Implementing such measures minimizes the chances of companies making the news for all the wrong reasons.
When To Use Checkweighers
FDA regulations, like the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, make it mandatory for companies to sell products at their advertised weights. You could get your company into a lot of trouble if it ever gets caught selling products that weigh less than they should.
Conversely, selling products that weigh too much can decrease your company’s profits. Checkweighers help you avoid both of these scenarios.
Products Sold by Weight
So many products are sold by weight these days, with many of them falling into the food category. Common examples include:
- Meats
- Cheeses
- Cereals
- Coffees
- Protein powders
Checkweighers can make each product your company packages the same weight time and time again.
Preventing Product Giveaways and Maintaining Profit Margins
If your company packages something like boxes of cereal, and each box is supposed to weigh 17.637 ounces, you need every single one to come in at that weight. If your boxes weigh even slightly more than that, your company will give away more of your product than it should and cut into your profit margins.
Checkweighers can pay for themselves over time by ensuring you aren’t essentially giving away products by not checking their weights closely enough.
When To Use X-Ray Inspection Systems
Your company needs to worry about more than just metal ending up in the products it packages. Other contaminants, like bones and plastics, can also work their way into everything from blocks of cheese to bottles of wine.
X-ray inspection systems can pinpoint the presence of these contaminants that might fly under the radar otherwise.
Detecting Foreign Objects in Sealed Products
When sealed products pass through x-ray inspection systems, your employees get a glimpse of whether or not they have any foreign objects inside. They can then remove these products from your production line to prevent them from landing in the hands of consumers.
Inspecting for Internal Defects or Voids
X-ray inspection systems are also designed to detect any internal defects or voids within packaged products. You can pair them with inspection software to monitor these issues, making adjustments to your production process and preventing them from occurring.
When To Use Vision Inspection Systems
You want the finished products your company sends to other businesses or consumers to look their best. Vision inspection systems help enhance the appearance of packaged goods.
Detecting Missing or Damaged Components on Products
Vision inspection systems can examine your packaged products closely and determine whether any components are damaged or missing. This will improve your operation from a quality control perspective.
Verifying Product Completeness and Labeling Accuracy
Many products your company packages will have labels stuck on the outside of them toward the end of the production process. Vision inspection systems can check to see that these labels are in the right places and contain accurate information.
Choosing Between Inspection Tools
Selecting the right tool for product inspection is trickier than it might seem. However, every inspection solution we just described can provide your company with a long list of benefits.
The key is choosing the inspection tools that will work best with the specific types of products your company produces and packages. Other factors deserve consideration when picking out the right inspection tools.
Cost vs. Inspection Needs
Each form of product inspection technology comes at a different price point. Compare how much metal detectors, checkweighers, x-ray inspection systems, vision inspection systems, and other options cost, and look for ones that will fit your company’s budget.
Integration With Your Existing Production Line
Unless you’re building a brand-new production facility from scratch, you likely already have equipment you rely on within your existing production line. Select product inspection tools that you can integrate seamlessly into your current operation without experiencing any issues.
Allow Us To Help You Choose the Right Tools for Product Inspection
Do you need assistance with selecting the right tool for product inspection? TDI Packsys can tell you more about our inspection solutions and help you decide which ones will benefit you most. Contact us to speak with one of our product inspection technology specialists.
