Product category:
Weighing and counting equipment
News Release from: Marco
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 September 2006
Integrated weighing and packing for herb
producer
Two Twin LineMaster Workstations and eight bespoke LineMaster Workstations supplied by Marco Weighing Systems are bringing a rapid return on investment for leading fresh herb producer Humber VHB
We tend to take for granted the packs of fresh herbs on our supermarket and delicatessen shelves, but growing and packing them is a delicate manual process involving significant operator dexterity For the packer the main criteria are ensuring the herbs are not damaged, optimising packing speed and complying with weight legislation whilst minimising giveaway - a tall order by anybody's standards! Privately owned Humber VHB grow a staggering 21 acres of herbs under glass at their two nurseries, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers and cress
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 22 Dec 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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As Humber VHB's Operations Director Ian Ball explains: "Although the herbs themselves might appear to be relatively low cost produce, when you take into account the sheer volumes that we grow and pack, it is easy to see that every gram over weight in a typical 30 g pack has an important cost implication for us".
"As demand grows for our produce we need to increase packing speeds, but keep giveaway to a minimum." The Marco solution at Humber VHB takes into account a number of key operational factors and includes not only the 12 LineMaster scales operating directly over the packing line conveyors, but also peripheral equipment for the integration with the two Schur packaging lines.
The LineMaster stations, which communicate with the central PC via a secure RF wireless interface, are fully mobile and the frames have lockable castors.
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Weighing portion control system
A second six station LineMaster portion control system supplied by Marco Weighing Systems is bringing cost savings and improved productivity to leading prepared vegetable supplier Exotic Farm Produce.
This removes problems associated with external cabling and allows for rapid line changes as required.
The smooth ergonomic design lines, stainless steel construction and internal wiring management system ensure the Marco equipment meets the latest IFPA (International Fresh-cut Produce Association) recommendations for hygiene in modern food processing plants.
The workstations feature retractable easy-glide trays above the scales to facilitate product replenishment from the rear, whilst simple features such as adjustable swivel displays ensure optimum operator performance.
The LineMaster scales feature Marco's innovative Automatic Optimisation (AO) software as part of the Trac-IT operating suite, and have been specifically developed for high speed manual packing and portion control.
As with many such applications, the scales are used in 'takeaway' mode which is well established in such food packaging operations.
This gives a much faster process and provides greater control on the consistency and final weight.
The operator simply grabs an amount of herbs from the large tray positioned at a convenient angle in front of them.
The LineMaster's sixteen high intensity tolerance indicators give a clear indication of the amount of produce removed via the unambiguous traffic light display.
Watching the bar graph, the operator adjusts the amount of herbs in the bundle, removing any downgraded product to a side tray.
Once the correct target weight (as indicated by the green light) is achieved within management set tolerances, the system instantaneously captures the weight and the herbs are placed through the conveyor slots into the moving bag below.
Operators soon 'tune in' to such systems and the weighing process takes a matter of seconds.
To maximise the use of real time data capture Marco have pioneered their Automatic Optimisation (AO) Process within the food industry.
Pack weight trends are continually monitored by the system and tolerance settings at individual workstations are automatically adjusted on an ongoing basis.
These continual subtle changes are transparent to the operators who simply pack to the 'green light'.
The end result is minimal giveaway whilst complying with average weight legislation.
Ian Ball is very pleased with the Marco system and as he concludes: "After starting off with two Twin-Station LineMasters last year, we rapidly saw the benefits to our operation and this confidence led to the further installations".
"Marco personnel have worked closely with Schur engineers to ensure fully integrated systems".
"We have seen a significant increase in our packing speed and thanks to the Auto Optimisation package, the overall giveaway has dropped to well within 1 g per pack".
"Each and every weighing is recorded by the Trac-IT LM system, and our supervisors can see a number of key performance indicators (KPIs) at a glance, including waste levels and individual operator performance which helps to drive training needs and keeps the staff on their toes.".
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