SPC Better quality product = happy customers

With a climate of ever influential social media, unhappy clients are able to ins
tantly share their displeasure around the globe with a simple mouse click. Ens
uring every product that you release into the market place is the very best you
can achieve is becoming more and more vital to the continued health and profitab
ility of your business.
Checking the weight of a product is a must before it gets out into the market pl
ace, either to comply with legal requirements or simply for peace of mind that y
our end users will not end up with an eating experience that disappoints them an
d makes them chose a different brand the next time they are in the mood for your
style of product. However, is weight the only quality standard you want to chec
k? What about the colour? The fill height? The consistency? The general look that
only a trained human eye can really appreciate and judge?
SPC Quality Control
Validating your weight data is relatively simple and inexpensive with an in-line
checkweigher, or is it? Do you have a single point that all your products pass
through or will you have to buy multiple units for multiple lines? Do your lines
have the space for an in-line unit or will you need to chop (literally) and cha
nge your production around? If the in-line unit has a breakdown, do you stop pro
ducing product until it has been fixed? Can you really afford another point of p
otential weakness within your process? When you think about it, do you really ne
ed to weigh every pack? Once production is in a steady state, how much variation
is there going to be? Gross errors will surely be picked up by visual and quali
ty checks before shipping.
In this white paper, we explore if Statistical Process Control (SPC) could well
be the solution that will deliver the biggest bang for your buck. It will allow
you to monitor, control and act upon, not only your weight trends but also all t
he other quality standards that you have in place without placing undue demands
on your process or the personnel involved in delivering your products to market.
Technology has moved on from pen and paper and creates opportunities for huge a
dvances in data capture and analysis without breaking the bank.
The Solution:
The SG Systems solution is a unique combination of hardware and software designe
d to give managers the data and visibility in an accurate and verifiable format
to empower them to make decisions about their production and process with confid
ence. Even better, the results of those changes are fed back in real time.
Weights and Measures:
The vast majority of quality standards start with the simple principle of gettin
g the portion size correct and the universally accepted method is to check that
the weight complies with the specification. The combination of the Vantage touch
screen and weighing scale enables operators on the shop floor to take randomly
selected samples and check weigh them against the specification against the prod
uct
SPC Quality Control
within the system. As you would expect, when the product is within weight range
allowed in the specification, the data is recorded and transmitted back to the d
atabase but when the product is out of specification, more than just a record is
created. Depending on both the level of the error and the direction of it (high
er or lower), as series of management programmed remedial actions can be display

ed and enforced for the operator to carry out. For example, to check it is not a
random occurrence, the operator can be directed to take more samples immediatel
y to check the trend. If the error persists, follow up instructions such as call
ing a supervisor or stopping the line can be implemented. Most importantly, ever
y single action and re-action is recorded and reported on within the reports so
proving to an auditor, a client or just the senior team that the correct steps h
ave been carried out and by who becomes quick, easy and, most importantly, verif
iable.
The Other Numbers:
Having ensured that the big picture product weight is within spec, what about the
finer details. The height, length and width of the product, the temperature and
any other numerical demands made within the product specification. With an inlin
e checkweigher, the weight is capture, the product accepted or rejected and then
it is off to your client. With the Vantage solution from SG Systems, all the ot
her important aspects of the look and feel are also checked. Once the weight par
ameters are adhered to and validated, the operator is stepped through each measu
rement and control point along the way and the results checked and recorded acco
rdingly. If it is out of spec, the remedial actions pertinent to that control po
int are activated.
Quality Attributes:
All quality standards have to rely on the judgement of a human individual for th
e final approval. This requires robust training and procedures to be in place bu
t also, to maintain consistency, that the judgement of each of those humans be t
he same. The Vantage solution from SG Systems reduces that variability to a mini
mum by walking the judges through it and offering up the visual clues to ensure no
thing is missed. Rather than relying on the operator to agree that the colour is
correct, a picture of the product colour required can be displayed for comparis
on. Rather than rely upon the operator to remember every aspect they are meant t
o check, each one will be displayed in turn with as many optional answers and co
mments sections as required by management. Full work instructions and even level
s of importance can be inputted to ensure the product as close to perfect as it
can reasonably be.
When To Do The Checks:
Within the HACCP manual of all businesses will be the frequency that checks of v
arious types need to be carried out but how often do they actually happen. How m
any checks are left for extended periods of time and then backfilled for complianc
es sake? With the Vantage solution, you set the frequency and when it is time for
a check, the system alerts those around it that actions must be carried out. Mo
re importantly, every single interaction with the system is date & time stamped
with the relevant operator assigned to it so if the reminders are ignored, manag
ement personnel will know.
The Set Up:
Many inline checkweighers or other shop floor systems require long periods of ti
me spent in front of the device programming all the products and specifications
directly into the equipment. Not only is this inconvenient, but it has to be don
e for every device around the plant.and when a change to specifications is made,
the long slow loop starts again.and devices can be missed or forgotten. With the
SG Systems solution, simply enter your products specifications and routines into
the central database in the comfort of your office and, once approved and relea
sed, they are available and enforced on the shop floor. Make a change and the ne
xt time the product is selected, the new specs are live. No retraining, no workin
g to a previous standard and no excuses for mistakes.

The Reports:
Information is vital to any executive team to improve the company performance an
d with the SG Systems solution, every action is logged and recorded in the centr
al database accessible to those authorised to do so. Whether a summary or overvi
ew of production performance is required or every small detail of a particular b
atch of product, the extensive suite of reports will deliver the information qui
ckly and in an easy to understand format.