The reduction of giveaway
14 April 2009
The recent installation of two Ishida fresh food weighers has resulted in product giveaway being reduced from about 1-7% for Southampton-based fresh fruit supplier Mack Service
The company now says the improvements in accuracy, combined with faster throughput, means it expects to achieve payback on the weighers within 18 months. The FFWs form part of a mini-convenience packing line at Mack Service’s Southampton factory, which includes an Ishida QX-775 tray sealer and DACS-W checkweigher. The line is being used to pack various mixed and single fresh fruits for retailers into tray sizes from 160-460g.
The Ishida FFW was developed to enable fresh, sticky and difficult-to-handle products, which previously could be only weighed and packed manually, to benefit from the combination weighing principle for improved accuracy.
Operators deliver the product along linear belt feeders that distribute it evenly to the weighing units, where specially developed hoppers with anti-stick scraper gates are said to ensure a smooth, reliable and consistent product flow through the weigher.
Using Ishida’s multihead weighing technology, the computer selects the combination of hoppers that most closely matches the target weight. A set of booster hoppers under the weigh hoppers holds product not initially selected by the computer. This frees up the weigh hoppers to accept more fruit and thus generate additional weight combinations, which further increases speed and accuracy.
For the installation at Mack Service, each of the FFWs is divided into two sections, enabling up to four types of fruit to be handled at different weights for discharge into the same pack. The specified line speed is 25 packs per minute but speeds over 30ppm are regularly being achieved and single fruit can be packed at a speed of up to 40 trays per minute.
Packs are presented under four dipping funnels, which place each of the component weights into the trays. These are taken for sealing on the Ishida QX-775 traysealer before undergoing a final weight check on the DACS-W checkweigher, then moving on for labelling.
Prior to the installation of the FFW, product was weighed by hand. “Our key priority was to reduce giveaway,” explains Mack Service operations manager Gary Kennedy. “We already had the QX-775 for the sealing of the trays so it was natural to ask Ishida to provide a solution to improve weighing performance. And as well as the vast improvements in accuracy, the increased level of automation means we’ve halved the number of people required on this line, freeing up personnel for other duties.”
Ishida says it designed and project managed the installation, including the provision of gantries for the weighers, conveyors and an extended infeed for the QX-775 to enable it to be incorporated into the new line.
The line handles up to 10 different product variations each day. Changeover between product runs can be easily effected with target weights and specifications called up from the weigher’s memory via its touch-screen control.
“Our operators find the FFW user-friendly and easy to manage,” reports Kennedy. “We are delighted with the results from the Ishida fresh food weighers and the high level of service and support we’ve received from Ishida.”
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