Let’s just put it out there – no process is perfect, and no packaging facility will achieve 100% defect-free operations. Material flaws, machine malfunctions, and human error will always haunt packaging operations. But, implementing methods that offer insights into the materials running through your machines, the health of your equipment or help your operators avoid mistakes will help the packaging process move closer to defect-free.

Kundinger supplies the equipment to help error-proof your facilities. Some examples include:

Sensors

There are quite a few different types of sensors that may be present in your facility. Sensors can vary in complexity and work to do many different things, including distance sensing, fluid control, auto identification, and flow measurement.

We’ve seen first-hand how the addition of sensors can benefit an operation. We helped our customer, a snack food producing and packaging facility, implement the use of bar code scanning systems to help control the accuracy of product being packed. Before the addition of these scanners, their operation relied on human counting, sorting, and packing, leaving their process open to customer order accuracy errors.

IO-Link

IO-Link helps take sensors to the next level. It is a technology that communicates with sensors and then produces data signals that are transmitted in a digital format. IO-Link is great for identifying potential malfunctions before they even happen. If there’s an error with a sensor, a notification will come through a connected HMI, which in turn reduces unplanned downtime.

And, as if that’s not enough, IO-Link even serves to reduce planned downtime by adjusting the parameters of sensors while your operation is still up and running.

Pick-to-light systems

Human error is truly unavoidable. Even the top-trained employees make mistakes. Fatigue, distractions, and simple mix-ups, like data entry errors happen. Data entry errors are especially easy to make when employees are typing a sequence of many characters, like a barcode, for example. Pick-to-light systems are a simple-to-use solution that can greatly improve a facility’s fulfillment accuracy.

Pick-to-light technology aids human workers by allowing them to scan a barcode which then guides them, typically with LED lights, to a product’s storage location. At the storage location a digital tag display indicates how many items should be picked. Many of these systems are organized to reduce the amount of walking your employees will have to do too, increasing overall efficiency. At Kundinger, we’re always working to make sure your packaging facility is operating at its best. We’re here to help you achieve the accuracy and flexibility you need adapt to new trends in the industry. That’s a win-win for you and your customer. Connect with us today and let’s start the error-proofing process together.