How To Get
Efficient Quality Control
Using Vision Inspection

Many of our customers have previously implemented vision systems for quality control of food and packaging without a successful outcome. They experienced that their previous solutions:

• Did not detect and reject all products with errors
• Produced too many false ejections of good products
• Were too difficult and complicated for the operators to use

Fact is – it is hard to master the advanced technology of efficient vision solutions. It takes the right combination of cameras, lights, hardware, software, codes and algorithms as well as a deep understanding of shop floor conditions at various production sites to set up efficient vision-based inspection that works in the food industry.

However – if all these ingredients are used correctly, vision inspection can be the most efficient quality control solution for food manufacturers!
Because fact is also that vision technology is ideal for quality control of both food and food packaging due to its reliable, speedy inspection, and broad application.
But the vision solution must be carried out by vision experts. We know, as we have developed vision solutions for the food and packaging industries for more than 20 years.    

Issues emerge when manufacturers implement solutions:

• That do not have sufficient intelligent software ensuring correct failure detection in production environments.
• Where customers are left on their own after implementation, which makes it difficult to maintain correct failure detection
  in the long run when changes or incidents occur on the production line.
• That are too difficult to operate, e.g. when operators need to update a product label, change production settings, or see
  real-time production performance.

“There are different ways to automate your quality control using vision technology. However, if you want it to have a true impact on your business, it is important to think through the consequences of choosing each alternative”, says Ole Neckelmann, Commercial Director at TriVision.

A complete vision system is on the other hand a complete, finalized system developed for specific production lines, and the suppliers are specialized in vision as they typically develop, install, maintain, and support the systems. When considering multiple options from different suppliers, food manufacturers must ensure that specific key features are present to ensure a true impact on the business performance.

“First, it is of course important that the system actually can detect all the error types that you want to detect – but for the business performance it is just as important that the solution does not cause false rejections and unnecessary costs. Next, it is important to test if the system is easy to use for operators. If production shifts are too time consuming, if operators cannot adjust error tolerances, update product labels or quickly gain an overview of the production performance, then the system will not remain a truly efficient solution in the long run – even though it may, in theory, be able to detect errors correctly”, says Ole Neckelmann.

To fully utilize vision technology to obtain efficient automated quality control, food manufacturers should implement complete systems that are developed, implemented, and maintained by vision experts – vision experts that know the needs of the manufacturers within the food and packaging industry.