By James Butcher (B-Eng), Managing Director – Claricom Limited, Claricom Limited - Package Coding Management
SubscribeThe more we rely on automation, the greater the problems posed by human error. James Butcher, of Claricom, examines the pitfalls of letting coding errors go undetected and discusses how independent Package Coding Management Systems can help prevent these often hidden costs.
The on-line coding of packaging with lot codes, manufacturing and expiry dates and other information such as the barcodes for transit packaging are a commercial and legal necessity.
Human error is inevitable and the Food and Drink industries can be particularly vulnerable to these problems since stringent regulations control the potential for the re-working or re-packaging of product, and often packaging simply dictates this is impossible.
A Claricom survey found a conservative estimate of the costs incurred as a result of human errors made when setting up coding machines will typically be in excess of €20,000 per production line, per year – to cover product recall, re-work, lost production, wasted materials, lost sales and penalties from customers.
One Dairy alone, bottling milk for retail, has put the cost of package coding errors at over £400,000 per year, plus the damage to customer confidence and on-going business that results.
“I have several sorts of coders in my plant and until I found Claricom, I had no means of avoiding manual input errors. Because Claricom is independent their PCMS software can connect to all my coders and provide savings in excess of €600,000 a year in reduced waste and increased efficiency.”
In recent months the serious implications - particularly the financial ones - of allowing a coding error to go undetected have become a major issue. Perhaps most notably it is the top retailers who have been the driving force in both identifying the problem and providing the impetus for the supply industries to do something about it.
“To err is human…” runs the proverb. True enough. We all make mistakes. In an ever-changing, fast-developing world, this ironically remains a sole indisputable fact.
“… To forgive divine,” the proverb concludes. Sadly, however, there is not much room for divinity in the hard commercial world in which we operate. Currently, for example, a single product withdrawal or RTM could result in a €40,000 fine from a retailer – on top of the internal cost implications of lost production, lost sales, wasted product or re-packaging.
Furthermore, the increased use of EAN128 transit packaging and automated distribution will increase the ease with which customers and retailers can identify these errors and attribute the costs direct to the manufacturers.
An independent PCMS, such as that available from Claricom, will allow the networking of existing multi-brand coding and labelling equipment and therefore, without the need for new coding equipment, a return on investment is measured in months.
“Claricom CLARiNET provides a carefully controlled system to enable us to avoid the potential for error by taking the responsibility for the integrity of pack information out of the hands of the operators and transferring it to Technical and Quality Assurance.” Explains Manufacturing Systems Manager within Northern Foods – the return on investment for our Claricom CLARiNET network was less than 6 months.
Part of the problem in attempting to put actual costs against coding errors is that many companies have not tended to highlight these within plant efficiency and KPI reporting. It is often assumed that coding errors are detected by regular manual inspection and then rectified. This means that the costs associated with the re-work are grouped within the general reduction in line efficiency and there is often no attempt to try to assess the cumulative effect of any such stoppages and recalls.
Among those companies that have recognised the problem, the response has usually been nothing more than increased vigilance, with the introduction of more checks during the packing operation.
This does not, however, stop the wrong information being entered in the first place or tackle the problems and costs associated with re-working product or the resultant reduction in plant efficiency, and on short shelf life products the lost sales because time simply does not allow re-work or re-packaging.
However, nor are manual line checks infallible.
One manufacturer admitted to Claricom that, while most coding errors were spotted and remedied relatively quickly, the transposing of figures in a best before date or price could go unnoticed for a long time. “There is a tendency in such cases to see what you want to see,” confessed the Production Manager.
So what is a more reliable alternative? The answer lies in the introduction of systems that enable information to be centrally controlled and managed.
Claricom Package Coding Management - ELIMINATE RISK, ENSURE ACCURACY
The Claricom suite of software provides proven flexible auto-coding systems that combine packaging validation with the automatic set-up of coding and labelling equipment to ensure the right product, in the right packaging, with the correct overprinted information.
In essence, these “Package Coding Management Systems” remove the need for manual input on a day-to-day basis and an independent systems provider allows a common system across all leading makes and models of coding equipment.
A Claricom PCMS aids legal compliance, increases traceability and increases customer confidence by removing the main causes of packaging and coding product withdrawals, preventing not only the immediate cost of errors, but also the loss of customer goodwill that results.
A Claricom PCMS typically pays for itself within 12 months.
The Package Coding Management System can include on-line bar code inspection to confirm a legible bar code has been printed and applied correctly to each product. On primary packaging, on-line barcode reading equipment can be used to scan the point-of-sale barcode and confirm the correct packaging is being used – there is limited benefit in ensuring the correct Use By date is printed if “Strawberry Flavour” is being packed in a “Cherry Flavour” box.
Clearly coding errors will have a greater impact on certain businesses – fresh food products are an obvious example, since any delay in getting product onto the shelves is critical. The need to re-work or re-pack may not only reduce efficiency, but may also result in shortfalls in deliveries and the resulting loss in sales.
Drink packaging is another, where it is often technically or commercially impractical to re-package product that is incorrectly coded and therefore all product is then waste.
While the elimination of coding and bar coding errors provides the immediate financial justification for such Package Coding Management Systems, there are numerous other benefits as well: reduced set up time, increased plant utilisation, demonstrable control of package coding accuracy and automatic data collection.
These in turn can lead to increased production flexibility (and therefore the ability to respond more easily to customer demands and sudden changes in requirements) and the optimisation of production quantities.
“As a supplier to the major retailers product quality and safety are paramount. We therefore installed a system that would reduce the risk of human error in setting up our coders, while at the same time being flexible enough to cope with a large product range and frequent changeovers”. Technical Manager, Laurens Patisseries.
Since the successful launch in 2000 the Claricom PCMS have been implemented by a diverse range of manufacturers including: Dairy Crest, Geest, Hazlewoods, Nestlé, Northern Foods, Samworth Brothers and Yoplait.
CASE STUDY EXAMPLE - HAZLEWOOD CHILLED MEALS
Following two years of success in increasing efficiency and eliminating the risk of product recalls due to coding errors, leading food manufacturer Hazlewood Chilled Meals, part of the Greencore Group, has extended its use of Claricom Package Coding Management Systems to provide 100% barcode inspection of sleeved products.
The company’s site in Warrington manufactures ready meals for Tesco. As part of a group-based initiative using Tesco’s approved supplier list, Claricom was approached in 2000, initially on a trial basis, to provide network control of Hazlewood’s ink jet coding.
Following the success of the trials, Claricom installed a Package Coding Management System (PCMS) in Summer 2000 across all packaging lines at both factories in Warrington. This allows centralised network control of on-pack coding, necessary for printing both onto the sleeve with essential information such as the Use By date, and onto the film lid with contents and traceability information.
CLARiSOFT Generic Image Design Software is used to compile and maintain a centralised technical database of product coding specifications (Use By Dates, Price etc.) and associated message designs for all of Hazlewood’s product lines. By using a single controlled source for all coding information, excessive manual data input is avoided and, because CLARiSOFT uses a logical, rule-based approach, the accuracy of all variable coding data is guaranteed.
In addition, all of the coding information is managed off-line, further reducing the scope for errors and ensuring consistent coding across all lines.
A Claricom CLARiNET network automatically sets up all the coders and on-line bar code reading equipment. Operatives first use portable or fixed bar code readers to confirm that the correct product and product packaging has been selected for a particular line.
All the correct information is then sent automatically to the coding equipment from the secure technical database; this includes the date coding, price and the format the printed information should take. This method reduces the scope for manual error and provides an easy-to-use, faster and more efficient set-up.
Hazlewood Chilled Meals extended the use of Claricom technology to include sleeve barcode inspection in Summer 2002. This allows the on-line bar code reading equipment to be automatically activated to ensure that every single sleeve matches the selected product and, therefore, that product is in the correct packaging.
An important consideration for Hazlewood Chilled Meals in choosing Claricom was that the technology is compatible with its existing Imaje printers and also compatible with other coding equipment within Hazlewood.
This is because Claricom Package Coding Management Systems are designed as an open platform, which will operate across all leading makes and models of coding and labelling equipment.
Claricom products are compatible with a wide range of equipment including: Alpha-Dot, Domino, ICE, Imaje, Linx, Markem, Mectec TEC, Videojet. And Zebra.
“The use of a Package Coding Management System from Claricom has delivered proven benefits to the accuracy, flexibility and speed of our coding process,” explains Mark Lodge, Operations Director at Hazlewood Chilled Meals. “To protect the reputation of both the retailer and ourselves is undoubtedly an asset we would not be without.”
Claricom technology has also been purchased for use at a sister site in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire as well as at another Greencore Group category business, Hazlewood Prepared Foods at Kiveton.
“The success at the Warrington site has demonstrated the suitability of the implementation of Claricom’s systems across the Greencore Group,” adds Mark Lodge.
Claricom Limited
Tel: (0115) 9555 153 Fax: (0115) 859 0239