Quality Data and Traceability from the Systems That Run the Line

Checkweighers, metal detectors, X-ray units, vision systems and inline instruments all produce results the control system can read. Captured at the line, each result is stored against the batch, SKU and time it belongs to, and a failed check can raise an alarm or a hold while the product is still on site.

• Checkweigher results by SKU: weights, rejects and giveaway against the target.
• Metal detector and X-ray rejects and test-piece checks, with times and outcomes.
• Inline measurements such as temperature, Brix, pH or viscosity, where the instruments exist.
• Operator checks entered at the HMI against the batch, instead of on paper.
• Holds and releases linked to the lot they apply to.

Genealogy starts in the control logic. Where batching follows ISA-88, each recipe phase records what was added, from which source, by route and quantity, and each finished lot records the batches that fed it. We structure this the way we structured the Real Pet Food batch control, where the route and ingredient were validated at each step, so the record reflects a confirmed path rather than an assumed one.

• Ingredient lots consumed, recorded against the batch and the recipe phase.
• Transfer routes and sources validated and logged at each step.
• Finished lots linked to the batches, line and shift that produced them.
• Packaging lots and date codes recorded at the filler or labeller.
• Stock movements recorded from PLC events, as at Tibaldi.

Once quality results are captured with context, they support more than a record. Statistical process control charts, integration with a laboratory information management system (LIMS) and electronic batch records can all be built on the same data. We scope these as a next stage for each site, after the core records are captured and trusted, rather than as the first step.