Imelda Kehoe, Quality Manager

We have spent the last 6months taking a good look at ourselves in preparation for ISO9001:2008 audit. We decided to implement a process based quality management system that would first and foremost help us achieve our goals and objectives but also one that was robust enough to withstand independant auditing.  

It hasn't always been easy – in fact, I have developed a few grey hairs as a result but it really has been worth it! I can honestly advise anyone who is thinking of implementing a process based quality managment system to go for it. Here is what I have learned:

1. You have to get everyone on board from the start. Don't assume that people won't be interested, it is a human given to want to do a job well. We all remember when we were kids and we worked hard and did something well – it feels good.   

2. Start at the top and ask yourselves – what is our goal? how are we going to achieve our goal? what are the main areas that we need to focus on then? If you can answer these, you will have an overall goal and a set of objectives.

3 .If you have someone inhouse with experience, the new ISO9001:2008 standard is easily navigable. If you don't have someone in house, employ the services of a good consultant – someone who will help you to analyise your business processes and not over complicate things.

4. Look at your business – you know what you do, but how do you do it? Take a step back and analyse the different parts of the process from initial customer meeting to service/product delivery. What happens in between and how to these bits happen? This will help to identify the business processes and the procedures that you need to formalise.

5. Don't be afraid of looking at the parts of the business where you could be doing better – best to be honest and take the "warts and all" approach. It might require patience and diplomacy to change and improve these areas but it will be worth the effort because it is here that you will realise the biggest benefits to your business. Also, it will avoid having any Basil Fawlty moments during audit!

Tekpak has just completed the installation of its latest version fully servo controlled Flow Wrapper complete with its newly developed 4-Axis Robotic Feeding Unit which feeds products directly from the production process to the Flow Wrapper infeed without the need for human intervention.

Well known for its Packman 2 & 3 Axis Robots usually used for picking and placing food and pharmaceutical products into cartons or trays.  Tekpak has combined its Robotic Technology with its expertise in Flow Wrapping and automatic product distribution.

 

Tekpak's latest development was achieved in response to the requirements of a multi-national pharmaceutical & baby nutrition company who wanted to ensure that all components of its Infant Nutritional foods are produced in the most hygienic and efficient way possible.

 

Measuring scoops which are included with the packs of milk powder are now flow wrapped by Tekpak's system and then Robotically transferred from the injection moulding machine to the Flow wrapper and wrapped within seconds of being produced to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and efficiency.  Both the Flow wrapper and the handling Robot have been designed and manufactured in Tekpaks factory in Wexford.

 

The complete systems is controlled by an integrated logic and motion controller which controls the operation of the eight servo motors (4 in the Flow wrapper, 4 into the Robot feeding system).  The control philosophy is based on the latest Bosch Rexroth Sercos III high speed networking standard and there is an intuitive color touch screen which reports any errors and allows the operator to manage the whole line from one point.

 

"The Robotic Feeding unit has been developed as a standard module which can be easily and quickly adapted for use in feeding a wide variety of products to either our own Flow wrappers or to customers existing machines" points out John Kehoe, Managing Director.  The unit has many other applications apart from feeding components from injection moulding machines and is particularly suitable for bakery, confectionary, cakes, biscuits etc.

Automation, robotics and vision technology is an ever expanding sector.  This is evident when we look at the statistics.  A 15% increase in robot sales was noted within the food sector from 2008-2009.  This statistic can be supported by the several inventive machines being produced recently.  The examples are visionary and include; an automated machine that checks sandwich fillings correspond to the details specified on the label.  Another example is Mr Asahi; a life size robot designed to serve cold beer.  This design includes a 6 axis functionality, performance of 60 repeatable functions per minute, bespoke hands that enable him to hold a variation of bottle sizes and an integrated vocal system.

It is due to increasing knowledge and experience by robot manufactures that such developments are being achieved.  This progression is leading to more cost effective and specialist production that enables producers to invest in such reliable machines (Christopher Buxton, PPMA 2010).

(picture courtesy of www.hoppsy.com, retrieved 19/5/10)

Click here to read all about our 4-axis Vision Guided Robot article is featured here - http://www.webpackaging.com/packaging-suppliers/tekpak/innovations/param/innovation/2250603/Introducing-the-new–Packman-Vision–Robotic-Cell/

In the current economic climate the word “recession” is one that is heard quiet frequently, but how has it changed us as consumers?  Research has shown that Aldi and Lidl have noticed a significant increase in their sales within the last 12 months and expect to continue with such success into 2012 (Business Monitor International, 2009). Within the food industry alone several trends have developed. Eating out is becoming a thing of the past with more and more families deciding to eat at home.  Consumers are also returning to the appeal of the less expensive private labels and older brand names (M Piyush University of Iowa, 2009).  The well known custard cream and Chef Ketchup are two prime examples, with both products experiencing an increase in sales due to such consumer trends (L Mc Bride Irish Independent, 2009).  

What drives R&D? What makes a company commit, time, money and effort into developing new things? We do it to stay one step ahead. The packaging world is changing and evolving rapidly and is being driven by the consumer, the retailer and the manufacturers looking to stay one step ahead.

In our business, we find that the Supermarkets drive much of the R&D in packaging development by demanding from their suppliers a different pack style for example shelf ready or a more hygienic pack. This in turn creates opportunities for the machinery manufacturer. In our business this is the most effective way of running an R&D program. 

For the past year, we have been working towards ISO9001 certification of our Quality Management System. We have looked at all aspects of our business from design to manufacture with a strong emphasis on Customer Satisfaction throughout. We are working on this now and will continue to find ways of improving our business in the future. We are planning our external audit late Spring '10 so watch this space, we'll keep you posted!

EasyFairs Dublin June 2010 – We will be showing our Packman Vision Robotic Loader. Look out for us there we will be near the Networking Bar!

We have definitely seen an increase in enquiries for pick and place loading – typically the part of the packaging process that involves putting the primary wrapped product into cases before loading on to pallets.

Why? well, our customers are telling us that they need to reduce their prices to the end user because that is what consumers and Supermarkets are demanding so they are looking at ways to cut costs and labour intensive hand packing is one of the areas where huge savings can be made – not only in labour but also in materials because the materials used in case packing tend to be cheaper. 

This is often the last part of the packaging line to automate because producers, especially with a new product launch,  will hand pack for a period of time until they are sure of demand. Most of our enquiries are coming from high volume food producers e.g bakery, confectionary, drinks, coffee, ready meals & snacks.

Last year we recruited Darragh Sinnott an Engineering Graduate from DIT and WIT. He is a Mechanical Engineer also with a Degree in Computer Aided Manufacturing with a flair for Electronics and Programming – perfect for Tekpak and a great addition to our team. When he gets a minute from the projects he is working on, he will be writing a blog about his experience as a graduate Engineer with Tekpak – what he has learned and the challenges that he has faced.  We look forward to that Darragh!

This year, we have recruited Louis Cullen, a Mechatronics Graduate with experience and aptitude for PLC programming and Robotics. Louis will also be working on our Robotic Loading projects alongside our programming specialists. We look forward to the year ahead and in due course, when he has found his feet at Tekpak, I will invite Louis to blog about his experience with us.  Welcome Louis!