3 Ways Beverage & Packaging Operations Can Optimize Shipping with Smart In-Line Sensors

Rapidly being adopted across the bottling and packaging industry, smart in-line sensors add valuable data to inform the production process.

By measuring damaging forces such as shock, impact, pressure, spin and tilt, the root cause of quality loss in beverage and package production processes is better understood in facilities that have adopted the technology.

(Fact: All four of the top four brewing companies in the world are making use of smart in-line sensors to improve efficiency in bottling.)

Bottling and packaging clients already deploying in-line sensors for production realized that the technology could (and should) be adapted to encompass shipping and transportation, hence the development of a new line of smart in-line sensor solutions with long distance transportation monitoring functionality. This innovation provides beverage and fragile food manufacturers loading-dock to loading-dock visibility of shock and sidewall pressures in case or on pallet during shipping.

For operations seeking optimization of their shipping processes, these three applications of smart in-line sensors for shipping monitoring are a great place to start:

Application #1
Determine cause of product damage and mitigate loss

Product containers are damaged in any number of ways after production:

• After palletizing during transfer handling, and/or because of transportation shock and vibration.
• Due to handling impact or failure during transit resulting in breakage.
• Due to sidewall fretting resulting in wall perforation.
• Label and lacquer damage due to abrasion.

Deployment of smart in-line sensors to understand the source of this damage is vital to take corrective action to solve or avoid the root cause of damage altogether. Of course, this isn’t always possible, in which case data gained through the smart sensor can aid further assessment of packaging efficacy (either container and external packaging) and design steps can be taken to accommodate shock, crush loads and temperature extremes.

Application #2
Monitor product loss and assign responsibility

Identifying areas where product is getting damaged and why it is happening leads to a further quality plan. Information creates the appropriate action, be it internal adjustments or with a third-party supplier.

• In some instances, a shipping partner may be under-performing or packaging supplier may be providing a solution that isn’t performing to specification. In either of these cases, by quantifying and understanding the damage, your operation is better equipped to make informed decisions – and no longer reliant on ‘gut feel’ when negotiating a solution.

Application #3
Report on dock-to-dock glass breakage and other product loss KPI (trending)

Closing the information loop and monitoring quality KPI from dock to dock is of growing importance for global bottling and packaging companies.

• Extending deployment of smart in-line sensors through both production and shipping processes enables complete visibility of key metrics including glass breakage, quality KPI and other product loss KPI.
• Trending across the Enterprise identifies areas of focus and enables comparison by area or line, facility, and country.

Deployment of smart in-line sensors to understand the source of this damage is vital to take corrective action to solve or avoid the root cause of damage altogether.