In this blog we examine how essential calibration is within high-tech smart factories with a specific focus on food manufacturing.
In the era of Industry 4.0, where digital transformation is redefining manufacturing processes, smart factories are at the forefront of innovation. These highly automated and data-driven environments rely heavily on advanced equipment and tooling to maintain precision, efficiency, and quality. One of the critical yet often overlooked aspects that underpin the long term success of smart factories is the calibration of equipment and tooling. Proper calibration ensures that all machinery operates within specified tolerances, which is essential for achieving consistent product quality and operational efficiency.
Calibration is the process of configuring an instrument to provide results within an acceptable range. It involves comparing the measurements of an instrument against a known standard and adjusting it to align with the standard. This ensures that the equipment produces accurate and reliable data, which is crucial for decision-making and maintaining the integrity of manufacturing processes.
Why calibration is essential in Smart Factories
1. Ensuring Precision and Accuracy
Smart factories rely on a myriad of sensors, robotic systems, and automated machinery, all of which need to function precisely. Calibration ensures that every piece of equipment operates accurately, minimising errors and reducing the risk of defective products. For instance, in additive manufacturing, where 3D printers build components layer by layer, even a minor miscalibration can lead to significant defects.
2. Maintaining Consistent Quality
Consistency is key in manufacturing. Regular calibration of tools and equipment helps maintain consistent product quality. In smart factories, where production lines are highly automated, ensuring that each machine performs consistently reduces variability in the final product, enhancing reliability and quality.
3. Optimising Operational Efficiency
Calibrated equipment operates more efficiently, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. Accurate instruments lead to fewer errors, which means less rework and waste. This optimisation of resources is crucial in smart factories where efficiency and lean manufacturing principles are prioritised.
4. Data Integrity and Decision Making
Smart factories thrive on data. From predictive maintenance to quality control, accurate data is essential for making informed decisions. Calibration ensures that the data collected from various sensors and instruments is reliable, enabling better analytics and insights. This, in turn, supports more effective decision-making and continuous improvement initiatives.
5. Compliance with Standards and Regulations
Manufacturing industries are often subject to stringent standards and regulations. Regular calibration helps ensure compliance with these requirements. For instance, industries such as aerospace and automotive have strict tolerances for safety and performance. Calibrated equipment ensures that manufacturing processes meet these high standards, avoiding costly fines and enhancing brand reputation.
Implementing Effective Calibration Practices
In order to implement an effective calibration process within your smart factory (or within any manufacturing company realistically) is to follow:
- Scheduled calibration intervals
- Appointing a UKAS certified calibration partner
- Documentation of calibration activities
- Integrating calibration with maintenance
- Leveraging IoT and Advanced Analytics
Let’s look at these areas in more depth to better help you understand what needs to happen.
Implementing a schedule for regular calibration of all critical equipment is essential. This can be based on manufacturer recommendations, usage patterns, and performance data. Regular intervals help catch and correct deviations before they lead to significant issues. It might be that you schedule a 6 monthly calibration for certain equipment and an annual calibration for others.
UKAS calibrations give confidence. It’s that simple. By appointing a UKAS accredited calibration partner you will ensure that all calibration activities are performed using certified standards and completed by qualified personnel. This guarantees the accuracy and reliability of the calibration process itself; do your due diligence and check their scopes on UKAS [link].
CoMech has a bespoke asset management software that customers use to maintain detailed records of all calibration activities. This documentation includes the date, equipment calibrated, standards used, and any adjustments made. It will also you’re your calibration certificates and pass records, or indeed failed equipment and the reasons why. Such records are vital for traceability, audits, and continuous improvement efforts. TrackRecordPro is loved by our customers in a range of industries for the visibility it provides and the reminders when a calibration is due.
Calibration should be integrated into the broader maintenance strategy. Coordinating calibration with routine maintenance tasks ensures that equipment is not only accurate but also in optimal working condition. Our onsite engineers can be booked for any shut down periods you have or any changeovers when equipment is available to be calibrated.
Smart factories can leverage IoT and advanced analytics to monitor equipment performance in real-time. Predictive analytics can signal when a machine is deviating from its expected performance, prompting pre-emptive calibration and maintenance.
Calibration for smart food factories
Recently, Greggs have announced that they are investing in a new state of the art facility to support their growth plans here in our own city, Derby.
More and more, manufacturing businesses are moving their facilities into expansive, state of the art facilities, like the SmartParc SEGRO who are providing Greggs with their new base.
Even with swish new facilities calibration is essential even in those early days of manufacturing.
Food manufacturers must calibrate their equipment to ensure safety, quality, and compliance with regulatory standards. Accurate calibration is critical in maintaining the precision of various instruments that measure temperature, weight, pH, and humidity, all of which are essential for consistent product quality and safety. For instance, temperature controls in ovens and refrigeration units must be precise to prevent bacterial growth and ensure proper cooking. Scales and flow meters need accurate calibration to maintain correct ingredient ratios, which affects both taste and safety. Additionally, pH meters are calibrated to ensure that products like dairy and beverages have the correct acidity levels, impacting both flavour and preservation. Regular calibration of these tools helps avoid contamination, ensures the consistency of food products, and adheres to food safety regulations, thereby protecting consumers and upholding the manufacturer’s reputation.
There is UK legislation that requires food manufacturers to calibrate their equipment to ensure safety and compliance with standards. Key legislation and guidelines include:
Food Safety Act 1990: This is a fundamental piece of legislation that requires food businesses do ensure that their products are safe to eat, meet quality standards, and are accurately labelled. Calibration of equipment is essential to meet these requirements, as it ensures accurate measurements and control over food production processes.
Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013: These regulations mandate that food businesses implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems. Proper calibration of equipment is crucial for maintaining critical control points, such as temperature and humidity controls, which are essential for preventing foodborne illnesses.
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs: This European regulation, which still applies in the UK, requires food manufacturers to ensure that all food processing equipment is adequately maintained and calibrated. It emphasises the need for regular checks and maintenance of equipment to ensure it operates correctly and produces safe food.
What all of this means is that to fully make use of the productivity offered by new smart facilities a trusted, reliable calibration partner is vital. A regular schedule of calibration means less downtime, fewer manufacturing defects and better, more robust compliance. And at CoMech, we can even carry out UKAS accredited calibrations directly at your site, cutting down even further on production delays. Our calibration engineers understand the technicalities involved in smart factories making us the smart calibration partner of choice.
If you need to talk to an expert in calibration for your smart factory please don’t hesitate in reaching out to CoMech’s technical team.
Tel: 01332 867700
Email: sales@comech.co.uk
