M AT E R I A L S H A N D L I N G & WA R E H O U S I N G
RFID technology in automated harvesting Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is increasingly found in food tracing as technology improves. Implementing RFID is not uncommon in the case of large containers containing raw products and in the mixing of bulk materials.
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t offers companies several ways to streamline and manage capacities, focusing on issues of traceability and process reliability. Using wireless technology for identification purposes opens up a new dimension in automatic data recording. The automotive industry has been using RFID for years – where a tag is attached to the car body and is encoded with data options for each vehicle. As RFID tags are read/write devices and no visual contact of the tag is required, they offer more functionality than bar code technology. They are very robust so they can even survive harsh ambient conditions such as high temperatures, mud or wetness. Technology from Sick Automation has allowed Kagome, a Japanese tomato processor, to ensure product traceability, which increased efficiency in its production processes at its Australian factory in Echuca.
approximately 90 minutes and each truck can load three bins – an average of 42 tonnes of tomatoes per truck. Three years ago trucks would queue at the weighbridge, waiting for up to 12 minutes before the truck load could be weighed. This was partially because of Kagome’s quality control process where three samples from each bin had to be processed in the laboratory for quality control purposes and to validate origin. Paperwork to document the harvesting process and quantity and quality of the yield was required, for which truck drivers were responsible. A paper-based quality control system of this kind increases the potential for human error, which can sometimes result in contaminated products reaching consumers. To ensure traceability, Kagome Australia decided it needed a paperless automated identification solution to be implemented at the weighbridge.
FOOD AND TRACEABILITY
THE SOLUTION
Traceability is important for the food and beverage industry and the need for realtime recalls has increased due to plant processing errors. An effective tracking and tracing programme consists of a number of components, starting with accurate and fast identification. For years the identification workhorse has been the ubiquitous bar code. As foodstuffs move through the production process, they are identified by a unique code; on containers when in process, on packaging for the finished product, on cartons and pallets during transport and on shelves in retail stores. Kagome was looking for a real-time identification solution that could handle mud, tomato juice, heat, wind and rain.
In January 2013, the facility installed six RFU63x units from Sick at the weighbridge and discharge hill at the factory in Echuca. Each unit is equipped with three antennas
for double stacked bins. Resistant and stable RFID tags were attached to the tomato bins, accompanying them from the start of the harvesting process. The RFU63x meets all requirements set out for paperless automated identification of tomatoes. In this way, RFID helps to prevent the typical errors made during inbound and outbound goods processes, such as incorrect quantity and quality data, or missing accounting entries. RFID allows real-time identification of where the tomatoes originate. Due to paperless identification, truck drivers no longer need to leave the truck at the weighbridge, contributing to enhanced driver safety. This efficiency gain means the truck is spending less time at the weighbridge eliminating truck jams in front of the weighbridge and the tomato drop hill. Truck time at the weighbridge was reduced from 12 to two minutes, enabling truck drivers to do one additional trip per 12-hour shift. This means a productivity gain of 504 tonnes in total. •
Sick Automation – www.sick.com
THE OPERATION The tomato farm operates 12 harvesters loading tomatoes into more than 300 14-tonne capacity bins. Once full, these are unloaded at a bin pad where one of 12 trucks picks it up and transports it to a nearby weighbridge. One trip from the tomato fields to the factory takes
Six RFU63x units from Sick helped Kagome increase production by one additional load per truck per shift
October 2018 | Food Review
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