Reduce risk and save money with yearly Calibration Services by Tetra Pak for measuring instruments
The measuring instruments in your processing and packaging equipment need to be calibrated regularly to comply with regulations. But did you know that more frequent proactive calibration can save you money and reduce your risks? Here’s how:
Stay on top of growing demands from consumers, retailers and authorities
Consumer and retailer concern about food safety, hygiene and waste is growing, and compliance with regulatory requirement from local authorities is tough. Combine that with the risks of off-spec production – at best the cost of rework of lost product, at worst the costs and brand damage of a recall – and you see why fine-tuning your measuring instruments regularly is crucial. The upside? Regular proactive calibration ensures consistent food quality and food safety, makes regulation compliance easy wherever you are, and optimises the efficiency of your operations. By investing in proactive and preventative calibration, you not only avoid the risk of unplanned downtime in case of issues, but you also reduce your risk of losses due to inconsistent quality and production inefficiencies.
The case for yearly calibration – dial in on your savings
Correctly calibrated instruments are fundamental to ensuring quality management systems that work and making your operations as efficient as possible. Let’s look at a few examples of what you stand to gain – or lose – by calibrating your measuring instruments yearly.
Optimal heat load – no more, no less
Correct temperature and flow measurements ensure that product temperature is always on target and holding times are based on correct data. A pasteurisation process holds your product at a specific temperature for a specific amount of time to kill most microorganisms. And correct flow data ensures the correct holding time in relation to temperature. But what happens if the instruments are off by even just a little? A deviation in flow or temperature, with the product moving just a little faster than expected or the temperature being a few degrees too low, means the food safety of the product is compromised.
This could lead to waste and costs for sending the product to drain, or worse, for recalling the product and facing brand damage. If the product is moving a little slower than expected, however, or if the temperature is a few degrees too high, then you’re over-consuming energy, while also denaturing proteins and oxidising nutrients, flavours and colours leading to product quality issues and extra costs.
Optimal CIP – no more, no less
Here’s another example. A correctly calibrated conductivity meter ensures that your cleaning-in-place (CIP) process is using the right amount of cleaning fluid – no more and no less. A deviation in the measurement on the other hand, could either mean that you are using too much cleaning fluid – at an extra cost – or too little cleaning fluid, and thus risking food safety and product quality.
As you can see, deviations in your measuring instruments have the potential to either cost you, or save you, money. Just one day of temperature variations in your production and you risk having to send hundreds of thousands of litres of milk, soup or protein drinks to drain, face the cost and brand damage of a recall – or the costs of overconsuming electricity, steam, water and detergents.
“According to our simulations, that could mean you may be paying up to €45,000 or more too much for heating costs every year, while the cost of calibration is just a fraction of that,” says calibrations services product manager Giovanny Fernandez Galeano.
How it works and what you can expect
It’s easy to postpone regular calibration of your measuring instruments, especially when our equipment is so robust that it can run for years without issues. But after initial calibrations at installation, placement of sensors and aseptic qualification, we recommend scheduling a yearly calibration service for all your measuring instruments. Calibration Services by Tetra Pak is an on-site expertise service, meaning we come to your site and use perfectly calibrated and lab-certified reference or patron instruments to compare and calibrate your instruments according to specification. It’s a streamlined process that helps you ensure regulatory compliance, enhance equipment performance, reduce costs and risks, and maintain production traceability while securing food safety and quality.
For processing equipment, we perform calibrations on all measuring instrument of each processing unit or whole lines at once, including instruments from other suppliers. For packaging equipment, we perform calibrations on the critical sensors in your filling machine, calibrating to measure temperature, pressure, flow, conductivity and more. For example, we compare the temperature, flow or conductivity and correct any deviations by adjusting or replacing the instrument. You get a documented comparison of the equipment to be calibrated showing measurements against a traceable reference device. And we check and adjust the functionality by comparison with a predefined standard, to enable the fulfilment of regulatory requirements related to calibration. Our expert team supports you in meeting local and international standards and optimising your performance – all while protecting your brand and simplifying supplier management.
Are you paying too much – or risking too much?
Let us calculate how much you stand to gain by calibrating your measuring instruments yearly – with simulations based on your specific production scenario.
Get in touch below to find out more.
