RedLine Reviews Results Of Pilots For PTI Compliance In The Packing Shed

Santa Clara, CA — As pilot projects for PTI Compliance for shed-packed product continue, RedLine Solutions is releasing the results of their spring pilots.

Overview

Between March and June of this year, RedLine Solutions worked on pilot projects with leading packer/shippers in California and North Carolina to implement PTI traceability in the packing shed. During the pilots, RedLine customers successfully labeled and tracked over 100,000 cases of produce, representing multiple commodities and packing line configurations including lines with both hand packed product and automated fillers.

The consensus from the participating grower/shippers was that they gained critical experience that allowed them to understand the effect PTI compliance will have on their operations and to plan for a smooth and effective rollout of PTI within their organizations.

At the beginning of the pilot projects, RedLine worked with each company to document and understand their reasons for running a pilot and clarify their goals for the pilot process. As expected, there were a number of detailed goals that reflected each company’s specific business needs. In addition, a common set of questions around PTI compliance emerged. The most critical question was always, “Can I implement PTI compliance without slowing down my packing operations?” The answer, after completing the pilots was uniformly, “Yes.”

A number of more detailed questions were also shared by pilot participants:

• What information do I need to generate PTI labels?
• What is the most effective approach to PTI for a high-speed automated packing line?
• How do my planning and packing processes need to change?
• What changes do I need to make to my existing internal systems?
• How do I estimate the costs for PTI compliance, both for startup and ongoing operations?
• What hardware, software, consumables, and services are required?

Pilot Structure

Pilot tests were organized into two phases:

Phase I—Planning and Preparation:

In this phase, we worked with the customer’s pilot team to gather PTI information such as their Product/GTIN listing and their Lot ID information. This information was used to configure the system and design the PTI labels. Also during this phase, we walked through the physical PTI process in the shed with the packing managers. This allowed the pilot team to test alternatives for when and where to apply labels based on specific commodities and packing line configuration, as-well-as to examine the trade-offs between different approaches to automated print and apply solutions.

Phase II—On-Site PTI Implementation:

Once planning was completed, phase two could begin. This phase lasted two to eight weeks, depending on the packer/shipper’s pilot goals. RedLine worked with the packing line supervisors and trained them to set up pack runs within RedLine Packing manage automated print and apply of labels and capture traceability information as cases were built into pallets. In addition to the automatic application of PTI labels on the packing line, labels were printed and manually applied for tri-walls and value-added lines with lower production volumes.

Over the course of the pilot tests, crews experienced all of the “typical” variations that can affect the packing process: changes to packing requirements from sales, adjustments to the size and condition of the product being packed, source lot switches on short notice, and multiple types of packaging including RPCs.

Another key part of the on-site testing was to experiment with different approaches and scenarios for PTI compliance. Variations of the pilot scope included:

Commodities and packaging
o Citrus, sweet potatoes, grape tomatoes
o Different size cartons, RPCs, tri-walls

Line configuration
o Automated lines versus smaller value-added lines
o Hand Packed versus auto fill drops on lines

Product identification methods
o Barcode based
o Vision based

 Related processes
o Lot and shift change over
o Automating the receiving process at the cooler

Pilot Project Results

By the end of the pilot test period, all pilot participants were confident that they could implement PTI Compliance in their packing operations without sacrificing productivity. This directly addressed their key PTI compliance concern.

As expected, the pilots demonstrated that different commodities and line configurations require different approaches to compliance. “One size fits all” does not apply to PTI compliance any more than it applies to the rest of the fresh produce industry. Effective solutions must have the flexibility to adapt to the different areas of each packer/shipper’s business.

Product identification, determining the most effective method to determine which specific product was packed into each case, was one of the key components of each pilot. Two solutions were successfully tested: pack codes and vision systems.

The first product identification method used pack codes; applying a small barcode to each case as it was packed. A fixed mount scanner reads the pack code as the case moves down the packing line and sends the pack code information to the server. Based on the pack run information set-up in RedLine Packing, the system identifies the specific product, prints the correct GTIN and pack lot ID on the label, and applies it to the case.

The advantage of pack codes is that reading the barcode is very reliable; the system can distinguish between products where the cartons are identical, and pack codes can be assigned or changed on the fly. In order for pack codes to be successful, there must be a point in the packing process where they can be placed on the carton. Pack codes are well suited to auto-fill drops where they can be applied by the person loading empty cartons into the auto-filler.

The alternative product ID method tested was a vision system. In this setup, a fixed mount camera is installed on the line to evaluate each case of produce as it comes into range. The camera uses pre-printed graphics on the case as well as any markings added during the packing process to identify the specific product. It communicates this information to RedLine Packing which then prints the correct PTI information and applies the label to the case.

The advantage of the vision system is that it can identify product without any additional effort by the packers or changes to the packing process. It does require clear and consistent markings in order to achieve complete reliability. As an example, vision was very successful in our citrus pilot where each packer was already stamping the product size on each carton. However, we had to replace their old worn stamps and change to black ink to get the required reliability.

Compared to label print and apply and packing productivity, reporting was not a focus area. However, as the pilots progressed, the improved visibility into packing operations was seen as a key benefit. RedLine Packing provides views into operations directly from a browser interface as well as through a web-based reporting system. This enables packing operations, management, and sales team real-time visibility into packing results throughout the day.

Summary

Across the board, the companies participating in the RedLine Packing traceability pilots concluded that PTI compliance was achievable within their packing shed without compromising the overall pace or productivity of their operations.
The process of performing PTI Compliance packing projects has been very successful for both RedLine and for pilot participants. RedLine customers report that they now have a strong understanding of how compliance will affect their packing operations, as well as valuable information on the necessary timing and approach for rolling out their new processes.

“RedLine has incorporated the learning from the pilot experiences and continues to build on a wealth of practical knowledge regarding the most effective combinations of hardware, software, media (labels) for different commodities, and packing configurations,” said Chris Davis, COO of Redline Solutions. “We look forward to working with fresh produce companies to deploy PTI Compliance solutions based on each company’s requirements and time-line.”

Contacts

Chris Davis, RedLine Solutions, (408) 562-1700, cdavis@redlineforproduce.com.

About RedLine Solutions

RedLine Solutions provides practical whole chain traceability for growers, packers and shippers. The company has over a decade of experience integrating barcode and wireless technologies to increase productivity in the field and cooler.

For more information, please visit www.redlineforproduce.com.

Source: RedLine Solutions