Increasing Accuracy, Not Costs: Vision Inspection Improves Detection

For years, one major pharmaceutical packaging manufacturer relied on representative sampling for quality control instead of automated vision inspection. Representative sampling was unable to provide a satisfactory rate of inspection, and the company turned to Mettler-Toledo for help. Today the company relies on a vision inspection system from Mettler-Toledo, which has increased productivity, lowered costs, and given them a reputation of producing high quality products.

Strict regulation is critical in the pharmaceutical industry: Even the slightest deviation during medication manufacturing can change the safety and efficacy of the product. Similarly, improperly packaged medication can become contaminated or lose its potency—making quality control for pharmaceutical packaging as critical as quality control of the medication.

Random Sampling Proves Ineffective
For years, one pharmaceutical plastic manufacturer relied on random manual inspection to ensure packaging was up to customer specifications. Unfortunately, random sampling meant that only a small percentage of packages coming off the line were inspected—rates of detection were far too low. With random sampling, the manufacturer had a high rate of retailer complaints and costly product quarantines caused by undetected faulty packaging.