The Value of LIMS in Manufacturing

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It’s frustrating to witness the frequent recalls of products in recent years, causing significant wastage, all testimony to the need for paramount control of food safety and quality. One recent example was the recall of four cheese products due to potential contamination with E. Coli bacteria. Tragically, one person in Scotland died from the infection, whilst 11 others were hospitalised.

Ensuring food safety and quality is crucial in the food and drink manufacturing industry. Most factories already carry out laboratory testing to assess the quality of materials, checking for compliance with specified tolerances and ensuring they are free from contamination.

Despite these precautions, a significant challenge can arise in bridging the gap between laboratory tests and the busy factory floor. This gap manifests in issues such as isolation, rejects, rework and costly product recalls, the inability to track raw materials, human errors, lost documentation, delayed data and downtime. The breakdown in communication poses a considerable risk to both the efficiency of the manufacturing process and, more critically, to consumer safety.

The Crucial Role of LIMS

Some key benefits of implementing LIMS:

  • Ensure Quality Control

Automated data collection and analysis help identify deviations from quality standards, enabling timely corrective actions to maintain high-quality standards.

  • Track and Trace Materials from start to finish.
  • Automated Sampling & Labelling helps reduce the likelihood of sample mix-ups, thereby enhancing efficiency and safety.
  • Schedule Batches
  • Heldware

LIMS can help capture vital information quickly, conduct root cause analyses, evaluate downtime and calculate additional labour hours needed due to material failures, thereby allowing factories to detect batch rejections early, understand root cause, quarantine and possibly destroy product before despatch and thereby protect the consumer.

  • Integration with Existing Lab Machinery

Eliminate the need for keyboard entries and further minimise risks of operator error.

Harford LIMS

Harford Control developed Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) to help food and beverage manufacturers optimise the laboratory testing process and provide real-time actionable information, as stand-alone or a fully integrated part of Harford MES. By automating tasks such as material usage confirmation, bulk material tracking and informing laboratory teams of sampling requirements, we help factories ensure material safety and quality, reduce risks and enhance efficiency. Real-time monitoring and seamless integration of lab equipment with Harford LIMS enables proactive management of non-compliant products.

Contact Harford Control by calling +44 (0) 1225 764461 or send an email to info@harfordcontrol.com