Quality is everyone’s job, including the production team. It is necessary to involve each of the operators of a line in the control tasks. This text gives suggestions for quality control tasks on a 3-piece line.

INITIAL COMMENTARY QUALITY CONTROL TASKS ON A 3-PIECE LINE

In a production line, it is essential to distribute in a balanced and efficient way the different tasks to be executed, in order to obtain maximum efficiency and productivity, as well as positive working conditions for the operators.

These tasks are of various types, and depend to a large extent on the degree of automation prevailing on the line. Nowadays, in three-piece packaging production plants, it is normal for no major physical work to be carried out. Simply position the tinplate bundle on the inlet roller conveyor to the shear. From there the whole process is usually automated, even the feeding of the bottom rolls to the seamer. With this system, the manpower is possibly reduced to one line mechanic and one assistant, in addition to the personnel in the packaging section.

Therefore, once the initial adjustments have been made, this workforce can perform quality monitoring tasks in addition to process monitoring tasks. This is highly stimulating, because a self-monitoring function makes the line personnel more responsible for the quality of their production.

In this paper we give some suggestions on how to distribute the quality control tasks basically among the direct line personnel. We do not go into the production work itself (adjustments, settings, feeding materials …) nor how to physically perform each of the control tests that will be mentioned, as this is part of a topic on quality, which is covered in other articles. We will focus on the designation of the tests to be performed and who is the right person to perform them.

The personnel directly involved in the line will be considered to be:

• A responsible mechanic.
• A helper who takes care of the supply of materials to the machines (tinplate, caps) and assists the mechanic.
• One palletizer operator
• A fraction of a person, who completes the adequacy of the full pallet – wrapping with stretch film.
• A fraction of forklift, which stores the goods.

The quality control monitoring tasks assigned to each of these people are a function of the position of each of them along the line. In addition to the quality tasks entrusted to them, these will be complemented with more complex verifications, which will require the intervention of the inspectors of the quality and laboratory department. Let’s look at this division of labor.

DIVISION OF QUALITY CONTROL TASKS ON A 3-PIECE LINE

The distribution indicated here should be taken as an indication, it is true that it is backed up by practice with good results, but in each case the ideal balance point should be sought according to the people and the means.

Line mechanic.

As the most qualified person, you should take on the most responsible tasks, which focus on obtaining a good weld and protecting the side seam of the body. They also correspond to the correct position of the mechanic in the line, which is at the head of the line, next to the welding machine. Therefore, on an auxiliary bench next to the machine, you must have the means to control:

1. Body tube diameter: front and rear.
2. Mismatch or disparity at the ends of the weld.
3. Welding resistance. Deformation test. Front and rear.
4. Tearing behaviour of the weld.
5. Inner and outer coating of the weld by varnish. Sulfate Test
6. Polymerization of varnishes. Bending test.
7. General appearance of the finished package. After the seamer.

With all this information, plus the information provided by other people – including the Quality department – he will take the necessary corrective measures on the line to improve the quality.

Depending on the quality levels to be implemented in each case, a frequency of these operations will be set. In general, it is necessary to do them every time an adjustment is made on the machines and routinely every time interval, for example hour by hour.

Assistant.

Under his control would be the next two machines in order of importance, such as the cutter and the seamer, which in a “U” team implementation, are very close to the welding machine and therefore also close to the mechanic for quick action if needed.

As for thecutter, the helper must keep an eye on it:

1. Development and height measurements.
2. Disorder.
3. Burrs.
4. You will receive the identification labels of the tinplate package until the end of the order.

In relation to the seamer will check:

1. At a frequency to be determined, on a sample background taken at random from a package, observe the appearance of the compound, varnish, and other visual defects that may be present such as oxidations, dents, curl bites, etc.
2. Each time a palette of backgrounds is finished, it will check on the new one, that the profile and appearance are the same as the previous one, and its characteristics correspond to the current order.
3. You will receive the pallet identification labels from funds until the end of the order.
4. If the line works with a statistical sampling of the tightness of the containers, with the established frequency – for example every 20 minutes – it will check on a batch of containers, the non-existence of leaks in the water tester, subjecting them to an internal pressure of 1.5 kgrs/cm2.
5. You will frequently view containers as they come out of the sealer to check the appearance of the closure and the overall appearance of the containers.

Palletizer operator.

This person, in addition to his task of driving the palletizer, which can be fully automated, will be able to develop the following quality tasks:

1. You will observe – using a mirror suitably positioned on the palletizer – the inner aspect of the containers, layer by layer, locating and eliminating by means of a magnetizing rod: bent flaps, dented or beaten containers, inner varnish aspect (stains, scratches, lack of varnish, inner varnish failures, etc…) and other aspects not detectable by means of an automatic tester.
2. Visualize the cardboard dividers so that they are in optimal conditions and put aside those that present defects (broken, with dirt or stains, folded, etc…).

Operator of the pallet wrapping station.

As a complement to a battery of palletisers, which serve a set of lines, a full pallet protection system is installed, by means of which the pallets are automatically wrapped with stretch film. The operator of this equipment will be able to perform the following control tasks:

At the entrance of the equipment:

1. Check that the pallets are full of containers and that they have not fallen down.
2. Visualize the spacers, making sure they are well centered, especially the top one that completes the palette.
3. Observe the outside if you can see any containers closed upside down, defective lithographs, damaged containers, etc.

At the exit of the team:

1. Check that each pallet is correctly labelled.
2. Check the tension of the plastic film and the final wrapping.

Forklift driver.

They are your responsibility:

1. Remove from the stack of empty pallets, all the ones you see defective before being fed to the palletizer.
2. Place the full pallets in the warehouse, making sure that the row is perfectly formed, without any inclination.
3. Make sure that the identification labels are visible in each row.

These quality control tasks, carried out by the different operators, must be reflected in the corresponding statistics, for an orderly and documented follow-up.

There are a series of operations, which require greater dedication and qualification, that must be carried out by the quality control department team. They are all those that involve a certain execution time, as well as more complex means. Among others, there are:

• Measurement of the different dimensions
• Verification of texts and tonalities.
• Determination of the internal and external varnish load of the weld.
• Evaluation of the application quality of interior powder coatings
• Complete verification of the fund closure parameters
• Determination of axial and radial strength of the finished container
• Autoclaving behaviour of inks and varnishes in the autoclave
• Container mobility on conveyors
• Etc.

There is one task common to all workplaces, which must be given unquestionable importance, and that is the maintenance of order and cleanliness in the work area of each individual.

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