Greifensee, Zurich -- (SBWire) -- 09/01/2010 -- Blum, the Austrian metal fittings company, is investing heavily in a program of continuous improvement for its processes. Part of this drive towards improving processes involves checkweighers and counting scales from METTLER TOLEDO. These devices are helping Blum to increase operational efficiency, avoid incorrect deliveries, and eliminate the costs associated with overfilling.

Accurate deliveries
When it comes to manually picking orders for metal fittings, it is crucial that customer orders are put together accurately. Customers should receive nothing more or less than the products they have ordered. This is where Blum relies on scales from METTLER TOLEDO. How do METTLER TOLEDO scales carry out their counting and weighing processes? The first scale checks whether the right number of metal fittings have been picked for the order. This involves the colorWeight® display of the IND449check+ scale terminal responding to underfilling or overfilling as follows: if products are underfilled or overfilled, Blum’s display lights up red. Once the target weight is achieved, the display changes color to gray. In the next operating step, the picked product is sealed and packaged into shipping cartons. At this stage, the second scale counts the packs to ensure the right number is sent with each carton. As soon as the carton contains the right number, the backlighting of the IND449check+ terminal display changes to green.

An investment in process improvement
Johann Schmidinger, Quality Control Manager at Blum, has his own views on this investment in process improvement: "As far as we're concerned, the benefits of investing in METTLER TOLEDO checkweighers and counting scales are threefold. Firstly, costs incurred from overfilling can be significantly reduced; secondly, incorrect deliveries can be prevented; and thirdly, the operational efficiency of users can be maximized." The scales can be operated intuitively and thus greatly reduce the amount of work involved, as operators no longer need to stare at illegible digits, but can tell at a glance whether the target value has been achieved. This increases the efficiency of costly manual labor.

Completeness checks with colorWeight®
The free value calculator can be used to determine how much time and money the colorWeight® display can save.