Masitek Instruments and Vidrala S.A. are pleased to announce the joint release of the Vidrala Impact Index (VII) and corresponding measurement capability using smart in-line sensing technology.
(Moncton, NB) The newly developed impact index, which can be measured using Masitek’s ShockQC™ sensor technology, allows glass packaging operations to further optimize their line against breakage and damage from impact during processing.
Eduardo Albaizar, Process Scientist with Vidrala, explains the index, “In order to provide a single number representing the severity of the impacts received throughout the whole filling line or within a portion of it, it seemed reasonable to develop a weighed sum approach accounting for the different impacts where the weighing factors were based on the relative risk of breakage.”
The Vidrala Impact Index is defined as the number of impacts with the same magnitude of the Inches Per Second (IPS) rating of the bottle that would produce a similar breakage probability. As an example, if the Vidrala Impact Index of a line is 22, the combined impact received by the glass bottle during filling would cause the same increase in the probability of breakage of that bottle than being hit 22 times by an impact with a magnitude equal to the bottle’s IPS rating.
Pablo Asiron, EVP, Global Sales for Masitek, comments, “Vidrala had been using the ShockQC in-line sensor over the past year and a half, and during that time initiated a study of impact during the processing of glass containers. We saw that this approach had incredible merit, so working closely with Vidrala, we added their findings to our data output so that all bottling companies will be able to have more in-depth knowledge of their lines.”
In effect, the new data will quantify what the impacts experienced by containers on a line really mean. This index can be calculated to both individual or multiple impacts. For multiple impacts, the individual impact indexes are added up to obtain the overall index.
Asiron adds, “We are already the only company that offers tools that can measure IPS on a filling line but we are constantly looking to improve. This new data using the Vidrala Impact Index is a significant upgrade for those in the bottling industry.”
About Masitek
Headquartered in New Brunswick, Canada, Masitek Instruments Inc. offers state-of-the-art, real-time wireless detection and reporting technologies designed to immediately identify and quantify damage to fragile goods in production, packaging and distribution systems for handlers and manufacturers around the world in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Masitek’s innovative sensor technology helps reduce downtime, enhance product integrity and increase global scalability, productivity and profits. Masitek has grown to become the global leader in virtual remote sensing technology with installations in Fortune 1000 companies around the world.
About Vidrala
Vidrala manufactures glass containers for a wide variety of products in the food and beverage industry. It is one of the main glass container manufacturer in Western Europe, leaders in the Iberian market, co-leaders in the British market and supplier of reference in Italy, France and Benelux, through nine complementary sites located in six different countries.
It sells more than 7.9 billion bottles and jars per year, among more than 1,600 customers.
Vidrala is a public listed company, with a market capitalization of over EUR 2.0 billion.
“Vidrala had been using the ShockQC in-line sensor over the past year and a half, and during that time initiated a study of impact during the processing of glass containers. We saw that this approach had incredible merit, so working closely with Vidrala, we added their findings to our data output so that all bottling companies will be able to have more in-depth knowledge of their lines.”