KSM Vision automatic quality control systems in the pharmaceutical industry

What makes our quality control systems different from other companies’ solutions?

At KSM Vision, we rely on machine learning to completely eliminate manual inspection of products. Quality control performed by human hands is usually a costly and unfortunately unreliable endeavor, as it is sometimes not very accurate. A worker is only human, like everyone else he makes mistakes, while a machine can be calibrated in such a way that the number of mistakes made can be eliminated even completely.

Features of vision systems are first of all – the ability to collect information about detected defects, a significant increase in production efficiency and the possibility of their integration into the entire production line.

Automatic vision inspections are the future of Polish factories. Increasingly used they allow to increase the precision of operations and reliability, thanks to the use of solutions from our company your factories can operate better, produce more and thus achieve higher profits.

Quality control in pharmaceuticals is governed by its own rules. Quality control procedures in the pharmaceutical industry require a thorough check of every product component. The industry is subject to many regulations and laws, including the Pharmaceutical Law Act and manufacturing requirements (e.g. GMP – Good Manufacturing Practice), which forces manufacturers to apply very thorough and stringent quality control. Consequently, the focus is on professionalizing control solutions and processes, i.e. automation, robotization and informatization. All these activities must be performed at the highest level, because we are dealing with a product on which the health or life of the target customer depends.
At KSM Vision, we provide systems for comprehensive vision inspection for the pharmaceutical sector.

Vision-based quality control systems are extremely beneficial in the pharmaceutical industry for several key reasons:

1. Higher precision: Vision systems can detect even the smallest defects and irregularities in pharmaceutical products, which is difficult to achieve with manual inspection.
2. Speed of operation: Vision systems operate in real time, which translates into immediate response to detected defects and minimizes the risk of delivering defective products.
3. Consistency: Automated quality control ensures consistent and compliant products, which is crucial in the pharmaceutical industry.
4. Scalability: Vision systems can be easily adapted to different product types and specifications, facilitating the production of many different drugs.
5. No fatigue or human error: Unlike workers, vision systems don’t get tired or make mistakes, which translates into a falling rate of defective products.
6. Tracking and documentation: Vision systems provide accurate documentation and tracking of each product, making it easier to identify sources of problems in the production process.
7. Minimizing the risk of contamination: Automated quality control helps minimize the risk of contamination and ensures compliance with sanitary standards.
8. Time savings: Reducing the time required for quality control helps increase production efficiency.
9. Cost optimization: Reducing defective products and rework contributes to lower production costs.
10. Regulatory compliance: Vision-based quality control systems help maintain compliance with industry regulations and laws, which is critical in the pharmaceutical sector.

Modern and advanced quality control systems not only detect errors, but with their help we are able to collect, review and continuously analyze the data collected during the inspection. This data is necessary to optimize the machine so that its operation is as well suited to a specific production line as possible.

The system offered by our company is based on a camera that focuses on the product in its entirety, machine vision is done in a 360-degree section (Inspect 360+ CL by KSM Vision). Our application deals with defect detection and inspection of caps, caps on bottles and vials. The following are considered defects: undercaps, overcaps, cracks, dirt, or broken warranty strip, etc. Our systems can check up to 36,000 containers per hour.

Another area of our activities is systems for inspecting blister-packed medicines (Blispect by KSM Vision), and related defects, such as missing pills, and their inadequate size or shape defects. In addition, the blister itself must be inspected according to the guidelines.

KSM Vision systems allow full traceability of all products – extensive statistical functions provide in-depth insight into production quality. Optionally, the system allows you to define trend values and set alarms, so line crews can take action at an earlier stage. The system also has the option to generate detailed inspection reports.

KSM Vision systems based on machine learning are a 100% guarantee of product inspection and increased productivity. With this solution, inspection is carried out in a non-contact, non-invasive, fully automatic manner. Service and calibration of the systems are very fast and easy.

Medicofarma is a Polish pharmaceutical manufacturer, the company specializes in contract manufacturing of dietary supplements, medical devices and medicinal products.
The company uses our quality systems to inspect tablets, blister-packed capsules, bicolored capsules and those with prints.

Polfa Tarchomin is one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in Europe. It has been operating on the market since 1823. The plant specializes in the production of prescription drugs that are mainly used in hospitals, such as antibiotics and anti-tuberculosis drugs, human insulins, psychotropic and dermatological drugs.

The benefits a pharmaceutical client can count on when choosing our vision inspection systems?

First of all, we use proprietary solutions for image analysis using neural networks, this allows the system to learn based only on images of correct capsules, regardless of their form, these can also be two-color or printed capsules. The system is capable of detecting a defect of 15% of the tablet’s surface area. It is also very easy to use, and can be worked on by people with no previous experience with such equipment. The system is compact in its form, taking up little space.

Find out more about KSM Vision BLISPECT vision systems for pharma