A Singapore-based food company initiated a project to protect the environment through enhanced product and packaging quality. With the help of the GWP® Verification program it was possible to increase product quality and reduce the impact on the environment. This also had positive effects on the company's productivity.

At the Singapore Research and Development (R&D) facility of a major food manufacturer, a project to reduce the environmental impact of products and packaging resulted in quality improvements, and subsequently in the review of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). A main part of the project involved the verification of all weighing equipment. As a result, several quality enhancement opportunities were identified and proposed for implementation.

Environmental impact

The quality manager was keen on adapting a comprehensive GWP® Verification assessment in his labs, especially for the determination of the minimum sample weight of all balances. It became apparent already in the implementation stage that the minimum weight definitions, which had been previously set, might be affecting the accuracy of the weighing results more than anticipated.

Review of internal SOP's

Through the implementation of GWP® Verification, the quality manager used the new information about the performance of their installed weighing equipment to re-evaluate internal SOP’s. While no changes to the frequency and types of routine tests were necessary, the GWP® Verification assessment contributed to the company’s quality management system with a set of audit-proof and ISO 17025 compatible performance reports on all the weighing equipment on site.

Standard for quality evaluation

Since the comprehensive assessment of all balances and scales resulted in significant enhancements in food product quality, the Singapore R&D lab adopted this approach in other facilities worldwide. Ultimately, this “green” project helped to reduce the environmental impact through quality increases, but it also turned out to have a positive effect on the company’s bottom line.