Unilever automates Rexona deodorant quality inspection at 220 bottles per minute
A documented Quality Control & Inspection in Consumer Goods deployment at Unilever, with source-attributed results and missing evidence labelled explicitly.
Evidence at a glance
- Evidence status:
- Automated evidence gate passed
- Deployment timeframe:
- Not reported by source
- Reported outcome metrics:
- 3 cited below
- Directory entry published:
The source-link check confirms reachability, not independent re-verification of every claim.
Source-reported figures — cited source: cognex.com
The Challenge
Unilever's Philippines facility faced increasing production demand for Rexona deodorant, requiring up to 10 operators per line for manual quality checks including cap integrity, cap color, date code validation, label alignment, and barcode verification. At 220 bottles per minute, manual inspection was increasingly unrealistic and resulted in high reject volumes from poorly aligned or wrinkled labels.
The Solution
Unilever deployed a three-camera Cognex In-Sight inspection system: an overhead color camera for cap presence/integrity, cap color, and date code validation; a front-facing color camera for label alignment and product label color verification; and a rear camera for barcode reading and product code verification. Integrator Inzpect Technologies built custom lighting for the reflective bottle surfaces and a GUI for simultaneous multi-camera monitoring.
Results
The system fully automated the quality check process, enabling 100% inspection at line speed. Labor was redeployed from manual inspection to other mission-critical tasks on the production floor. Overall product quality improved. After successful implementation on the first line, Unilever replicated the solution to two additional lines.
Key Takeaways
- Machine vision can replace up to 10 manual operators per line while improving inspection quality
- Custom lighting solutions are critical for inspecting reflective packaging surfaces
- Successful vision system deployments naturally expand to additional production lines
Vendor
Details
- Industry
- Consumer Goods
- Use Case
- Quality Control & Inspection
- AI Technology
- Computer Vision
- Company Size
- Enterprise
- Company
- Unilever
- Evidence status
- Automated evidence gate passed
- Deployment timeframe
- Not reported by source
- Directory entry published
Cited source
cognex.comHave a similar implementation?
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