A leader in sales of vitamin and mineral tablets and capsules, Nutrilite sells approximately 6 million tablets and capsules annually across more than 50 countries. The company is part of the Amway Group, global leader in direct selling. The Amway Nutrilite Farm in Brazil, located in the city of Ubajara‑CE, is the largest organic acerola processing facility in the world and is estimated to process about 8,000 tonnes of acerola in 2016. Its main product, acerola powder concentrate, is the raw material for manufacturing 100% natural Vitamin C tablets and capsules.

Challenge

Production control records, quality control checklists, Critical Control Point (CCP) controls and laboratory analyses were recorded on paper forms, which made tracking down information time-consuming and laborious. Data analysis was based on small samples, which made it difficult to make decisions based on this information. Nutrilite wanted to implement SPC – Statistical Process Control – as a tool to get to know its processes better and thus apply improvements to them.

Solution

InfinityQS was chosen as the quality management solution and SPC tool.
Process parameters are automatically collected from machine PLCs using InfinityQS DMS. The Dynamic Scheduler is used to manage data collection based on current machine status, guiding operators on tasks to perform. Additionally, all Cleaning Checklists began to be recorded in InfinityQS. Amway Nutrilite Brazil leveraged the expertise of HarboR Informática Industrial consultants to train its staff on the use of SPC methodology and the InfinityQS software. HarboR was responsible for deploying manual and automated data collection, as well as providing support and maintenance to ensure ongoing improvement in software use.

“We are focusing our efforts on reducing Vitamin C losses. The information collected in InfinityQS is helping us to identify the stages of the process where the greatest losses occur. We have continuously improved the parameterization of equipment and the results have been significant. The great benefit of InfinityQS is that it provides reliable information for rapid decision-making.”

-Victor Cals, Industrial Manager