Hi all,
I am officially out of option, so I turn myself to the wisdom of the internet for help.
TLDR: In my opinion, our metal detector is beyond recoverability and my boss is refusing to accept it.
First, let me set the context:
The equipment in question is a Göring-Kerr DSP-3 built in 2004.
Bought used and installed somewhere in the last 10+ years.
Was initially setup for dry product, currently used for wet product.
Now, for the events:
A month ago, it was slightly pushed by a careless lift driver.
We did a general checkup and called our technician for recalibration, as it is required. He wasn't available for a few weeks.
This wasn't a problem as the MD was behaving normally, so we accepted to wait a little bit.
Then, one fateful day, it beeped as if was detecting a huge chunk of metal ceased to function with the following error message: Error 1 Search Heat Fault.
No response whatsoever. No signal, No detection, nothing.
It remained locked for two weeks, until the very morning our technician was there for calibration.
He found many problems with our MD:
1-Metal free areas aren't respected
2-Multiple conduction loops in the frame aren't welded, just bolted.
3-The ''wet'' mode isn't configured on the motherboard of the search head (missing capacitors)
4-The rollers weren’t properly insulated from the frame
5-Friction between the conveyor and the frame is bringing metallic dust in the search head
6-The switch for the conveyor should have a varistor installed
His 2 main recommendations were:
A- Call Thermofisher (who now owns Göring-Kerr) for servicing.
B- Replace our MD with a newer and better model.
We had every reason to believe our technician, as he used to be sub-contracted by Göring-kerr for servicing before Thermofisher bought them. He is literally the guy who installed the MD for us.
When our technician left, our MD was working again but soon got the search head fault again
We did some troubleshooting over the phone (test out some jumper settings, check all the fuses) and it suddenly worked again without apparent reason.
But my boss wasn’t happy with the service. Both options are costly and disrupting our production (yes we are still processing and packaging product without a functioning MD and my approval)
Instead, he called in a friend of his. The guy says owns a welding and general metalworking company. He did some jobs for another food company in our town who has ‘’like 7 MD’’.
He did some work for their MD and everything has always worked.
That company is a multi-million-dollar company across Canada and Northern US, employs hundreds of people in our town while we are a little bit over a dozen.
So, the guy come in and start checking the frame. He unscrews a few bolts and find out that it is bend out of shape, now he can’t put the bolts back in…
-Then he pushes the MD and change the height because there is ‘’friction’’ at the in and out of the conveyor
-Next, he starts messing with the product, the calibration settings and the metals standards, trying to figure out how the MD works.
I tried to show him how our MD worked and what was the problem, but he couldn’t care less.
-Then, he puts a tool on the conveyor and when the MD detects it, he goes to see my boss and tell him that he fixed it!
Of course, my boss believed that guy instead of a certified technician and his employee.
So here we are, over 30 days since the problems arose and our MD isn’t working properly:
-The frame is so horribly bent, that the conveyor is floating a few 3mm (1/32’’) above the Teflon bed of the head
-10% of the product triggers a reject because it either fell flat on the conveyor or it wobbles all the way through the head
-I am unable to detect my 2.5mm ferrous metal standard because of the background noise
-All the jar must be spaced +30cm (1ft) apart or they either trigger a reject or if I put a metal standard in the middle, they all go through without problem.
-Also, I believe that the left input coil isn’t working anymore.
If you managed to read through my 2 pages of rant, thank you.
What do you think my next course of action should be?
Please keep in mind that we are SQF 8.0 food safety certified and licensed by the CFIA.
