Keeping your food safe is a top priority, and that means safeguarding it against everything from food-borne illness to physical contaminants. X-ray inspection can help with the latter and ensure that your product is free from foreign materials.
When sending it out for inspection doesn’t make sense, X-ray rentals provide another option. But when do portable X-ray machine rentals make the most sense?
How Do Portable X-Ray Equipment Rentals Work?
When you need an inspection done on-site, portable X-ray machine rentals allow you to keep the job in-house and do the inspection in whatever time frame works best for you.
For example, when you rent an X-ray machine from FlexXray, we’ll transport it from the facility nearest you and send along a trained technician who will help set up the equipment and then train your staff on how to safely run the inspection.
Any time FlexXray provides your company with portable X-ray equipment, you’re getting the same top-quality medical-grade X-ray inspection capabilities that we have at our facilities.
The only difference between the two processes is the location and the individuals doing the inspection. That means you’ll have the same ability to inspect bulk quantities quickly and have access to high-resolution, real-time imaging.
Our machines have built-in conveyors and are able to handle all types of packaging. And, just as with our in-house machines, you’ll be able to detect a wide variety of contaminants, including bone, stone, rubber, metal, glass, plastic and product clumps.
In a typical X-ray inspection process, customers needing food or other materials inspected will ship the product to FlexXray. We’ll inspect it and take appropriate action based on the agreed-upon service plan.
That may include contaminant removal or disposal of the contaminated product, or it might mean having the contaminated product flagged and returned to your facility for proper disposal.
Upon completion of the inspection, the non-contaminated product is ready for distribution (at your discretion). After we provide the complete inspection and results, your team has the data points to make the decision to release it or have it returned to your warehouse for distribution.
While this process was designed to make eliminating contaminants simple and provide a seamless process for our customers, there are certain times when doing it at your own facility just makes more sense.
Are Portable X-Ray Machine Rentals Right for You?
If you’re wondering which option is best for your inspection needs, there are five factors that can help you decide whether to have your product inspected at FlexXray’s facility or if it needs to be done at your location.
1. Time constraints
If you’re under a time crunch or having an inventory control issue where you need the product out immediately, X-ray rentals are not the ideal option. When time is a big factor, having someone else do it is probably better than using a rental.
If you need it done quickly, FlexXray has more than 30 machines that are manned around the clock and can complete large jobs quickly; we also have multiple locations across the country.
However, if you meet the space requirements and have sufficient manpower to run the equipment efficiently, rentals may be right for you.
2. Value of the product versus shipping
When the value of the product doesn’t justify the cost to ship it to another facility, renting an X-ray machine could be your answer.
3. Legal requirements
If products are highly regulated and require the manufacturer to retain possession of the product throughout the entire supply chain, sending it to a third-party facility isn’t an option, so rentals are your best bet.
4. Manpower
FlexXray provides an expert technician who will help set up the equipment, make sure it is running properly and train your staff on how to use it. However, the supervisor does not remain with the project.
From there, you’ll need to have the individuals and payroll available to run it, and you’ll also need to have a great deal of faith in those employees’ ability to monitor the product at low speeds and stay vigilant when watching the line.
5. Shelf life of your product
If your product has a short shelf life and you need a quick turn inspection on a sizeable amount of product, rental is likely not the best option for you. Utilizing one machine at slow rates of speed may be less efficient than an outsourced option that can be turned in 4-6 hours.
However, FlexXray’s X-ray machine rentals are offered on a weekly and monthly basis, so you can use the machine for whatever time frame is needed.
Finding the Right Solution for You
If you’re still not sure whether portable X-ray machine rental is right for you, FlexXray can review your individual situation and help determine which option would work best.
We can always provide you quotes for both in-house and rental equipment to ensure you can make the most cost-effective solution for your specific situation.
With so many options available for product inspection and detecting foreign material in your food, including in-house X-ray inspection (in-house or rental), can and jar dud detection or metal detection (in-house or rental), you can find one that fits within both your time frame and your budget.
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