Gubbels Kwekerijen no longer relies on human eyes to check the quality of its bell peppers. At its Siberië location in Maasbree, Vision technology combined with EasyX's AI network now checks and sorts all bell peppers. This saves labour and improves quality, says head of logistics Mark Steegh. "A camera never gets tired."
Gubbels Kwekerijen grows red, yellow and green bell peppers that find their way to the European market via Veiling ZON. The red and green bell peppers are sorted on site using a six-line sorting machine; the yellow bell peppers go to ZON's central sorting facility. The company is struggling with an increasingly tight labour market. Steegh: "It is becoming increasingly difficult to find people for this type of work."
The nursery had an average of three employees working on the production line, two of whom were experienced, says Steegh. "The third position was filled by temporary workers. It often happened that after a while, these workers preferred to do other work." In addition, physical and mental strain play a major role. "With the experienced ladies, you notice that their performance is better in the morning. As the day progresses, fatigue sets in and performance declines. We are not made to focus for such long periods of time."
This decline in performance entails risks. Less focus can mean lower quality output, he says. "That can lead to complaints or claims. A camera never gets tired and continues to check quality one hundred percent."
