Cheese, milk and cream: pasteurise, make, press and pack.

Every block, jug and carton checked and coded right.

totalMOS runs a dairy plant from the vat to the cold room: milk, cream, cultures and salt weighed out against the make sheet, pack weight, fat, moisture and pH checked on time at the line, the phosphatase test and product temperature on the record, and every failed reading taken to closure.

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Vacuum-sealed blocks of cheddar leaving a shrink tunnel on a stainless steel conveyor, while an operator weighs one at a bench scale in front of racks of finished blocks.

Where a dairy line loses product

Moisture is money

A cheddar a point too wet fails its standard, and a point too dry gives yield away on every vat. Neither shows on a paper log until the lab results come back days later.

The cold chain breaks quietly

A pallet of milk left at the dock or a cheese packed warm looks fine at the end of the line and spoils before its best-before. The temperature check that catches it has to happen on time, every time, not when someone remembers.

Pasteurised has to be proven

A negative phosphatase test is the proof the milk was pasteurised. When it lives on a clipboard, nobody can show which vat it covered or who read it.

How totalMOS runs a dairy line

Weight, temperature and seal at the line
Pack net weight, product temperature and seal integrity each count down on the iPad at the line, with moisture, fat, pH and salt on their own clocks. Every reading is judged against that product’s limits the moment it is typed.
Every vat weighed out against its formula
A batch order turns the product’s formula into the kilograms of milk, cream, culture, rennet and salt for a cheese, or of milk, sugar and cocoa for a chocolate milk. Two people sign the sheet, and it keeps the formula it was struck from.
A failed seal holds the blocks
An out-of-spec reading opens a non-conformity before the check can close. The hold is counted in packs, blocks, cases or pallets, the AQL disposition is recorded, and the corrective action sits on the same record.
Giveaway and defects, by line
The weight curve of every production order shows its pack weights against the target, and the Pareto shows which line and which defect type drive the out-of-spec readings.

The checks on the line

The demo dairy plant ships with the checks a cheese and milk line runs, from pack weight to grading score. Your own tests, limits and frequencies replace them.

50 products, each with its own limits
Holds counted in cases, pallets, blocks, or packs

Check	Default spec	Sample	Frequency
Pack net weightWeight curve10 samples · Every hour	196-208 g · average ≥ 200 g	10 samples	Every hour
Moisture content3 samples · Every 4 h	34-39 %	3 samples	Every 4 h
Fat content3 samples · Every 4 h	31-35 %	3 samples	Every 4 h
pH3 samples · Every 2 h	5-5.4 pH	3 samples	Every 2 h
Salt content3 samples · Every 4 h	1.4-1.9 %	3 samples	Every 4 h
Phosphatase test1 sample · Every 2 h	Pass	1 sample	Every 2 h
Product temperature3 samples · Every hour	0-4 °C	3 samples	Every hour
Seal integrity10 samples · Every hour	Pass	10 samples	Every hour
Cheese colour3 samples · Every 4 h	Orange	3 samples	Every 4 h
Grading score1 sample · Every 8 h	88-100 points	1 sample	Every 8 h
Metal detection1 sample · Every 30 min	Pass	1 sample	Every 30 min
Make date1 sample · Every 2 h	The day of the check	1 sample	Every 2 h
Date code1 sample · Every 2 h	Best-before, counted from the shelf life	1 sample	Every 2 h

Before the first reading

Pre-start inspection

Confirmed at the line before the first reading. A supervisor authorises the start.

Line clear of previous product and packagingCritical
No product, film or labels from the last run anywhere on the line.
Production order and product match the schedule
Check the order number on the tablet against the paperwork.
Instruments verified against referenceCritical
Scale zeroed and checked with the test weight; any other instrument on this line checked.
Date and lot code correct on the first pack
Read it back from a pack, not from the coder screen.
Guards and interlocks in placeCritical
Hand wash, PPE and jewellery check complete
Ambient temperature at the line
10-30 °C

A critical item that fails keeps the line from starting. The checklist stays on the run’s record.

Frequently asked questions

Can it check the make date and the best-before on the same pack?

Yes. Make date is a manufacture-date check that must carry the day of the check, and the date code is a best-before counted from the product’s shelf life, twelve months for a cheddar and eighteen days for a milk in the demo plant. A coder set to the wrong date fails on the first reading.

Does it handle grading and colour checks?

Yes. A check can be a number, a pass or fail, or a choice from a list. Grading score is a number with a minimum, and cheese colour is a choice where only some colours pass: orange for a cheddar, white or ivory for a mozzarella.

Can cheese and milk run in the same plant?

Yes. Every product carries its own limits, so a 2% milk and an old cheddar have their own fat band, and a check that does not apply to a product, like moisture on a milk, is left off it rather than failing on every run.

What happens when the Wi-Fi drops in the cold room?

Nothing is lost. The reading is kept on the iPad with the time it was taken and sent the moment the connection returns, and the record keeps both times.