Fortress Introduces Advanced Data‑Collection Suite for Food‑Safety Metal Detectors

After a year of pandemic‑driven disruption, the focus on AI and Industry 4.0 has returned, accelerating efforts to shorten production cycles, cut costs and raise quality.

European food factories are now demanding practical data technologies that make smarter decisions possible and boost efficiency. Fortress Technology responds with a new suite of connectivity software that streamlines data collection for its metal‑detector lines.

In addition to its existing turnkey solutions—most notably Contact Reporter, which is built into every Stealth and Interceptor model—Fortress now offers communication adapters and Contact 4.0. These tools give food‑manufacturing plants full flexibility in how they retrieve data as they advance toward Industry 4.0.

New adapters—OPC/UA and Ethernet/IP—integrate seamlessly with customers’ existing networked systems. By automating data collation and testing, the adapters reduce human error, deliver real‑time, end‑to‑end production visibility, and strengthen maintenance, quality assurance and due‑diligence.

“Connectivity is key,” says Phil Brown, Fortress’s European Managing Director. “We are entering a new IoT era where everything that can be connected will be connected. Knitting together the extraction of data and bridging the gap between machines and humans helps us predict rather than react to production scenarios.”

Manually monitoring the performance of food‑inspection machines is labor‑intensive and hampers productivity. Even upgraded legacy systems often capture data on a machine‑by‑machine basis rather than integrating and analysing information side‑by‑side to build a comprehensive performance picture.

For many manufacturing IT departments, choosing the right IoT technology can feel like a minefield. The misconception that Industry 4.0 requires massive investment, a dedicated development team, and slow ROI still exists.

Phil expands: “Although many Fortress customers express a strong interest in innovation and harnessing the power of data capture, there is an underlying belief that they will not be able to connect new applications with existing legacy inspection machines. In such a fast‑moving sector like food manufacturing, this hesitancy can have an immense impact on competitiveness.”

Dynamic data—how you want it

Fortress’s digital metal detectors come equipped with intelligent machine sensors that provide continuous feedback throughout the inspection process. For food factories taking tentative steps into digital decision‑making, Contact Reporter delivers a robust, user‑friendly event‑logging solution—standard on Stealth and Interceptor detectors—without requiring complex integration. Users simply install the software on their business PC.

Time‑stamped data is extracted via USB on a machine‑by‑machine basis. When uploaded to the PC, Contact Reporter converts it into readable formats.

Contact Reporter collates all batch data from individual detectors—faults, metal‑detection events, system changes, and configuration details—providing essential record‑keeping for quality control and audits. The data also highlights bottlenecks and flags upstream processing issues, giving production managers actionable insights.

For an automated, remote data collection option, Stealth and Interceptor users can adopt Contact 4.0. This solution delivers consistent reporting and a more accurate data picture for each detector, future‑proofing Smart‑Factory automation projects.

All Contact options comply with international food‑safety standards, including HACCP, BRC, and GFSI/SQF. “For food SMEs in particular, Fortress recognises that digital fear remains prevalent. Contact provides a transition step from manual, hard‑copy data gathering to a digitised Food Quality Management system and begins to facilitate data use in a more sophisticated way,” Phil notes.

Small data, big impact

In food inspection, the quantity of data tags is modest, which makes it easier to automate the identification of meaningful patterns. Monitoring time‑series granular data side‑by‑side across a fleet of machines 24/7 gives production managers oversight that was previously unattainable.

Responding to this trend, Fortress launched Contact 4.0—a real‑time, web‑based remote‑management solution that lets multi‑site plants review and collect data, and securely monitor the performance of unlimited metal detectors on the same network.

Contact 4.0 operates via a secure web gateway and offers 24/7 monitoring of multiple units. It sits on the same network as the metal detector, communicating through its IP address. Authorized users log in from any networked device. The two‑way reporting system lets production and QA managers troubleshoot performance issues without being physically present. Reports can be scheduled and emailed daily, per shift, or weekly. Test failures or fault events trigger email alerts with precise timestamps.

Adapt and evolve

While cybersecurity concerns exist, paper records actually pose higher risks than digital data. Manual collation can lead to errors, omissions, or deliberate falsification. If manufacturers cannot prove when and where inspections occurred, they may face re‑inspection of entire batches, halting production and potentially triggering recalls.

Automated OPC/UA and Ethernet/IP adapters provide a robust, safer way to stream data within a company’s firewall. They convert factory‑specific data tags in real time, auto‑populating internal business databases and giving managers flexible, actionable oversight.

The OPC/UA Adapter is a one‑way, web‑based solution that collects and stores defined data and production parameters. Its interoperability allows multiple detectors to feed real‑time data into a client’s central server, and its architecture is supported by major automation vendors—simplifying data synchronization across smart processing environments.

The Ethernet/IP Adapter extends this capability across multiple sites within local IT infrastructures, letting manufacturers view the performance of unlimited detectors via their IP addresses and push parameters for remote setup and monitoring. This reduces downtime by enabling remote assistance.

The road ahead

Latency, fragmentation, and security remain critical challenges as the race toward Industry 4.0 accelerates. Phil emphasizes that connectivity is the foundation of any successful digitisation strategy: “The standout factor that makes data so valuable is how it is analysed, spots trends and patterns, and, as a result, informs better business decisions.”

Fortress’s modular suite of data‑communication tools is designed to serve every customer. Those with existing data extraction and factory‑management software can integrate the adapters for seamless, industry‑standard connections. Those new to data collection may gravitate toward Contact Reporter or Contact 4.0.

Implementation of Contact software is quick and does not divert in‑house IT resources from other projects. Available on all Stealth and Interceptor metal detectors, it can be adapted immediately using Fortress’s new Industry 4.0 tools, delivering practical data integration that matches each customer’s reporting systems.

www.fortresstechnology.co.uk