In the UK, Trading Standards enforce stringent regulations under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 to ensure consumers have the right quantity information to make informed purchasing decisions. This Act provides a framework for the regulation of quantity which includes: the type and manner of information provided, quantities which may be sold and the units of measure.

Everards Brewery is a long established brewery founded in 1849 and based in the Midlands, UK. They brew their own beers as well as distribute other manufacturers’ brands of ales and lagers throughout the UK. Everards, where possible, uses leading edge technology throughout their 12.5 acre site in Leicestershire.

Everards experienced barcode scanner problems during their ‘kegging process’ where reusable metal kegs are filled with beer. Empty kegs have 1D barcode labels applied and are weighed to establish the ‘tare weight’, which varies slightly for each keg. The keg is scanned, and the tare weight of the new keg is recorded in a database. Once filled, the keg is transported down a line to a weighing station. The keg’s label is scanned to identify the keg from a database and then weighed to calculate the exact weight of beer in each keg.

The process of kegging brings significant challenges for capturing and recording this information. As kegs are reused regularly, the barcodes can become significantly damaged while being transported and when in use in pub cellars.

Previously, Everards used a laser scanner to read the barcodes. However, due to the amount of damage to the barcode labels, the scanner was only achieving a 60-65% success rate of barcodes being read correctly. This meant that a significant amount of information was not being captured as accurately as possible for Trading Standards auditing. Due to the inefficiency of the laser scanner Everards looked to find an alternative, more reliable solution.