The CheckPoint 3, the latest portable headspace gas analyzer from Mocon/Dansensor, provides single O2 or combined (O2 & CO2) measurements from modified atmosphere packages (MAP) faster and with a higher degree of accuracy than its predecessors — the CheckPoint 1 and CheckPoint 2 — and comes in three variants to accommodate different data recording/exporting and user-access options. The more ergonomically and robustly designed CheckPoint 3 requires calibration only once a year to boot, saving companies a little over $300 a year in service costs.
But if you’re still using the aforementioned legacy models and are unsure if it’s worth upgrading to the CheckPoint 3, ask yourself these three questions:
Question #1: How many samples are you testing?
The greater that number, the greater is the case to go with the CheckPoint 3 based on its testing speed alone.
Make the case: Suppose you test, on average, 60 samples a day with your CheckPoint 1; that translates into 1,200 samples per month. The monthly time savings are as follows:
CheckPoint 1: 1200 x 15 sec ==> 5 hours /m
CheckPoint 3: 1200 x 7-9 sec ==> 2 – 3 hours/m
That’s 2-3 hours that can be re-purposed (or cut) from your QA activities on a monthly basis.
Question #2: How are you recording your results?
If you answer “by hand” (which is likely the case if you’re using the CheckPoint 1), then you’d definitely need to consider one of CheckPoint 3’s two premium packages, which can read up to 1000 products across 1 million data points, all exportable via a USB or WIFI connection. Ideal for high-volume sampling!
Question #3: Are you looking to create greater transparency into your QA activities?
With the CheckPoint 3 Premium and CheckPoint 3 Premium Data Pack, you can record up to 10 and 100 user profiles, respectively. That means greater traceability into who’s recording what and when. So the greater number of users performing random, offline checks of your MAP applications, the more it makes sense to invest in the CheckPoint 3.
Need an on-line solution instead?
As alluded to earlier, this unit is suited for offline, random checks of your MAP applications; if you require continuous gas measurements in real-time, you can skip the CheckPoint 3 altogether and make the leap to the MAP Check 3.
