In pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturing, cost pressures are relentless. Rising energy, raw material, and labour costs push procurement teams to look for savings wherever they can. On the surface, buying a used tablet or capsule checkweigher looks like a smart move: lower upfront cost, faster availability, and the promise of “good enough” performance.
But in a regulated industry where compliance and patient safety are everything, used checkweighers are not a bargain — they are a false economy. The risks they bring can undermine quality, brand reputation, and even patient safety.
Regulatory non-compliance
Regulatory frameworks such as FDA 21 CFR Part 11, EU Annex 11, PIC/S PE-009, and USP <41> have advanced dramatically in the last decade. Older machines were simply not designed to meet today’s expectations:
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Audit trails may be missing, editable, or non-secure.
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User access often lacks domain authentication.
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Data storage formats no longer meet ALCOA+ integrity principles.
Think about how much your mobile phone has changed in the last five or ten years. Would you trust a 2010 handset to protect your banking details? Then why risk using outdated equipment to generate the batch data your regulator will scrutinise?
Cross-contamination risk
Cleaning and contamination-control standards have also moved forward. Older checkweighers often:
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Have complex geometries that are hard to clean.
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Use materials no longer accepted under GMP.
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Rely on cleaning protocols that have since been superseded.
And ask yourself: are you really sure what the cleaning history of this equipment has been? What potency of API has passed through it, and may still lurk somewhere inside the machine?
In a regulated environment where even trace cross-contamination can trigger recalls or endanger lives, that is a risk no responsible manufacturer should accept.
Parts obsolescence and superseded standards
Checkweighers built a decade ago are often based on hardware and software platforms that are no longer supported. OEM parts may be discontinued. Control boards, load cells, and sensors may be impossible to source. That forces operators into downtime, expensive workarounds, or risky non-OEM substitutions.
Just as important, software and firmware have advanced considerably — with particular attention to security vulnerabilities, protection against data corruption, and prevention of faulty algorithms. Would you rely on a 10-year-old operating system for secure functionality today? Then why rely on outdated firmware to manage your compliance-critical weighing process?
Yesterday’s “state of the art” quickly becomes today’s liability.
Accuracy and performance degradation
Years of service, poor handling, or long-term storage mean older checkweighers can rarely guarantee ±1.0 mg or ±2.0 mg tolerances of their original specification, no matter the tighter specifications required today. Drifted load cells, weakened vibration isolation, and obsolete static elimination all erode accuracy.
Technically possible doesn’t equal reliable — and when patient safety is at stake, “reliable” is non-negotiable.
Data integrity gaps
Today’s pharma operations are digital. Batch records must be complete, secure, and audit-ready. Used machines often lack:
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OPC/UA or SCADA connectivity.
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Encryption for data transmission.
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Validated, audit-ready reporting.
Perhaps the machine is from a time when individual readings were only available on paper, or not at all. In a competitive world where automation enhances quality assurance, compliance, and cost effectiveness, do you really want to go back to paper-based records?
If your data cannot withstand scrutiny, your compliance position is compromised before production even begins.
Unknown service and validation history
Without a documented OEM service record, you cannot know:
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If IQ/OQ/PQ was ever performed properly.
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If non-OEM parts have been swapped in.
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If alarms or safety interlocks were bypassed.
Every unknown increases the re-validation burden — and the risk of regulatory failure.
Validation and lifecycle costs
Even if you bring a used checkweigher back into operation, the cost of validation, downtime, and ongoing support often outweighs any upfront savings. You face:
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Higher unplanned downtime.
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Longer cleaning and setup cycles.
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Spiralling maintenance costs.
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Obsolete parts with long lead times.
What looks like a saving on day one quickly becomes a drain on resources.
Reputation and patient safety
At the end of the day, this is about trust. Every capsule and tablet you release is a promise to patients and regulators. If your checkweigher cannot guarantee weight uniformity, compliance, and contamination control, you put patients at risk and your brand in jeopardy.
In a world so reliant on meeting the strictest of quality and safety standards, where reputation and brand identity can make or break a company’s market presence, and often the lives of patients rest in your hands, it is baffling to think that many well-known organisations supporting top market brands still take this kind of extraordinary risk.
The smarter alternative
Investing in new, validated, OEM-supported checkweighers/weight sorters delivers:
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Compliance with today’s regulatory expectations.
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Full digital integration with SCADA, MES, and ERP systems.
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Designed-in contamination control.
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Assured parts, service, and upgrade paths to stay future-proof.
If you wouldn’t trust a decade-old phone to protect your personal data, why gamble your compliance, your patients, and your reputation on a decade-old checkweigher?
Key takeaway
Used checkweighers are not a shortcut — they are a risk multiplier. Superseded standards, contamination concerns, parts obsolescence, and compliance gaps turn the promise of savings into escalating cost and reputational risk.
For manufacturers serious about quality, compliance, and patient safety, the choice is clear: invest in new, validated systems that deliver compliance confidence today and resilience for tomorrow.
Over to you
Have you seen the hidden costs of used equipment firsthand? How do you balance cost pressure with compliance obligations in your organisation? DM me for more information or head to www.ciprecision.com for more information.
