Based on a study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees in the food manufacturing industry are more likely to suffer from injuries, illnesses, and fatalities than employees in other industries. This is attributed mostly to the industry’s diverse work environments which present several health and safety risks.

Common Occupational Risks in the Workplace

Most workplace injuries and illnesses are preventable. Understanding the causes gives you a better insight on how to address them properly. Protect your employees and discover how their health and safety contribute to improving business performance.

Slips and Falls

With several machines pumping out different liquids, food manufacturing plants are more likely to have slip-and-fall accidents. Addressing this problem will entail adopting better work practices and investing in the right tools and equipment. Ensuring all equipment seals are working properly, or a proper fluid dispenser nozzle, in particular, is a helpful tool in making sure there are no leaks or drips that can lead to slips and falls. Choose a design that best suits your needs to improve your machines for safety and performance.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Repetitive motion is often the cause of muscle sprains and strains. Even with different types of equipment available, some employees may still be required to carry out physical tasks. These may range from lifting and carrying packed items to bending over a conveyor belt. Reviewing your current processes will help you identify areas where you can adopt automation. Consider the initial investment in these innovations as a way to reduce employee absenteeism and improve operations.

Burns and Scalds

Food preparation can put your employees close to excessive heat, hot oils, and open flames. A simple mistake may lead to a serious injury when employees are not properly-geared or provided with safety tools. In selecting these items, make sure they protect the wearer completely from burns and scalds. Determine how these injuries occur and introduce new safety procedures to prevent them from happening in the future.

Cuts and Amputations

Employees in food manufacturing plants face the risk of getting cut or sliced by the tools and equipment they use. The worst-case scenario will be if an appendage is chopped off accidentally. Avoid these scenarios by understanding how they happen. Typically, dull cutting tools are just as dangerous as sharp ones because the employee will use more force than necessary. Make sure all tools and equipment are well-maintained to keep employees safe.

High-Performance Equipment from Volumetric Technologies

At Volumetric Technologies, we understand how high-performing equipment improves health and safety in the workplace. We specialize in filling and packaging equipment specifically for the food manufacturing industry. Apart from improving operational performance, these machines have helped employees improve procedures for better safety.

Discover how our range of innovative solutions are beneficial to your plant employees’ health and safety. Get in touch with our team to find out more about these products.

 Production facilities, now more than ever, must ensure the use of hygienic equipment. Whether your facility makes food and beverage or skin care items, your machines need to produce clean products for public consumption.

To do so, your filling and packaging machines, such as servo depositor equipment, must be made of strong materials. Stainless steel is an ideal material for such machinery because of the metal’s qualities. These include an inherent resilience to corrosion, seamless surfaces, and easy-to-clean construction.

Corrosion-Resistance

The primary strength of stainless steel is its incredible resistance to rusting because it is partially comprised of aluminum. Aside from decreasing the efficiency of any machinery, rust is also a contaminant, and should not be anywhere near your products or equipment. 

Stainless steel is also resistant to chemical corrosion, meaning you and your employees can use more efficient cleaning chemicals to purify the machinery. Such cleaning chemicals help remove microbes and other biological contamination. It also protects your machinery from being damaged by acidic food, like tomato sauce and fluids containing citrus fruits.

However, resilience does not mean immunity. High concentrations of corrosive cleaners will eventually damage stainless steel, as will very abrasive materials. Monitor and use in moderation any chemical or material you use when cleaning stainless steel.

No Nooks and Crannies

Stains and smears left behind by fluid substances can lead to contamination, especially if they’re food-related. Bacteria, fungi, and other biological material can infest your equipment if these substances are not completely removed. Effective cleaning does not stop at simply removing the visible residue of your products.

On the microscopic level, there could be traces of these substances trapped or adhering to nooks and crannies on the machine’s surface. The rougher the surface of a material, the harder it is to scrub residual substances because of how many cracks there are on them.

Stainless steel can have smoother surfaces, with minimum roughness. Often, the materials directly in food-contact are specified to have a smooth surface finish. This makes it easy to remove traces of sauces or other fluids on a visible and microscopic level.

Easy to Clean

Because of the factors listed above, it is easy to clean stainless steel compared to some other materials. The smooth finish of its surface and its resistance to corrosion means you can thoroughly sanitize stainless steel machinery with less effort.

More importantly, some types of stainless steel machinery can be dismantled and reassembled easily. This allows you to clean hard-to-reach areas of the equipment, ensuring that every part of your production line is hygienic.

The ease of cleaning provided by stainless steel also means lower turnaround time for your business. You can guarantee that your machinery and the products you manufacture are sanitary without sacrificing your operational efficiency.

Today, prioritizing the health of both your customers and employees is paramount. Making sure that your production equipment meets the highest standards of hygienic manufacturing is one of the best ways to keep everyone safe.

Reliable Filling and Packaging Equipment

Volumetric Technology provides food product manufacturers, bakeries, and manufacturers in other industries with high-quality packaging and filling equipment. All our machines are made from FDA-approved materials and stainless steel proudly manufactured in the United States. Our proven designs ensure the easy and fast disassembly for cleaning with hygiene at the forefront of the design.

Fill out our contact form today to learn how we can help your business.

Set up any new food production facility for success. Ensuring success, the facility should promote food safety, employee health and safety, and efficient processes.

Improper product flow—whether it is moving a product from one area to another or filling products —can be damaging to your food plant’s operations in more ways than one. Just this one inefficiency can cost you money, introduce safety hazards, and jeopardize food quality.

Let’s explore ways your facility may be at risk of improper product flow and what you can do to improve the situation.

Does Your Facility Have a Product Flow Problem?

These three signs indicate your plant has a product flow problem:

• Excess raw materials inventory: An abnormal amount of excess raw ingredients means not moving your products quickly enough.
• Surplus work in inventory: Having too many unfinished products in storage is a typical red flag that your processing stage has a problem.
• Too many product losses: If your actual output is less than your forecast numbers, this typically means there are interruptions in your process.

Often, these signs can go unnoticed. Instead they creep up gradually and surprise you only when the situation has worsened.

Inefficient Product Flow Affects Your Business

Poor process flow has three consequences for your business:

• Increased safety risks. Workers are more likely to get injured when they physically transport products across the facility.
• Wasted money and time. An inefficient process is lengthier and leads to lower revenue.
• More chances of product damage. Physically moving the product from one area to another increases the risk of contamination and spoiling.

Improving the Product Flow

Start by conducting a comprehensive assessment to identify the bottlenecks in your chain, then think of solutions to optimize the process. You can make your product flow more efficient by:

• Streamlining the Process. Place the areas of each step close to each other to maximize production time and minimize unnecessary exposure of the product.
• Locating Your Maintenance Area at the Center of the Facility. Your maintenance team can get to the problem and fix problems as quickly as possible.
• Automating Your Processes. Using piston fillers for filling your products and using machines for smooth transfer of products from one area to another reduces delays in the process.
• Locating Utilities Outside the Building. It will be easier to streamline your process flow with more space on the main floor of your facility. Make sure, however, the utilities are accessible without workers having to cut through the process area.

Improve Productivity in Your Facility with Volumetric Technologies’ Tabletop Conveyors

Need to make your production line more efficient? Volumetric Technologies offers tabletop chain conveyors for your conveying needs. We provide various types —closed-top, open-top, and hygienic designs —that are available in any configuration or length.

With their modular construction, our tabletop chain conveyors are easy to incorporate into your existing systems. They are designed to endure harsh environments and with easy wash-down in mind.

Browse our range of products by visiting www.volumetrictechnologies.com. For inquiries, call 507-263-0034.

The pharmaceutical industry develops and manufactures drugs that prevent, treat, cure, or diagnose illness or disease. This sector, particularly the global pharmaceuticals market, is growing at a steady pace. A recent report by The Business Research Company, a market research firm, revealed that the market would grow from $934.8 billion in 2017 to $1.17 Trillion in 2021.

If you plan to enter the thriving pharmaceutical manufacturing business, one of the pieces of equipment you’ll need is a conveyor for the production line of pharmaceutical and medical products. Getting the right machine for your facility is crucial, as you’ll need a machine that performs product accumulation, high-speed filling, packaging, labeling, and tracking accurately, cleanly, and safely.

Here are some of the factors you need to consider when buying a table top conveyor for your pharmaceutical manufacturing facility:

Safety and Sanitation

Check if the conveyor system you want has features that help you adhere to the sanitation and safety standards of your facility. See if the machine offers one or more of the following:

• Stainless steel or anodized aluminum frames
• Lockable reject bins that can catch all non-compliant pharmaceutical and medical items
• Photo eyes or vision systems that can help assist with product inspection

Belting

The kind of belt you need for your conveyor would depend on the products in your facility. Keeping lightweight pharmaceuticals, such as pills and capsules, in place on a conveyor can be difficult due to their weight. This also makes orientation and precise spacing a challenge during processing.

If you’re thinking about installing conventional flat or thin belts, you may want to reconsider. Medications, for instance, can’t force the belt to stay flat. Additionally, thin belts could curl when placed under tension. Instead of conventional belts, opt for vacuum belting. As well as being fully customizable, vacuum belting can help hold down light pharmaceuticals.

Transfers

Most pharma products have a size that is less than an inch, which means that transferring items from one conveyor to another can be a challenge. So if you’re getting a conveyor system, you will need one that has a roller diameter of less than an inch. Otherwise, the items will fall between the conveyors.

The roller diameter of conventional conveyor systems is 1.26 inches or bigger. You, however, can find machines with end rollers that are 0.63 in diameter. Alternatively, you can choose conveyors with nose bars that can effectively transfer pharma products with a size of less than an inch.

Conveyors aren’t simply machines that move products from one location to another, they are integral to the accuracy, cleanliness, and safety of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Consideration of the previously mentioned factors when choosing a conveyor can help you produce top-quality pharma items for your clients.

Choose Us for Your Conveyor Needs

Are you looking for a high-quality table top chain conveyor along with a conveyor system that satisfies the requirements of your pharmaceutical manufacturing facility? Get the equipment you need at Volumetric Technologies. We design our conveyors with easy sanitation and wash down in mind. Our machines are highly customizable and durable. With our table top chain conveyor, your pharma products can come out in top condition, as our equipment minimizes the possibility of damage and mishandling.

Reach out to us today for more information.

According to the American Bakers Association, the combined revenue of the bakery industry in the United States contributed 2.1 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. These bakeries comprise approximately 3,000 independent outfits and 6,000 retail bakeries. The former brings in $30 million in revenue every year, and the latter does $3 billion annually.

Volumetric Technologies can offer bakeries of all sizes the advice and the equipment you need to increase the productivity and profitability of your operation. This process begins with acquiring top-notch equipment.

Machinery Matters

Our product line includes Bakery Belt Conveyors and Piston Depositors. Like all of our products, we designed these machines for versatility throughout your full range of products. You can customize them to suit the output of your bakery, and their stainless steel construction makes them perfect for the hygienic requirements of the food industry.

Making your bakery profitable starts with purchasing machinery that matter, that contributes to the success of your business. However, your path to improved productivity and profitability also involves streamlining your production line and using innovative marketing methods.

Perfecting Production

As a product provider, you have to match your customers’ demands with just the right amount of supply. Once you have the perfect equipment to produce your baked goods, you’ll need to synchronize your production line. By scheduling and timing the activities of everyone involved in the baking process, you can increase the number of orders in a given period. Synchronization also makes the quality of your products more consistent. You can even use the time gained from the efficient flow to expand the number of products your bakery offers.

Often times your primary consideration for synchronizing your bakery is the oven. Its capacities dictate how many products you produce and how long you have to wait to produce the next batch. The oven becomes the benchmark of your production line, and you should time all related activities to its capacity. This will ensure little to no delays between baking batches and increase the output of your bakery.

Of course, once your delicious products are out of the oven, you’re going to need a creative way to tempt people into purchasing them. This is where savvy marketing steps in.

Marvelous Marketing

The key to making your bakery’s brand stand out is to determine your business’s unique selling proposition. What makes your bakery better than others? Tapping into specialized segments of the consumer market or popular dietary trends will benefit you here. Consider serving vegan options or keto-friendly merchandise. Perhaps you can advertise that your ingredients come from local vendors or strictly within the United States.

Once you’ve locked on to your unique selling proposition, use new mediums to spread the word. Social media platforms and digital frontiers offer you ways to reach untold millions of potential customers. They also give you methods to easily engage with your potential and actual customers, which can give you an edge over the competition.

Synchronized production lines and smart marketing campaigns, however, all depend on your ability to create quality products in enough quantities.

Designed for Efficiency

Volumetric Technologies can supply you with the machinery you need to boost your bakery’s profits and production. Through our solutions, you’ll eliminate delays and breaks in your product processing line. Whether you need an upgrade or looking to increase the efficiency and consistency in your operations, we’ll fulfill your needs.

Browse our product lines and get in touch with us today!