Improving Efficiency in Your Food Manufacturing Business
Food manufacturing facilities transform raw agricultural materials into products fit for intermediate or final consumption by the public. In the U.S., there are over 30,000 food and beverage manufacturing plants, according to the Department of Agriculture. Among these, many are focused on producing beverage, meat, dairy, and bakery products.
The vast number of manufacturing plants indicate that the industry is enormous and ever-growing. However, this also means that the market has become competitive and saturated. For your food manufacturing business to grow and succeed, efficiency must be priority in your operations.
To do this successfully, we gathered a few efficiency-boosting techniques below.
1. Conduct preventive maintenance
The pieces of equipment and machinery in your manufacturing plant are instrumental in your business’s efficiency. It would not matter if you are using top-of-the-line fillers and conveyors, as they are likely to malfunction or underperform if not maintained. Without preventive maintenance, it might lead to downtime and a decrease to your plant’s productivity.
This is why preventive maintenance is essential to keep your plant efficient. Instead of waiting until pieces of equipment stop working, it is better to keep them maintained in optimal operating condition. Doing so takes less time and can be done in a way that does not result in workflow interruption.
2. Increase the use of automation
Automation means your employees do not have to perform repetitive tasks and that there will be less chance for human error. Pieces of equipment like filling machines, cup machines, and conveyors also increase productivity and decrease the operational costs of a food manufacturing plant by allowing for ongoing processing as well as being more precise with product filling. Automated filling, sealing, and transferring of your food products then make the overall production process faster and less labor-intensive.
3. Tighten quality control policies
There have been cases in the food manufacturing industry in which consumers found foreign objects in their food. And sometimes, it only takes one person posting a complaint about finding an insect, a strand of hair, or some form of debris not meant to be in their food to ruin your brand’s reputation. Incidents like this may result in product recall, which means interruption to your workflow—not to mention the negative press.
Tight quality control practices must be in place. Metal detectors, x-ray systems, and temperature control systems are some of the essential quality-control measures in food production. These will help scan your products and determine if there are potential contaminants in them. What’s more, employees must wear protective uniforms for sanitation purposes.
4. Maintain a clean work environment
In the food and beverage manufacturing industry, drips and spills are inevitable. But sometimes, these spills result in product contamination or workplace accidents. This is why food manufacturing plants must ensure they are clean and organized at all times. When employees are not hampered by dirt and clutter, they can better perform their tasks.
Helping Make Food Production More Efficient
With these techniques, boost your business’s revenue and meet your customers’ satisfaction standards. If you want to further increase your plant’s efficiency, turn to Volumetric Technologies’ reliable filling machines. From piston fillers to conveyors, we provide top-of-the-line equipment for the filling & depositing needs of various industries.
Give us a call to learn more.
