In association with RS Ireland
The food production sector plays significant role in the success of the nation, with decision-makers increasingly interested in food processing automation which can increase overall output, reduce errors, and boost an organisation’s profits. Here are some specific reasons why food automation investments make sense.
Increasing food safety
A significant part of food processing involves checking the products for objects that could pose dangers to consumers if they reach the market. One necessary measure involves checking for foreign objects. Industrial automation can achieve that task with impressive efficiency and accuracy.
Automation also helps create a more consistent environment that’s less affected by human error or carelessness. Research into bacterial outbreaks with identified origins showed that most contamination occurred when workers handled products with bare hands. Bringing automated systems into the workflow can reduce the overall number of people that work with processed products, minimising the associated risks.
Incorrect labelling can cause food safety risks, too – particularly if the packaging does not alert customers to known allergens. Consider an example where two cereals look identical, but one is a gluten-free variety. Automated coding solutions can ensure each product has the correct label without human intervention.
Moving away from reactive or generalised maintenance approaches
Some common approaches to industrial maintenance either only react once problems become apparent or rigidly follow the recommendations in a manufacturer’s documentation. However, a reactive strategy can become prohibitively costly, particularly if an issue requires ordering expensive parts and paying for an emergency technician call-out service.
Moreover, a manufacturer’s guidance is generally reliable, but it doesn’t account for specifics in a plant that may necessitate repairs at different times than the suggested intervals.
Preventive maintenance is a more reasonable strategy because it addresses potential issues before they cause major outages. Companies can also apply predictive maintenance techniques by using IoT-connected condition monitoring to automatically collect data. Plant managers can be alerted of excessive temperature and abnormal vibrations that could be signs of an impending problem. In such cases, maintenance and repairs can often take place before machine failure occurs.
Boosting labour productivity
Food processing automation also presents attractive opportunities for helping workforces maintain higher outputs without elevating the risk of fatigue or injuries. Working efficiently is critical when dealing with perishable foods, too. For example if milk, yogurt or ice cream stays in a warm environment for too long, companies could face preventable wastage.
Mike Stein, an executive at Signode Industrial Group, explained: “The more automated your operation, if designed, deployed and maintained properly, the more control you have over labour costs, spoilage costs, material-handling costs and the costs associated with maintaining temperature control in large facilities. Automation is able to raise performance and lower costs concurrently.”
Equipping workers with larger skill sets
The shift toward automation can also bring more worker satisfaction, increasing the likelihood they’ll stay in their roles for longer periods. Daniel Sztutwojner, chief customer officer at communication platform Beekeeper, gave his perspective on how decisions to automate processes can broaden worker horizons.
“Instead of laying off production workers, companies are instead upskilling them over their mobile workplace platform and employing them in other areas. For instance, as food production speeds up, there is suddenly space and time for new products. Companies can then use their workforce for product innovation and efficiency development,” he said.
Maintaining consistency
Food automation investments often have direct links to customer trustworthiness, particularly because advanced machines can precisely put the right amount of frosting on the top of a snack cake or safeguard against yoghurt containers being over, or underfilled.
Future Foods, an Egyptian snack manufacturer, capitalised on the high demand for pretzels within its target market when leaders decided using a machine to automate the seasoning process was the way forward. That upgrade to its processing line led to handling up to 165 bags per minute with a 100% productivity rate. Company representatives also reported that the machinery allows taking a zero-waste approach with seasoning powders and the powder consumption stays under 5% with the new system.
Food processing automation keeps companies competitive
These examples show why investments in food automation can help brands excel in a crowded marketplace. Even if decision-makers start modestly and scale-up, the payoffs can be substantial.
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