The food industry’s facilities and manufacturing plants need lots of forethought and machinery for productive and safe food processing. Strict regulations and standards related to health and safety are particularly important in the food industry.

There are several entities that regulate food manufacturers: the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ISO 22000 family of International Standards, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to name but a few. To ensure food manufacturers comply with health standards and regulations, these organizations often conduct audits and inspections.

Courtesy: Merieux NutriSciences, 2018.

Regulatory scrutiny has significantly elevated the probability of a recall and the economic impact of a recall can be higher than any company can afford to bear. Unfortunately, almost every enterprise-class food manufacturer, processor, and distributor have experienced the challenge of a recall. Major contributing factors to recent recalls have been deficiencies in the food production and monitoring processes such as non-compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), failure to maintain food processing facilities and equipment, non-compliance with their own Standard Operating Procedures, weaknesses in their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) analysis and inability to track products through their supply chain. (Food Safety Magazine: Recall: The Food Industry’s Biggest Threat to Profitability)

Since the stakes of not complying with these regulatory bodies are high, many food manufacturers are turning to Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) to control their operations and improve productivity.

Let’s look at how a CMMS can contribute to food manufacturing productivity:

Make Asset Management Decisions Smarter

To help management make optimal asset management decisions, access to an advanced and complete asset history, including dates when repairs were done and failures occurred, is crucial.

For example, each asset has an expected lifecycle, and budgets are often allocated to replace that asset when it reached the end of its operational life. However, when preventive maintenance is performed regularly, unplanned repairs are rarely an occurrence, meaning, that the asset could very well exceed its expected lifecycle. Management may decide to not replace the equipment and allocate the available money toward other urgent matters instead.

Meeting Food Safety Regulations

Document, document, document!  There are several bodies that control the food manufacturing industry. CMMS for compliance is a way to keep track of detailed documents such as standard operating procedures, important records related to assets and machinery, and safety manuals. A few clicks on your computer are all you need to retrieve the important data necessary to prove your organization complies with the regulations. You can use a mobile device to retrieve the information should you find yourself without your computer. If desired, one can even generate custom reports for auditors and inspectors with a CMMS such as Proteus MMX.

Modernize Your Maintenance Activities

If you are still using Excel to make sense of your maintenance operations, it’s time you consider a change. Spreadsheets have limited capabilities, whereas CMMS software centralizes data, automates tasks, conducts detailed analysis, and does advanced reporting to name only a few benefits. Many advanced maintenance software solutions offer the luxury of accessing the software on any web-enabled device, such as mobile devices. Maintenance staff can control work requests, work orders, and spare parts inventory on the go and quickly.

Features on the dashboard within a CMMS give organizations the ability to graphically view real-time data on several key performance indicators (KPIs) at any time. This gives management the capability to track the success and productivity of their organization and see industry trends.

 

Screenshot of Proteus MMX Total Cost KPI page

Reduce Food Waste

Aside from influencing production, disturbance in the process of food manufacturing can cause a great amount of waste. Food that is not processed due to a machine failure, in the appropriate time frame, must be done away with due to health and safety considerations. By using a CMMS, the possibility of equipment failure decreases by ensuring preventive maintenance is done regularly. This helps reduce waste as maintenance teams work more efficiently. Access to real-time data also allows employees to track inventory levels accurately, which prevents ordering too much stock.

Optimize Equipment Reliability

Food manufacturers need dependable equipment to succeed. Any disruption in the food processing process can have a serious effect on production and profits. Preventive maintenance, done consistently, is needed to ensure equipment reliability. CMMS used in a food manufacturing facility allows users to plan, schedule, and track preventive maintenance work on each asset. Maintenance management software helps prolong uptime and keep equipment functioning in good condition.

To ensure maximum uptime and reduce instances of unexpected downtime, a CMMS such as Proteus MMX can be exactly the tool you need. Eagle Technology believes in customizing our software to suit each food manufacturer’s needs. Give us a call on +1 (262) 241-3845, send an email, or schedule a demo to learn how we can help you.