Using assets effectively and efficiently in the food industry is essential. For food manufacturers to remain competitive, high levels of safety and quality control are vital. Optimising asset use in the food industry can lead to an uplift in a range of mechanisms from overarching productivity to reduced costs, decreased waste and an overall boost in operational business performance. Below, discover 5 ways asset optimisation can improve food safety and control control in modern operations.
Building An Inventory
A preliminary step of asset optimisation, asset inventories are used to collect data on parts. This data can detail age, usage, maintenance history, location, equipment status and spare parts. This information can help manufacturers monitor the status of an asset and predict the mean time between failures. This helps to increase the overall reliability of machines and helps to plan maintenance according to each asset’s status. Food manufacturers can also use inventories to plan strategies based on available resources, identify unnecessary assets that can be used more effectively, determine asset criticality and monitor failure or safety risks in an operational system.
Measure Use
Asset utilisation deciphers the effectiveness of assets in driving revenue. This is calculated by dividing production output by an asset’s potential output, creating an informative metric that helps food managers identify areas for improving performance and increasing processing efficiency.
Businesses may also choose to measure production yield, which involves monitoring how effectively a food manufacturing process is at producing salable, safe food products. Asset uptime, the percentage of time an asset is available for production, as well as unplanned downtime, instances where an asset is scheduled for production but is not operational, are also informative data metrics that companies may choose to measure.
Equipment Performance
Food manufacturers can use sensors to collate real-time data that marks pressure, temperature, electrical currents and vibrations. This data helps to analyse the performance of food processing equipment. By collecting this data, businesses can remotely monitor assets and discover potential issues before asset failure or downtime. Businesses may also use software to track key performance indicators and measure them against KPIs.
Asset Tracking Software
Tracking assets can help food manufacturers to assess asset location and condition.
A tracking system such as a barcode or radio frequency identification system can help businesses gain visibility and insight into their assets, enabling quality control, asset status and performance insights.
Developing a Maintenance Plan
Asset maintenance is essential for ensuring that assets are operating at the optimal level of efficiency. Maintenance can also assist in extending equipment lifecycles with the avoidance of unprecedented downtime. Acohesive management plan supported by an experienced mechanical engineering partner such as Berg Engineering can help keep technology running at its highest efficiency. An advanced approach to maintenance can identify flaws or potential failures, reducing maintenance costs and enhancing asset utilisation and performance.
Discover asset optimisation services with Berg Engineering today.
