Technology has greatly impacted how many businesses are run, and the food industry is no exception. From filling machines to automatic product counting machinery, food industry equipment can make life much easier and production much faster.
If you are looking to streamline your operations, cut costs, and improve the overall quality of the products you deliver, here is what you need to know to get the most out of your food industry equipment.
Efficiency and safety are crucial KPIs for businesses that operate any sort of machinery – food industry equipment included. When it comes to operating packaging or filling equipment, these and other KPIs cannot be achieved without proper employee training.
Insufficient training can result in not only serious safety concerns but also wasted time, money, materials, and parts.
Here are a few reasons why you need to train employees on using filling equipment:
Experienced employees will also be able to maintain the machines and conduct regular checks to prevent malfunctions and identify potential issues before they can cause a backlog. Proper machine maintenance and troubleshooting techniques can save your business time and even money that would otherwise be spent on expensive machinery repairs.
Training can reduce accidents, decrease downtime, and equip your staff with the skills needed to deal with problems proactively.
Product counting machines (production counters) are designed for the high-speed and accurate counting of products and packages of different shapes and sizes. While their primary purpose is tracking the number of products produced or packages on a production line, they are also useful in driving improvements in manufacturing productivity (among other benefits).
If you run a business in the packaging industry, there are quite a few ways you could benefit from investing in a product counting machine.
In addition, automatic counting machines are a lot faster and more accurate than manual counting systems – saving you time and allowing you to save on hiring expenses, salaries, and other labor costs.
This accuracy reduces production rejects and waste while also supplying a unique selling point to customers who purchase in bulk and are more concerned with “how many” as opposed to “how much.” This transparency and convenience is especially useful to customers in industries like event planning or catering. For example, if they can see that 50 chicken wings are in a package (instead of just the weight), they know exactly how many packages to buy for their event.
Every manufacturer needs an accurate count of what they produce, but far more than tracking the number of products packed, counting machines can also be used to drive significant improvements in manufacturing productivity when combined with production monitors.
With the same sensors used for counting parts, you can generate dozens of meaningful and insightful metrics that provide a comprehensive view of your manufacturing processes. In addition to giving you insight into production counting (total count and good count), production monitoring features can give you insight into cycle times, rates, production times, targets, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), the Six Big Losses, and Total Effective Equipment Performance (TEEP).
Automated, high-speed counting machines simplify and streamline the production process – provided you are using the correct type of production counting equipment. Two commonly used types of high-speed counting machines are centrifugal machines and cellular tray machines. The question is, which is better for your business?
A cellular tray counting machine takes a large number of products and distributes them evenly into specially designed trays. These machines use a release hopper to distribute bulk products in an orderly fashion and operate in unit distribution, products released on-the-fly, or in batch distribution. The machines will have interchangeable trays, depending on the product size, and are able to count products with care and complete accuracy.
Cellular tray machinery is typically installed upstream of your main packaging system and downstream of your freezer, freezing tunnel, or oven. Cellular tray machines can be used to count:
The products can then be distributed, counted, or batched individually (or grouped together) to be loaded or packaged.
A centrifugal counting machine uses centrifugal force to align a large number of disordered products at high speed and in a continuous, ordered flow. These machines were designed for minimal waste, as well as accurate and safe product counting. In most cases, centrifugal machines are installed upstream of your primary packaging system and downstream of your freezer or oven.
These machines can be used to count bakery products, meat products, animal treats, cubed broths, dry food products, candy, bubblegum, and more. After counting, depending on your application, the products can then be either distributed or batched (independently or together) to be loaded into your horizontal bagger, vertical bagger, trays, pots, cans, etc.
Both machines are designed to maximize your OEE by accurately counting bulk products at high speeds while minimizing damage, waste, and production rejects. Fragile, wet, or dry products can be counted without compromising their quality, shape, or texture.
Globally, food processing companies undergo extensive scrutiny by their respective governing bodies. Along with regulatory compliance, you must also find a balance between consumer demands and business productivity and profitability. This is why automation is so helpful. In addition to minimizing human error, improving client satisfaction, and increasing insight into your business, there are numerous ways that automating your filling system could be beneficial to your business.
Businesses in the food and beverage industry are under constant pressure to evolve in order to meet the growing global demand while still balancing their efforts to increase profits in an increasingly hypercompetitive landscape.
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the best ways to cut costs, identify bottlenecks, and proactively address issues caused by manual processes.
Supply chain management can be improved with accurate insights into inventory management and pricing, helping to ensure profitability and avoid unnecessary costs.
AI can help achieve better hygiene management and reduce the chances of food safety breaches or cross-contamination. Automated machines are designed to be easy to clean, but in addition, the fewer parts of the production process that are handled by humans, the less likely products are to be contaminated. There are also some AI solutions that use sensors or fluorescence imaging to scan food remains on the machinery after use so workers will know exactly where to clean.
AI can also analyze energy consumption and waste, helping you conserve valuable resources and saving your business money. You can use the insights provided by AI to keep your energy usage at an optimal level and ensure energy is only being consumed in an on-demand basis. Automated filling and counting systems perform their functions with extreme accuracy and care as well, so you are minimizing damage, waste, and production rejects.
These are just a few of the ways automating manual tasks allows companies to bring down their labor expenses, reduce downtime, and speed up the production process. AI is revolutionizing the food processing industry and will likely continue to transform this sector in the future.
Hygiene is essential in the food and beverage industry; it is not only a legal prerequisite but is essential in maintaining product quality and preserving your reputation. You need to ensure that, when you are counting food products, you are leaving no room for cross-contamination (which is an allergy risk) or contamination from germs, pathogens, and bacteria.