Food production efficiency is a vital element that can make or break a business. Low efficiency can lead to increased operating costs, reduced output, decreased product quality, increased waste, and difficulty scaling. To overcome these challenges, production engineers should invest in modern commercial processing technology and equipment, streamline their processes where possible, and train their operatives on best practices for production efficiency.
How Can The Efficiency Of Food Production Be Improved?
In this article, we will look at the various ways in which you can improve your production efficiency to help you stay competitive and profitable, meeting the increasing demand for high quality food products among consumers.
Implement An Effective Routine Maintenance Plan
Setting up a bespoke regular maintenance plan for all your food production assets is essential to keep your production line running efficiently. All machines must be kept in good working condition at all times to prevent unscheduled downtime. Regular proactive maintenance can identify early-stage problems before they escalate into mechanical issues and risks, and can also lower your lifetime cost of ownership for your equipment. An effective way of keeping track of maintenance requirements is by implementing a computerised maintenance management software system (CMMS), which can help schedule and track maintenance across your asset base.
Optimise Your Facility Layout
The layout of your production facility plays a significant role in your food production efficiency. A good layout should ensure that your workflows are streamlined, the use of space is maximised, and that there is no unnecessary movement between workstations. An optimisation strategy should map out your facility layout with the aim of identifying and minimising any potential bottlenecks.
Invest In New Food Production Technology
Advances in food processing technology have made it easier for businesses to automate manual and time-consuming processes, and thereby improve the efficiency of their food production. A modern production process equipped with up-to-date plant can help businesses achieve greater efficiency rates and lower production costs. Targeted investments in suitable tools and systems can increase accuracy, reduce waste, and improve output speed. You can learn more about our capital investment consultancy here and how it can support you in acquiring new machinery for your business.
Use Efficient Equipment
A production process is frequently only as good as the tools deployed. Therefore, using efficient equipment is essential for any strategy to improve food production efficiency. This includes everything from temperature control equipment, ovens and freezers, to packaging equipment like baggers and flow wrappers. Efficient equipment can often pay for itself in efficiency savings, and simple adjustments to your working practices can often have the biggest impact on production outcomes.
Provide Adequate Training For Your Operatives
Efficient food production depends on well-trained employees who understand the processes and equipment used in production, and have the knowledge to actively contribute to improving it. Providing ongoing training opportunities for your operatives can result in better process flows, higher productivity, increased equipment uptime, and ultimately a better product. Training can take the form of seminars, on-the-job training, and online self-paced resources.
Of course, training operatives to operate the equipment they use is paramount for ensuring a production facility runs effectively. However, operative training also needs to focus around the PCPs (Process Critical Parameters) of a production line. Just as you would use CCPs (Critical Control Points) in food safety and quality control, you must create a framework on PCPs to have control over your production processes. Once your operatives understand these, it gives them actions to implement if anything ever goes wrong and enables them to reduce production downtime and wastage.
What Next?
At Premier Forrester, we provide a wide range of food production solutions for businesses in the confectionery, chocolate, and bakery industries in the UK. To find out more about our modern equipment and how it can help you improve production efficiency, please get in touch today to discuss your requirements.
