Max Uptime for food and beverage.
Orchestrating harmony in the workplace.
Rittal Application Center hosts grand opening.
Cultivating a positive shop floor culture.
Food and beverage products.
Rittal held a grand opening for its new Rittal Application Center (RAC) in Mississauga, recently.
Food and Beverage recently hosted a half-day virtual educational forum.
Leaders in a wellfunctioning manufacturing organization are like skilled technicians.
The
One of my favourite tasks I have as an editor of Food and Beverage Engineering and Maintenance is the ability to host events. Recently, we held our second annual Food and Beverage Max Uptime virtual event, which I moderated. The day of the event is the easy part, making sure we get speakers that engage the audience, and cover topics that are of utmost importance to those in the industry is the hard part. In that respect, I think we hit a home run, we had three amazing speakers, and a informative panel discussion, with 75 attendees joining us during the event.
We had speakers who had experience working for some of the food and beverage industry’s largest companies. Including PepsiCo, Kraft, Nestle Waters, Fresh Prep, Piller’s Fine Foods, amount others. In addition, we had speakers that help food companies to make sure their products keep moving and make it to market. Those included Laplace Robotics and AKRS Equipment Solutions.
The three hour event could easily have lasted much longer, as the wealth of knowledge was immense. The audience was very engaged, as each question and answer session went right to its time limit, and there weren’t any empty ‘virtual’ seats.
A full overview of the event is on page 8. Here is a quick look at the highlights: Les Cyfko, former director, productivity, engineering and CI, PepsiCo discussed the Eight avoidable errors for world-class F&B equipment reliability; Mariela Castaño, senior vice-president and COO, Kunst Solutions spoke about the Reduction of micro-stoppages; Matt Burtz, shop foreman,
AKRS Equipment presented on How Preferred Popcorn improved uptime and compliance with a preventive maintenance program; and the panel discussion looked at how automation, robotics, and AI are transforming food manufacturing. Version three of the event is already beginning the planning stage. If you have any topic or speaker suggestions, don’t hesitate to send them over. We want to make sure that we cover the food and beverage areas that our readers want to know about.
The virtual events are a chance for attendees to learn and take important information back to their organizations. I always look at attending events with one goal, to be able to bring at least one thing back that I didn’t know before, or that I didn’t know well enough. In that respect, the Max Uptime event was successful.
Thank you to all our speakers, attendees, and all those who made the event happened. Also, a big thank our event sponsors, as without them, this event would not have been able to take place. Thank you, Limble CMMS and SKF Lincoln.
Mario Cywinski Food & Beverage Engineering & Maintenance mcywinski@annexbusinessmedia.com
Rittal along with Eplan held a grand opening for its new Rittal Application Center (RAC) in Mississauga, recently.
BY MARIO CYWINSKI
Attendees to the grand opening learned how Rittal and EPLAN collaborate to offer processes that help customers. Ulrich Engenhardt, managing director CBO Business Unit, Rittal, André Bousette, managing director, and Jonas Zelisko, director of operations, both from Rittal Canada, and Roland Younk, managing director, Eplan Canada, welcomed guests to the event, and outlined what is possible at the facility.
“The Rittal Application Center is the place where panel building and switchgear manufacturing companies can bring their projects along and where we work with them practically on individual solutions,” said Bousette. “Our goal is to give our customers a competitive edge and show them new development opportunities for the future.”
A presentation outlined the integrated value chain that Rittal and Eplan have. Which includes engineering, supply, manufacturing, and operations. Also covered was how automation and digitalization has helped to reduce average time for projects from start to completion (engineering, quotation processing, order and delivery, me-
chanical processing, assembly and wiring, and customer delivery, setup, and service).
Those in attendance were also
able to tour the RAC facility to see first-hand how things are done, and what the capabilities are. One of the highlights was a new Laser Perforex machine that is used for automated machining. The machine helps to increases the range of projects that can be done for Rittal clients. A quick demo showed how it works. Other machines within the facility were also demonstrated.
Rittal describes the facility as “this is about applications that revolve around the field of control cabinet and switchgear construction. The special thing about it is that you can experience and get to know all relevant, automated, and digitized processes live and on site in the spirit of ‘Join. Apply. Grow.’ Are you asking yourself how you could become faster, better, and more efficient in control cabinet construction? Then you’ve come to the right place in the RAC. In addition to the experience of automation, you can also exchange ideas with other users as well as with the experts
from Rittal Canada and Eplan.”
The grand opening featured company partners, customers, media, and invited guests.
Mario Cywinski is the Editor of Plant magazine, Machinery and Equipment MRO magazine and Food and Beverage magazine, and a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. He has 15 years of editorial experience; five years of MRO experience; over 16 years of automobile industry experience. Contact him at mcywinski@annexbusinessmedia.com
Food and Beverage Maintenance and Engineering recently hosted a half-day virtual educational forum.
BY MARIO CYWINSKI
The state of capital assets is of utmost importance to a food and beverage organization’s production capabilities. Each organization’s goal is to maximize its uptime.
Max Uptime showed maintenance, reliability and maintenance professionals in the food and beverage sector how to learn techniques to identify issues with assets, and how to react to solve problems, to prevent unexpected and costly breakdowns. The forum featured a keynote, a panel, and two speaker presentations. The keynote was presented by Les Cyfko, former director, productivity, engineering and CI, PepsiCo who discussed the Eight avoidable errors for world-class F&B equipment reliability. Speaker Mariela Castaño, senior vicepresident and COO, Kunst Solutions spoke about the Reduction of micro-stoppages. While Matt Burtz, shop foreman, AKRS Equipment Solutions present-
ed on How Preferred Popcorn improved uptime and compliance with a preventive maintenance program.
The panel discussion looked at how automation, robotics, and AI are transforming food manufacturing. More specifically how Canadian food technology companies are helping manufacturers save time and money, while increasing output.
With a focus on practical scenarios, the presentation highlighted eight key maintenance avoidable errors and their consequences. Drawing from years of experience in progressive operations roles in food and beverage, Cyfko discussed the importance of leadership, CMMS, maintenance KPIs, spare
parts, scheduling, loss analysis, training, and production.
The eight avoidable errors are: Not having a compelling business need (CBN), not having regular meetings with your team, not using a CMMS, not using key performance indicators (KPIs), not prioritizing assets, not having regular maintenance planning meetings, not using a breakdown analysis (BDA), and not using operator PMs.
“If we want to get there from here, we must do things a little bit different. Sometimes we have processes, but we’re not following them. The eight unforced errors often cripple our maintenance departments and stymie our progress to world class maintenance. These are all geared towards getting stuff done and getting stuff done efficiently and effectively,” said Cyfko. By doing so, we bust the dam. We’ve got this “beaver” now because we’ve gone through all these unforced errors, and we’ve corrected them all, and we’re controlling what we can control. I’m sure he won’t stop what he’s doing. They naturally just build dams, so he’ll continue doing what he’s do-
ing, just a little harder.
“This dynamic equilibrium, where the beavers continue to look for opportunities to build dams. We must mitigate those dams, as we find sticks before they become a dam, and enable that “river” to continue to flow. That is what we call 100 per cent uptime. And our plants are running as they’re designed to do,” said Cyfko.
Micro-stoppages in the food industry refer to very brief and often unnoticed
interruptions or pauses in the production process that occur repeatedly and frequently. These interruptions are typically short in duration, often lasting just a few seconds to a minute, and may seem insignificant on their own. However, when these micro-stoppages accumulate over time, they can result in significant overall downtime, reduced productivity, and increased operational inefficiencies.
These interruptions can be especially detrimental in organizations that rely on continuous or high-speed production lines. Identifying and addressing micro-stoppages is essential for optimizing production processes, minimizing downtime, reducing operational costs, ensuring consistent product quality, and improving food and team member safety.
How to effectively implement a strategy to manage and eliminate micro-stoppages is very important, and can include:
• Data-driven approach;
• Effective maintenance;
• Team member training and empowerment;
• Optimizing quality control;
• Streamlined changeovers;
• Standard operating procedures; and,
• Cultivating a culture of improvement.
“We need to inspire our team members to have organizational alignment with our objectives, including of uptime reducing of micro stoppages, and to desire to identify and address those micro stoppages. They do understand how they affect them and the performance of their teams. With that we can foster a more proactive problem-solving culture,” said Castaño.
“Each one of your organizations is going through a constant pursuing of the perfect process. and we can achieve it if we don’t have disturbances to the flow. Therefore, we eliminate those disturbances to the flow by eliminating the micro stoppages.”
Burtz shared his experience and expertise for building and implementing a preventive maintenance (PM) program for the food and beverage industry. Looking at a case study of how Limble
helped Preferred Popcorn design and launch a PM program that increased their overall productivity, improved visibility on maintenance and inventory metrics, and standardized documentation to take the stress out of audits.
“We want to make sure that we’re making the case for ourselves. Oftentimes the maintenance departments, are viewed as an expense straight out of the gate. It is a “what are you doing for us?” type of thing? However, there’s the adage of fix it, but don’t spend any money. So how do you do both? We must make sure that we keep things running and make sure that we aren’t shut
down, and that we don’t spend that big chunk of change,” said Burtz.
The discussion was led by Linda Fox, regional innovation director, and Alex Barlow, vicepresident, programs, both from Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN), Raik Meissner, vice-president operations, Piller’s Fine Foods, Keith Robinson, director of engineering, Fresh Prep, and Rae Jeong, co-founder and CEO, and Jeff Hetherington, head of project development, both from Laplace Robotics.
Questions posed to the panel included: what are the trends in robotics and automation that you have seen in the last decade – from a tech perspective? Robotics and automation are often the top named area of focus for food and beverage firms over the last few years, the other being sustainability; are sustainability and “green” practices factoring into your automation journeys? Which processes or areas of the line are ripe for automation; and which are presenting some big challenges? When beginning to look at robotics and automation in your facility, who are the right people to have around the table – from both within and outside of your organization.
“A lot of the traditional ways of packing food must go, because of the labour. And there will be more automating. However, it is challenging to automate several things. So, you must start at one point of the line where you can see that this could be something a machine can easily do, and you don’t need a person to do it,” said Meissner.
“In turn, some posts are a lot more complicated, and are harder to implement. Many companies have started with robots. They have three ways of pick and place robots, where things are moving on three axis. Newer models are starting with six axis, with more freedom to move around.”
“When you’re packaging things in full packers, where you’re packing things and then moving that into palletizing stations. That is where there’s low hanging fruit for automation that some manufacturers can take advantage of. However, many of these aspects we consider them as custom, mechanical solutions, where you must put in a lot of time into the end effort, and the design the robot to fit your plants need,” said Jeong.
“In terms of sustainability, looking at making sure that we have a higher uptime and digitizing more of your process and helping you improve quality has been a big driver, especially when it’s conjunction with labour challenges. If your means of doing that right now is labour intensive rather than putting somebody at a line at every junction point. Now it becomes an even bigger driver, because now it’s not only about quality improvement, but also labour shortage challenges that can arise.”
Mario Cywinski is the Editor of Plant magazine, Machinery and Equipment MRO magazine and Food and Beverage magazine, and a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. He has 15 years of editorial experience; five years of MRO experience; over 16 years of automobile industry experience. Contact him at mcywinski@annexbusinessmedia.com
Leaders in a well-functioning manufacturing organization are like skilled technicians.
BY EMC
Can you imagine a well-oiled manufacturing floor where machinery hums in precision, processes are seamlessly interlocked, and everyone is attentively focused? When all things are in order, manufacturers experience a significant increase in productivity and their business. This harmony doesn’t happen by chance – leadership teams fine-tune it. The leader’s role extends beyond machinery; they dive into the complex realm of team dynamics and interpersonal relationships. Leaders build teams. Ideally, they build an environment of seamless interaction where everyone feels valued, heard, and motivated.
Leaders become the troubleshooters of interpersonal issues, balancing the human elements - diverse personalities, skills, experiences, emotions, and perspectives - to foster a harmonious work environment.
So, how do they strike this balance amidst negativity or discord? Let’s explore insights into successfully maintaining the delicate equilibrium called harmony.
In a manufacturing environment, leaders set the foundational rhythm, much like initiating an assembly line. Their behaviours and attitudes sketch the blueprint for the team, signaling how to contribute to a harmonious workspace. Yet, as any good technician knows, adjusting settings is essential to accommodate diverse needs and challenges - a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work, and staying flexible to the situation is key.
Leaders, like attentive operators, tune in to each team member’s unique needs, investing in their growth, coaching, and guiding them. Whether through training opportunities, mentoring, or guidance, they ensure everyone is well-equipped to contribute to the team’s harmony.
Much like how each piece of an assembly line contributes to the whole, having a team with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences can greatly enhance productivity. It’s important for leaders to value and encourage this diversity by promoting open communication and inclusivity. This approach helps to build trust and fosters a culture of mutual respect and understanding within the organization.
However, what happens when the gears jam when discord disrupts harmony? How do leaders guide their teams through difficult conversations?
Even the most meticulously maintained assembly line can have moments of friction or misalignment. Problems arise for many
reasons, and leaders can approach difficult conversations positively, either between themselves or other team members. They can also help their teams become skilled at difficult interactions.
EMC’s Learning Centre offers material on conflict and difficult interactions, which trains people on how to address problems in the workplace without negatively impacting the people on the team. The course is designed in a workshop style, allowing everyone to learn and practice new skills. Participants learn common sources of conflict, and how the role of strong communication skills, and effective strategies for conflict management will help
“Leaders in a well-functioning manufacturing organization are like skilled technicians who fine-tune complex interactions between people. They provide guidance, support, and flexibility while leveraging the power of diversity, promoting open communication, and adeptly managing interpersonal issues. These abilities require ongoing development and improvement.”
ensure conflict does not escalate. With practice, conflict management will lead to less stress and improved productivity in the workplace.
Let’s consider that each person brings a different perspective. By focusing on other people’s perceptions, leaders open their minds to new possibilities and see how everyone contributes to the issue. Frame the problem without making accusations. Like a technician looking for the root cause of a mechanical problem, ensure the conversation focuses on the issue, staying away from personal attacks.
A good technician doesn’t just hear the machine; they listen for what it’s telling them about its state. The same goes for leaders. Fully engage with the other person, ask clarifying questions, and paraphrase what you heard to show your understanding. Listen for affirming signals, showing them that their perspective matters.
In troubleshooting a mechanical issue, finding the common elements that could lead to the solution is often necessary. Similarly, finding com-
mon ground can pave the way for resolution and focus everyone on shared goals or purposes.
It’s important to work together and consider everyone’s perspective to resolve a conflict. Encourage everyone involved to express their thoughts and summarize the differences. Ask questions and make proposals to find the best solution. It’s okay to repeat these steps if needed.
Just as a technician would devise a plan to rectify a mechanical problem, leaders can agree on a plan to end the conflict and move forward. This plan can aim to satisfy as many interests as possible, be fair and reasonable, and, most importantly, preserve the relationship between the parties involved.
It is important to schedule regular check-ups and preventive maintenance to ensure the smooth operation of your team. Leaders can develop a
conflict resolution plan and establish a way to measure its success. Effective communication is key to ensuring that everyone works together harmoniously.
Leaders in a well-functioning manufacturing organization are like skilled technicians who fine-tune complex interactions between people. They provide guidance, support, and flexibility while leveraging the power of diversity, promoting open communication, and adeptly managing interpersonal issues. These abilities require ongoing development and improvement.
EMC’s leadership certification program is designed to enhance leadership in manufacturing and increase performance of the workforce. This program is designed for existing supervisors, managers and those in leadership looking to enhance their skills. Participants will gain knowledge and skills to lead engaged, high-performing teams and to become not only people leaders but leaders of organizational culture. By developing these skills, companies can expect stronger team collaboration, higher productivity, fewer conflicts, positive workplace culture, and overall better employee engagement.
For more information about programs that EMC offers to support leaders in your organization, please contact EMC’s Learning Centre – learningcentre@emccanada.org.
The
Concrobium Broad Spectrum Disinfectant II is a broad-spectrum virucidal hard surface disinfectant that is expected to inactivate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
BY EMC
The success of a business greatly depends on the presence of effective leadership. Traditional top-down approaches that undermine employee engagement and fail to address their concerns aren’t proving successful in today’s dynamic and competitive landscape. Business owners and leaders should consider shifting their styles and recognize the importance of fostering a positive shop floor culture, where employees feel valued, empowered, and heard. There are a few strategies that can improve the organization’s culture and, subsequently, enhance the manufacturing business’ financial success.
Actively engaging with employees, listening attentively to their concerns, and empathizing with their challenges can go a long way in cultivating a productive and positive shop floor. Leaders can create an environment where employees feel valued and respected by practicing active listening, free from bias or judgment.
Actively seeking feedback from the team will provide valuable insights into potential areas for improvement within the team and organization. These strategies foster open communication channels and the potential for leadership to identify and effectively address operational inefficiencies. Employees who see their ideas implemented feel like valued team
members, improving employee retention.
Employees on the shop floor have firsthand knowledge of daily challenges. Encourage them to share their ideas and suggestions for solving problems and streamlining processes. By giving the production team a voice and making them feel heard, leaders demonstrate respect for the team’s expertise and create a sense of ownership in the organization’s success.
Additionally, it removes the pressure from a single individual to create efficiencies. After all, two heads are better than one. Engaged employees are more likely to be motivated, innovative and committed to achieving shared goals.
Employees become disheartened when they see changes made without prior knowledge, especially when they value their work. Additionally, soliciting ideas that are never implemented can also frustrate employees. Implementing change requires strategic planning and, most importantly, communication. As a leader, communicating change initiatives and their progress, even if there are delays or setbacks, helps create buy-in and allows employees to adapt.
Regular updates with your team on the status of ongoing projects, demonstrating your commitment to their concerns and showing that their input is valued. Transparent communication builds trust fosters engagement and enhances collaboration between leadership and the shop floor.
Manufacturers can improve their capabilities and create a positive work environment by considering employees’ perspectives, involving, and empowering them and effectively communicating changes in the workplace.
Leaders can significantly improve the company’s overall culture by fostering open communication, respecting employees’ opinions, and demonstrating a commitment to progress. This can result in better financial performance and long-term prosperity.
Article provided by EMC.
Endress+Hauser Nivector FTI26 and Liquipoint FTW23 series point level capacitance switches are contact sensors that detect presence by evaluating differences in dielectric values. They detect level of solids or water-based conductive liquids.
Nivector FTI26 series, available in polycarbonate or stainless-steel housings, detect powders or finegrained bulk solids in silos, hoppers, and bins. Stainless-steel versions are FDA compliant and marked with the 3-A symbol for food industry hygienic applications.
Liquipoint FTW23 series, detects water-based liquids in storage tanks, mixing vessels, and pipes. They are FDA
compliant and marked with the 3-A symbol.
Both offer IO-Link compatible models which provide direct access to process and diagnostic data and allow device configuration while in operation.
automationdirect.com/capacitance-level-switch
Mettler Toledo XPR105MCP has readability of 10 μg and repeatability of 15 μg, the system fulfills requirements of ISO 8655 for multichannel pipettes with dispensing volumes as small as 0.5 μL.
Results of a single dispense of up to 12 channels are calculated in under one minute. XPR105MCP tests each pipette channel individually on the same load cell to ensure equal measurement performance.
The 360 measurements needed for a full calibration (12 channels, 3x10 repetitions) can be completed in 25 minutes. The system can also be connected to a second XPR105MCP for increased throughput.
Software stores result in a secure database, informs you when pipette tests are due, and produces customized reports if required.
mt.com
Siemens Simotics S-1FS2 line of servomotors, designed for the clean condition requirements of the food and beverage, and other process industries. Offered in power ratings from 0.45–2kW (0.60–2.68 hp) with torque from 3.1–14 Nm (2.28–10.32 ftlbs.). Housings of 1.4404 (AISI 316/316L) stainless steel, EPDM seals and bearing grease with NSF H1 approval. Added features are high dynamics due to low inherent inertia plus high overload capacity for use in pick-andplace applications, and precise movement of heavy loads. One cable connection is provided. The standard absolute encoder is 22-bit multi-turn.
Simotics S-1FS2 motors are suitable for clean-in-place processes and for use with all commercially available cleaning agents used with washdown motors. siemens.com
