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NEWS TAKING ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE SMART FOOD FACTORY A


s the industry reported a six-year high in food prices at the start of 2021, it is imperative to reduce product giveaway and enhance productivity to the maximum.


Phil Brown, Managing Director of Fortress Technology, declares that


giveaway has been a long-accepted practice in food factories, and it is time to prioritise giveaway reduction using communicative checkweighing systems. The global market outlook for automatic checkweighers is strong,


with industry reports predicting a rapid growth of approximately 4.6% CAGR each year between 2019 and 20271


. For many FMCG


manufacturers, factors such as price hikes, squeezes on profit margins and strict regulatory mandates influence the need for accurate checkweighing. And yet, there is a mass of untapped potential for the utilisation of


automation and data collection at this critical point in the food production process. By investing in quality checkweighing equipment, greater efficiency


can be achieved through the use of current network techniques. With high-speed communication technologies — such as a secure Ethernet capable of integrating checkweighers into groups — results can be pooled across multiple lines of identical product groups and pack sizes to calculate an average batch weight. A group of checkweighers with Ethernet connection can process


identical products and packages and be regarded as one line for the purposes of weight control. For example, if one system has an average weight below the


declared quantity of a product, taken alone the checkweigher would have to reject packs to bring that average up, subsequently increasing giveaway. Whereas virtual checkweighing allows machines to be complemented with another unit and broadcast the overall average weight so far in the batch. Concurrently, it listens to the broadcasts via an Ethernet local area network from the other units of the same group.


The checkweigher then calculates the average weight of the group and automatically decides whether or not to reject each pack based on overall performance. The result? A reduction of unnecessary rejects and subsequent


wasted product. This effective and communicative process alleviates pressures on productivity as the in-sync system is programmed to reduce the risk of excessive false rejects. With the market estimating the cost per line of false rejects at over


£11,000, reducing giveaway by using efficient software is an essential step for factories looking to cut costs and improve savings. Many food factories are notorious for overfilling packages to avoid


falling foul of international and domestic weight legislations. To protect production facilities from weight deviation, today’s checkweighing technologies integrate data collection software so that trends, pack rates and live OEE data is instantly reported for quality control. These productivity-focused systems bring food factories one step closer to the vision of a smart factory, whereby connected devices


work to ensure food safety, reduce giveaway and boost efficiency. 1


https://coleofduty.com/news/2020/04/29/automatic-checkweigher- market-to-witness-huge-growth-by-2027/ sparc-systems.com


DISCONNECTED DATA HOLDS BACK 73% OF INDUSTRIAL BUSINESSES


Research from digital workflow leader Intoware has found that 73% of industrial businesses post-pandemic, are relying on legacy systems and spreadsheets to get tasks done, believing this inflexible, often out- of-date, disconnected data is sufficient to support corporate decision making. This independent survey of 1,030 UK based industrial firms from the


manufacturing, oil and gas, civil engineering, utilities and transport and logistics industries showed that the vast majority (82%) claimed to be data-informed and 74% said that they trust data enough to complete tasks, this is despite the majority relying on disparate legacy systems. Intoware’s CEO, Keith Tilley, said: “The survey shows that most


industrial businesses believe they are data-informed, when in reality they could be relying on old, out-of-date data. This disconnected data acts like a ball and chain, tying down staff as they spend a huge amount of time trying to unlock data trapped in spreadsheets and legacy systems to meet the demands of businesses, customers and regulators.” This research shows that almost three quarters, 74% of senior


decision makers have access to data and the large majority 80%, believe that data is an asset, which is very good news. However, just under half of those surveyed, 47% use data only occasionally to help get the job done - as the reality is that their data is siloed. While over half of those


surveyed, 65% are interested in using digital software ‘tools’ to support their role, it seems that a minority simply don’t have the skills to use the new data these systems provide, with 21% feeling overwhelmed and another 24% feel only slightly


6 APRIL 2022 | PROCESS & CONTROL


confident when using data to back decision-making. Despite this, when it comes to passing on critical skills and expertise


from ageing workers to help plug the skills ‘gap’ for the next generation, 70% see digital ‘tools’ as playing a valuable part in sharing knowledge. So, it’s no surprise that over half of companies, 59% intend to invest in data skills, training and development in 2022 to help meet this challenge. While it seems that a culture of uninformed decision-making still


persists for many, with just over a third, 35% having made decisions based on ‘gut-feel’, with 24% doing this quickly without data on a monthly basis, and a worrying 13% each week. This was particularly prevalent in the oil and gas sector, where uninformed decisions are relied on by as many as 40% of those surveyed. This culture goes right to the very top of businesses, with around a


third, 28% senior decision makers and 27% of managers relying on ‘gut- feel’ all the time. This can have serious implications and be detrimental to business performance. Tilley said: “A reliance on siloed data severely hinders business


operations with accountability and visibility issues, as each department has their own interpretation of data, which is a problem for businesses that are increasingly under pressure to evolve how they manage resources and communicate data insights. “If you digitise paper-processes with work-instruction ‘tools’ that


integrate with connected smart devices and third-party systems, this information can be more easily shared, providing staff with access to quality data and a ‘single source of truth’, for more proactive and rapid ‘real-time’ insights to improve productivity and compliance.” As businesses persist in the belief that they are data-driven by


relying on spreadsheets, legacy systems and ‘gut-feel’, they risk not focusing on the insights that will really add value and future growth. This research survey was conducted by Surveygoo between the 28th


February and the 3rd March 2022. www.intoware.com/news/disconnected-data


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