Cover Story
The power to enhance business decisions
All of TOMRA’s sorting platforms are connectable to TOMRA Insight, a web-based data platform that gathers sorting data in near real-time and stores this securely in the cloud. Live data can be reacted to immediately (and remotely) to optimise machine settings; historical data can be processed into actionable information to unlock improvements in machine performance.
The extent of these improvements varies according to the type of food product being processed, but the potential is huge. Downtime can be reduced by monitoring machine health, supporting the management of predictive and condition-based maintenance, and preventing unscheduled machine shutdowns. Throughput can be maximised by evaluating throughput variations to optimise sorting equipment. Operating costs can be reduced by identifying gaps in production and analysing root causes. And sorting to target quality can be enhanced by having accurate material-composition data. Such data analysis will become increasingly valuable as we move into a digitised future, with the power to transform sorting from an operational process into a strategic management tool.
Solving labour-related challenges
In addition to taking care of food safety and product quality, sorting machines also help solve the challenges traditionally associated with employing manual sorters - an effective pill for headaches caused by labour scarcity, cost, variable effectiveness, and absenteeism. And whereas manual sorting is unavoidably subjective, imperfect, and more vulnerable to error when labourers are tired or bored, automated sorters can work for hour after hour with superior accuracy, consistent standards, and unflagging efficiency. What’s more, the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened awareness of how greater automation reduces the health risks inherent when people have to work closely together.
16 Kennedy’s Confection May 2022
“Today’s sorting technologies achieve an accuracy that
manual sorting simply cannot”
The more production steps the automated system takes care of, and the less manual intervention there is, the smaller the contamination risk. Extensive and reliable process automation ensures that the end-product is hygienic. The pandemic’s logistical complications
-
travel
limitations and social distancing - have also highlighted the value of TOMRA’s ability to complement on-the-ground support with remote assistance. With the recently launched smartphone app TOMRA Visual Assist, TOMRA field service engineers and customers can work closely together even when they are thousands of miles apart. The engineer can provide detailed advice just as if standing right in front of the customer’s machine, and both the engineer and the customer can share documents or annotate images to clarify and explain directions.
Another initiative proving helpful during these unusual
times is TOMRA’s Online Demonstration Room. This makes it possible for confectionery producers to test-run TOMRA’s sorting machines, using their own infeed materials, even when they are unable to visit a TOMRA Test and Demonstration Center in person. Tests are shown via a live video link, with the customer encouraged to ask questions, make requests, and direct one of the cameras showing the proceedings. After the test’s conclusion, observers are provided with a report which quantifies results precisely and in detail. This means that, despite travel restrictions, confectionery businesses can be certain of a machine’s capabilities before deciding whether to invest in the technology. An investment that pays back in many ways, not least in protecting that most valuable business asset, brand reputation.
KennedysConfection.com
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