Smarty plants: Tips for optimizing production lines: by Chris Williams, senior vice president of operations and business development, Pineland Farms Natural Meats

Building new manufacturing facilities is a challenge. Add to that challenge the fact that food processing facilities need to address additional safety concerns along with the countless questions that come with the territory: Will this space hold temperature? Can I soak the equipment with cleaning agents and water to sanitize it? Are our procedures and environment safe for all stakeholders?

Companies have been dealing with these challenges for a long time. The industry has progressed, and people in our field have adapted to become better at identifying risks and mitigating them. Food processing plants today look nothing like the ones that were built in the 1950s, and the ones that are built 50 years from now will look nothing like those being built today. We have become smarter, more efficient, and more safety-focused in our approach to food production—thereby, creating a safer food chain.

When building a new meat-cutting and grinding operation, it is vital to consider all the possible production capabilities that need to be implemented, the interplay between current and future products, and what must be done to achieve the volume needed in the space that allotted to production. Simply cutting steaks and grinding meat is not enough. Consumers also want high-quality, value-added products that are nourishing, not overly processed, and that make their lives easier.

Space at a premium
There is never enough physical space in processing rooms. Building costs for manufacturing spaces are extremely high. Equipment can be large, and production lines need to be long to transform raw materials into finished and salable goods. Compound that with the rising costs across all inputs, and the result is a tinderbox of expense waiting to hit the company’s capital investment line.

Most equipment vendors have products that are malleable to whatever physical space can allotted to them. Companies are making upgrades that allow for faster processing in smaller footprints each year. Investing in and using leading edge technologies to minimize the space given to a process and, thus, maximize your capacity, is critical to long-term success.

Learn as you go
Making investments in research is a good place to start. Research new technologies that reduce long-term expenses such as labor, repairs, and down time. Seek equipment that will fit current and future needs. Flexible lines in smaller spaces provide options: make hamburgers today, meatballs tomorrow, and bulk-packaged ground beef the day after—all on a single line. Small and simple modular components can be added or subtracted from the line to alter its use.

Automation is another arena to explore when expanding production capabilities, whether that means adding palletizing, or pick-and-pack robots, or something that identifies defects, inefficiencies, or opportunities for continuous improvement. Fewer defects mean happier customers and increased profits.

These new technologies can fundamentally change a company’s operations but may require additional time to complete validation studies. They should also foster strong working relationships with equipment and ingredient vendors; when companies work in tandem, the growth of each company becomes symbiotic. Collaboration leads to industry growth.

Tying it all together
When implementing new production equipment and processes, the goal is to minimize the effect on your current production. Analyze how the addition of electrical, plumbing, and structural works will impact the facility. Use of a single coordinator to facilitate the various trades will minimize unnecessary disruption and provide cohesive and complementary scheduling. It is imperative that all foundational work be completed prior to the arrival of new equipment. Failure to do so often results in not only delayed production but also additional installation fees and lost sales opportunities.

Adding processing facilities and production lines to any company are harbingers of growth within the meat industry, which is seeing more and more plants be approved and brought online as a result to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies are expanding, but they must do the research necessary to vet processes and equipment. Ask questions. Do not settle until they have been resolved satisfactorily. Visualize every step in the process, and anticipate potential setbacks. Foresee the unforeseen.