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Food and beverage manufacturers of all sizes are facing huge operational challenges right now. 

Sudden increases in consumer demand, shifting expectations, changes in food safety legislation, and emerging technologies, all require companies to be responsive, agile and flexible.  There is also the matter of ensuring seamless production continuity, to ensure consumer confidence around maintaining food and beverage supplies.

As digital technologies continue to transform global markets, no industry remains untouched, and food and beverage manufacturing is certainly no exception. 

Let’s consider how each of these three factors can impact day-to-day operations on the production floor, and how leading manufacturers are adapting to win. 

Spidex Software is delighted to announce that leading speciality bakery Finsbury Food Group has selected Mainsaver CMMS for its seven manufacturing sites across the UK.

Finsbury produces a wide range of cakes, bread and bakery snack products for major retailers and foodservice providers.

The selection of Mainsaver CMMS is just one part of a company-wide efficiency improvement drive at Finsbury called the “Operating Brilliance” programme. In terms of the engineering maintenance element, the programme seeks to uniformly improve asset management across all its sites with standardised KPIs and reporting systems.

Hart Door Systems has completed the installation of a major contract comprising Speedor Cleanrooms, Speedor Storms and a Firebrand fire shutter for a leading UK manufacturer and supplier of flavourings, extracts and essences.

Gordon Kipling, Hart’s senior sales executive, says the contract was driven by Odour Abatement as a result of a number of complaints from local residents about odours emanating from the plant.

Rail safety specialist, Sheffield’s Zonegreen, is using its latest technology to protect depot staff on the Isle of Wight from the risks associated with manual hand points. 

The firm has installed three Points Converters at Ryde St. John’s Road depot, which serves the Island Line, an eight and a half mile stretch of rail running from Pier Head to Shanklin on the east coast. 

Site managers up and down the country share many of the same concerns, and safety is one of the main ones. Unfortunately, and despite everyone’s best intentions, accidents can happen. A leak can inform you there was damaged equipment, and a spill can often be attributed to human error. Both leaks and spills can spread quickly and present immediate hazards for slips and falls. 

Measures to combat this can be put into two broad categories: prevention and remedy. Prevention is always the preferred option as it ensures safety, simultaneously saving you considerable time and expense. But even the best made plans can go awry and whether through accident, mistake or bad luck, you could have a liquid on your site presenting a risk. The most appropriate response is therefore to include both prevention and remedy in your plan, and there are three areas that warrant the most attention to keep your site safe.

A new mobile tool - SKF Bearing Assist app, simplifies the process of mounting and installing bearings and can be used by everyone in a maintenance organisation.

SKF has developed a new mobile app that simplifies the task of mounting and replacing bearings. SKF Bearing Assist app, developed together with customers, provides detailed mounting instructions for a comprehensive range of SKF bearings. It is suitable for use by all engineering and maintenance teams and will minimise the problems of incorrect mounting, reducing installation time and cost, and helping to extend the operating life of bearings.

But without appropriate maintenance bearings can also be one of the main causes of pump malfunction and unscheduled downtime. Joshua Banks, of AESSEAL, explains the importance of taking a proactive approach to bearing care to improve reliability and avoid unnecessary costs.

Bearings have a vital function in the efficient functioning of pumps but they are also one of the key causes of pump breakdown, leading to costly downtime for repairs and replacement. 

The turbocompressor has become a mainstay of modern water treatment technology, offering a mechanically simple design, reliability and good energy efficiency. Ideally suited for the production of large volumes of compressed air at relatively low pressure, they rely on bearings that can spin at high speeds with minimal resistance and for extended periods. Today, the market is dominated by two rival technologies: air foil bearings and active magnetic bearings. 

Edward Paro of Sulzer compares their strengths and weaknesses.

The rotor at the heart of a turbocompressor is powered by a high-speed electric motor, usually with no intermediate gearing. In operation, the motor shaft and rotor assembly spin at speeds of up to 50’000 rpm, and may operate continuously for extended periods between overhauls. Those conditions require a special type of bearing, and two approaches are commonly used in modern turbocompressor designs. 

However, Rittal has raised the bar with its new AX compact enclosure and KX small enclosure ranges.  Each are designed to offer customers both consistent data delivery and a myriad of other benefits, including a 30 percent reduction in assembly time, 30 percent more space for cables and no less than 30 new features.   

Simple Translation of Parts Lists 

The company is giving full support to users to help them make the switch to the new systems.

The British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) is offering a new training course for businesses and employees concerned about safe working practices during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Delivered via the society’s new online learning portal, the ‘Working safely during Covid-19’ course costs just £4.99 per delegate and details the Government guidance for maintaining a secure workplace, issued 18th May 2020.