Five Ways To Increase Throughput in Food Manufacturing

Productivity is something most food manufacturing companies obsess over and constantly try to improve. But increasing production is not always easy, especially when everything seems to have been done already. In most cases, however, some things can be done almost immediately to improve production. They may involve changes in procedures, equipment, or allocation of human resources. Let’s take a look at a few ways that you can improve throughput in your food manufacturing operation.

Introduce Automation

If you’re doing things like packing and tray loading manually or with partially automated solutions, you should strongly consider automating your whole packaging line. It will reduce the chances of human error, and no human will be able to match the speed and efficiency of an automated tray packer or case packing machine.

If automating your packaging line makes sense in your case, our carton loading, case packing and tray loading solution can not only pack raw ingredients into cases and trays but perform complex operations like visual inspections as well. This will allow you to not only improve production but reduce your need for visual inspectors.

Perform Preventative Maintenance

You also have to look after your machinery if you don’t want to have to deal with constant
interruption. Knowing how to handle your machines properly and having a strict inspection schedule will help you tell if a piece of machinery could be on its way out or if it will need to be serviced. Doing this alone could add longevity to your machines and keep them running optimally.

Track Your Processes Better

If you don’t have a solid tracking system in place and don’t monitor your processes, you will never be able to improve. You also won’t be able to tell if there are bottlenecks in your operation. This is why every part of the production needs to be monitored, and why you should consider integrating and implementing lean manufacturing techniques and principles into your operation.

Lean process management is what will allow you to see exactly whether you could make
improvements, consider automating, and whether there might be too much, or not enough human resources being allocated.

Hire and Train Your Employees Better

If you’re very reliant on your human employees, you have to spend more time training them. You also have to onboard them correctly and hire people who are a good fit for your company. This is why having a sound recruitment strategy should be a priority for you. If you’re struggling with hiring good employees, a good idea would be to hire a third-party service. They are often better equipped at judging your candidates’ character and will create job listings that will attract the right type of people to your organization. They will then be able to help you with boarding and training.

You have to train your employees not only so they can perform better, but to prevent the number of accidents as well. Accidents can have a significant impact on production, and one accident could injure multiple of your employees at once. So, make sure that your employees know how to work safely, and that you have all the systems in place for them to do so.

Keep Workstations Clean

Lack of cleanliness is one of the most overlooked reasons for poor productivity. The cleaner
workstations are, the better the movement of people, equipment, and merchandise will be. So,
make sure that you institute a cleanup policy and consider hiring help if you feel like cleaning up would take too much time away from your employees.

All of these tips should help you significantly improve the productivity of your operation. Try to use as many of those tips as possible, and don’t hesitate to bring experts in if you need help.

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