F A C T O R Y
PREDICTING THE FUTURE OF FOOD AND
BEVERAGE FACTORY MAINTENANCE
In 1927, Thomas Parnell set up the pitch drop experiment, which examines the viscosity of a
tar-like substance by the speed at which it flows from a funnel into a jar. The test has seen just
eight drops fall in as many decades and, despite the experiment being displayed in the University
of Queensland’s physics department, no one has ever seen a drop fall.
Just like this test, the need
for factory maintenance
often goes unnoticed. Here
Gernut van Laak, group
automation solutions leader of
ABB’s Food and Beverage Program,
explains how plant managers can
budget for maintenance and ensure
optimum efficiency for all processes.
Paper to glass
In terms of research and
development, food and beverage
is a leading industry because of its
use of new, innovative technology.
However, when it comes to
maintenance, many companies find
themselves keeping paper records.
While regulation and compliance
requirements historically drove these
companies to work with paper,
advancements in digital tools mean
this is no longer the case.
Unfortunately, once paper-based
systems are in place, they can be
difficult to eradicate. Companies
become stuck in their ways, which
leads them to ignore the significant
cost savings, efficiencies and
competitive advantages electronic
systems can provide.
The most important driving force
for a company’s success is its
employees. Today’s maintenance
engineers have the computing
knowledge to make the switch to
digital. Providing them with a familiar
interface that quickly connects
employees across the organisation
allows staff to work faster and
smarter, increasing productivity.
Electronic records also eliminate
time-consuming and error-prone
data entries that are necessary with
paper-based systems.
While staff are the most important
factor of any company’s success, the
biggest cost of manual maintenance
comes from people. Human errors
that occur during manual record-
keeping can result in redundant
actions, rework and audits.
Electronic records also eliminate
the costs associated with printing,
reviewing and retrieving paper
documents.
Giving maintenance staff access to
electronic devices on the factory
floor allows them to input data
faster and gives them more time
to spend completing maintenance
tasks. Having a digital record of the
machinery that regularly needs work
also means that engineers have easy
access to the data when it is time for
the next round of maintenance.
Preventative
maintenance
Unplanned outages seem to occur
at the worst possible moment,
whether it be during high season
or large batch production. These
outages often lead to waste, as the
product being made at the time of the
outage often must be disposed of.
If it doesn’t lead to wasted product,
outages will most certainly cause
varying degrees of downtime, which
not only causes lost production but
can lead to orders being cancelled
and contracts being lost if deliveries
are not made on time.
By considering potential problems on
the production line, plant managers
can reduce disruptions and help
secure long-term competitiveness.
All food and beverage manufacturers
have periods where they are
producing much less than during the
high season. This is the ideal time
to be carrying out maintenance. If a
plant manager knows that their motor
is likely to need repairing every year,
they can carry out the work during
quiet periods, minimising the amount
of downtime and lost production.
Overall Equipment Effectiveness
(OEE) is a versatile measurement
for production efficiency. It takes
into consideration three factors —
availability, performance and quality.
Availability is reduced by equipment
failure, setup and adjustment;
performance is reduced by idling,
minor stops and reduced speed; and
quality is reduced by process defects
and start-up losses. Improving
these factors will majorly impact
efficiency — carrying out preventative
maintenance helps improve all
three by reducing equipment failure,
stoppages and defects.
Just like plant maintenance, the
pitch drop experiment has recently
gone digital. Anyone can log into an
online platform to keep watch of the
apparatus and hopefully catch the
next drop, which might not happen
for another eight years. Unlike the
pitch drop experiment, factory
maintenance can be predicted to
save plant managers time and money,
while keeping production on course.
38 APRIL 2019