The Formax slicer SX330 is designed for industrial food processing.

In February we looked at the available tools to track and trace products throughout the supply chain; that is, what occurs outside a manufacturing facility. But what about keeping track of products within the confines of the plant? That is: Ingredients that come in the door, are combined in a recipe and go out the loading docks. What happens within a facility is easy to track, right?

According to a research study by Sophos, a UK-based IT security services and hardware provider, cyber insurance policies are changing the way manufacturing is protecting their networks. As ransomware threats keep coming, companies are buying cyber insurance policies to protect against costly ransomware attacks that can drive them out of business. Seventy percent of hacked food and beverage companies will go out of business within a year of the attack, according to Capstone Logistics.

You’ve automated your process and packaging and have computer-generated paper trails to show food safety and quality throughout your facility. Why wouldn’t you do the same with cleaning—wherever it’s practical? Granted, there are certain pieces of equipment you just have to take out of the process to clean manually, but for other components—like piping, some conveyor belting, certain pumps, mixers, tanks and other equipment—you can clean them in place (CIP) and have automated recordkeeping to show proof of cleaning and sanitation to regulating bodies when they ask.

European wheat processor now offers plant-based solutions to manufacturers in Central and North America.

The company’s new in-plant vine remover machine preps potatoes by separating and removing vines from product flow.

Having an energy budget enables you to look into your facility’s operations with full understanding of its efficiency and financial goals to grow into the future.

Steam, like compressed air, is expensive to generate and easy to waste through leaks and any number of other issues.

Six different ways to improve efficiency in your processing facility and technology that you can utilize to help achieve your goals.

Struggling to see value from Industry 4.0 technologies? Time to put people at your core.