5 ways to keep production moving in the Food & Beverage industry
The food and beverage industry is faced with many challenges. The operating environment is often subject to extreme temperatures, harsh contaminants and high levels of moisture, with high pressured washdown routines often in place to ensure optimum hygiene. All of these challenges must be managed whilst complying with the strict regulations of the industry.
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Downtime is something that can’t be afforded in a food and beverage production facility. We’ve put together our top five tips to keep production moving in this industry.
1. Choose components that can stand up to the challenges of the industry
It is important to ensure that all components are able to stand up to the challenges of the food and beverage industry. Specialist components such as SKF Food Line bearings and Tsubaki PC chain have been specially developed for use in this industry. They are able to withstand the washdown process, and are not affected by contaminants.
Selecting components which have been designed for use in the food and beverage industry helps to minimise the chance of premature failure, reducing downtime and keeping production moving.
2. Install a condition monitoring system
Condition monitoring systems are an effective method of checking the health of machine components during operation. This means that problems can be identified before they lead to failure, allowing maintenance to be scheduled into planned windows and keeping downtime to a minimum.
Manufacturers such as SKF offer a range of condition monitoring systems which are suitable for use in the food and beverage industry. The most appropriate type of system will depend on the application’s requirements, such as accessibility. Our knowledgeable sales team are perfectly placed to help you to find the right system for your application.
3. Choose food safe lubricants
Product recalls due to contamination can be extremely costly to a business, both in terms of expense and reputational damage to the brand name.
Choosing food safe lubricants which are NSF H1 registered, such as PURITYTM manufactured by Petro-Canada, Food Line by SKF or Rocol’s Foodlube, gives the reassurance of no harmful contamination should the lubricant come into contact with produce. This helps to avoid costly product recalls, keeping production moving and minimising costs to the business.
Various options are available depending on the operating environment, for example extreme temperature, high levels of moisture and heavy loads. At ACORN, we pride ourselves on helping our customers to overcome their application challenges, working hand in hand with you to find the right lubrication for your food and beverage application.
4. Install automatic lubricators
Around 36% of premature bearing failures can be attributed to poor lubrication practices. Automatic lubricators take the manual effort out of lubrication by automating the process. This means that the correct quantity of lubricant is applied to the component at an appropriate interval. This minimises the risk of failure due to poor lubrication practices, as well as saving hours of valuable manpower.
SKF manufactures a range of automatic lubrication systems which are ideal for use in the food and beverage industry.
5. Schedule planned maintenance windows
A final way to keep production moving in the food and beverage industry is to schedule planned maintenance windows where all maintenance activities will take place. This includes performing health checks on all machine components as well as checking alignment and re-lubricating moving parts.
Any issues highlighted by condition monitoring can also be rectified at this point, with replacement components already sourced to minimise the amount of downtime required.
By following these five steps, you can effectively minimise the downtime in your food production facility, keeping production moving and maximising your profits.
For more information on how you could further optimise productivity in your food and beverage application, contact your local knowledgeable sales team today.