Utilizing production capacity to its maximum and avoiding unplanned downtime is essential for any protein producer, and having the tools in place to make this happen can bring both piece of mind and help increase profits. This was certainly the case for Swedish meatball producer Öresundschark AB, which has recorded benefits for its business from opting for JBT’s innovative Industrial Internet of Things performance optimization platform, iOPS®.
Öresundschark AB connected their Frigoscandia freezer to iOPS two years ago and since then their capacity utilization has increased significantly and made life a lot easier for Production and Maintenance Manager Johan Rulander. By having machinery connected, Rulander has been able to monitor and detect worn parts or potential issues before they become problems, enabling him to improve the overall efficiency of his operations and avoid unplanned downtime.
Öresundschark’s Johan Rulander with the JBT iOPS platform
Furthermore, Rulander can now quickly trouble-shoot and easily provide remote support to his production team when needed, by having machine and system data in real-time through an app on his mobile phone. “I can quickly identify the issue by checking the alarms and give advice how to fix it without having to drop what I’m doing and rush down to production to solve the issue personally,” he says. “This gives both me and the team piece of mind, and they are not as reluctant to call me and ask when issues arises and I’m reassured production will run smoothly without my presence.”
New methods
JBT iOPS® has led to a completely new way of planning production and machine maintenance through predictive data for Öresundschark, according to Rulander, who regularly consults the live data feed on his phone. “I check how the machine has been running on the late shifts and I can see cleaning stops and estimate drying time to know when I can start-up production again in the morning,” he explains.
iOPS allows for connected equipment and operation monitoring, providing food manufacturers with new and unique possibilities to ensure sustainable and profitable growth through insights and proactive actions that would not have been possible to achieve in a profitable way before.
“I keep an eye on the air temperatures inside the freezer, and if they are running high for a longer period, we plan for extra defrost programs to maximize running time,” continues Rulander. “Over time, the freezing belt wears and overstretches and with inductive sensors I can monitor this and plan maintenance stops when I want them, and adjust it in good time before issues arise.”
Every food processing company knows that the key to a successful and profitable business is to keep production running without disruption. Every extra hour of production equals profit and money in the pocket.
“We run at a high pace and during certain periods we produce seven days a week, so at these times there is no room for downtime,” says Rulander. “Timely maintenance and proactively replacing parts before they break plays a major role in minimizing downtime and saving money.”
About Öresundschark
Öresundschark AB has been a high valued partner of JBT since moving to Malmö, Sweden in 1999. A local family-owned business founded in 1997, Öresundschark’s high quality products have been awarded with the EU Ecolabel, a mark of environmental excellence. They produce a wide range of meat patties, chicken- and meatballs and supply the largest convenience retailers all over the region. Around 30 employees work at Öresundschark AB and their production plant generates 5,000 tons of fried, frozen and chilled products every year, all of which are processed using JBT equipment.
Öresundschark is aiming to expand its product portfolio to also include vegetarian alternatives and to ramp up productivity to reach a yearly production of 8,000 tons. “JBT ́s iOPS will help us achieve these targets faster by enabling us to run our production longer and more efficiently,” adds Rulander.
For more information about Öresundschark AB, visit: oresundschark.se
