Downtime can be a challenge for processing companies across the protein industry. But during these difficult times when many have been faced with worker absences, unexpected stoppages can be especially problematic, putting pressure not just on processors but on supply chains as a whole. JBT Proseal, which has a strong record in packaging innovation, believes its innovative downtime analyzer, ProVision, could help combat downtime while improving productivity across an entire facility.
Enabling managers to have a detailed view of all production lines, ProVision functions as a virtual dashboard, giving a picture of filling and sealing in real time, and pinpointing any problems as and when they occur.
“If you are the CEO of a business and you have 10 production lines and one of those has failed for a day, you will want to know about it,” says Proseal’s Head of Sales & Control Systems, Tony Burgess. “If, in all your 10 production lines, for one minute of every hour the line stops because of a failing piece of equipment, in a month’s time that will could have added up to one day’s lost production.
“ProVision will capture all of these micro instances and build a series of data. It will tell you exactly the downtime and cause of downtime over the last 24 hours. It allows the user to focus attention on the piece of equipment on the production line that is causing the downtime and do something about it, so it has an enormous productivity benefit.”
Emerging trends
A further area where Proseal sees an opportunity is in the booming online market for food ingredients and ready meals driven by increasing consumer interest in cooking at home. Proseal, Burgess reveals, is supplying eco-friendly Halo tray forming equipment to Dineamic, an Australian company which delivers chef-cooked meals to consumers across the country. “Dineamic produces their own foods, seals them with Halo pack trays made in house with a Proseal tray sealer and then sends them mail-order,” says Burgess. “Similar work is being done in other geographic locations.”
However, such developments are not just taking place in the food industry. Proseal, Burgess adds, is currently working on a project in the Netherlands for online flower orders by designing packaging options suitable for sending flowers by mail-order.