A
comprehensive recipe weighing and traceability system installed by the
Stevens Group is bringing important benefits to the speciality salad section
of
The
company is part of Geest Limited, the
Our
appetite and expectations for high quality convenience salads have risen
sharply over the past few years. There is now a tantalising array of
freshly prepared specialist products to tempt our taste buds, including
pasta, potato or rice based salads, and a wide variety of standard and
exotic coleslaws. These may be served as accompaniment salads, snack salads
or meals in their own right and this market covers individual pre-packed
portions and self-service salad bars.
Ensuring
consistent high quality for these hand-built products can be a challenging
task, especially given the short lead times between order and despatch,
together with increasing legislation in areas such as average weight and
traceability. With a wide variety of orders arriving each day, and with
an increasing number of products having to be processed, Wingland have
recognised the importance of collecting and using dynamic factory floor
data in conjunction with their own software system
Stevens
UK Sales Manager Stuart Hunt is clear about how his company can help producers
such as Wingland meet these demands and as he explains: We have extensive
experience working with food producers and understand the daily challenges
they face. Our weighing knowledge together with our ability to work with
both in-house and third party software providers ensures that we provide
a seamless link between the factory floor and management systems. This
means that real-time data from the factory floor can be used to its full
potential. Our systems provide full electronic traceability and remove
the need for onerous paperwork systems with their associated problems.
The
Stevens system is based around powerful operator terminals, working in
conjunction with both stainless steel drive-through weighing platforms
and minor ingredient scales. These are all networked back to a central
PC running Stevens interface software specifically developed to work with
Geest's own in house Recipe Generation Programme (RGP). Food grade thermal
label printers provide flexible and reliable information at critical control
points.
The
traceability chain starts as fresh produce and other raw materials are
booked into stores. Information relating to details on delivery vehicles,
suppliers and use-by dates are checked against order requirements and
logged into the system. At this point, the material is classed as raw
stock and cannot be released to production. As product moves through the
process, the traceability continuum is maintained through the use of alphanumeric
batch codes.
At
the start of each day's production, the planning team enter the daily
customer requirements into the system which converts them into optimum
batch sizes. The recipe, BOM (bill of materials) and batch details are
then downloaded via the Stevens RGP Interface Programme to the terminals
on the factory floor so that the operatives can commence the recipe build.
At the same time the system calls for the required ingredients, checking
that sufficient in-date material is available. As product is released
from stock to WIP, raw stock levels are automatically down-graded.
Ingredient
addition is batch code driven and these are either entered manually or,
where applicable, already downloaded into the system. The terminals provide
clear screen prompts that guide the operator through the recipe formulation
process and the clear coloured coded weight acceptance screens ensure
rapid and accurate ingredient addition. These prompts may also include
information on how to add ingredients and also health and safety warnings
which may dictate that the operator wear safety glasses or protective
gloves for instance, thereby ensuring full compliance with COSSH legislation.
Depending on the particular size of recipe batches these are either made
up in 200 litre containers weighed on the drive-through scales or in smaller
containers weighed using the minor ingredient scales.
As
an extra check the system keeps track of all the ingredient usage by batch
code. As product from a specific batch is used it automatically downgrades
the released quantity. If an operator inadvertently tries to enter a batch
code for product that has already been used up, the system flags up a
warning. This is particularly useful for critical ingredients such as
salt.
Wingland's Process Manager, Sam Hammad is positive about the improvements the system has brought to his production process and as he concludes: We have relatively short term forward visibility and so need to be able to react rapidly to customer demands. These can be driven by a range of factors as diverse as public holidays, unseasonal weather patterns and even major sporting events. Stevens ability to understand our requirements and work with our in-house software team has ensured a very workable, yet comprehensive, system. We can readily access information on trends in yields, wastage and other key performance indicators. The system has removed a significant amount of production paperwork and now allows full paperless traceability to be generated automatically. If questions arise relating to any particular finished product or batch of ingredients, the system can rapidly identify, via electronic records, the what, where, when and who relating to the products involved. This engenders excellent customer confidence and brings the factory floor environment together with our management system.
Stuart
Hunt Tel: 01254 685200 Fax: 01254 685202 Email:
stuart.hunt@stevensgroupltd.com Website:
www.stevensgroupltd.com