Performance NOW - Food and Beverage
Engineering and Maintenance
An area of weakness and vulnerability in many production facilities is the Engineering and Maintenance department. Commonly found are managers and supervisors whose organizational skills are not well defined, and techs who are poorly educated. Even if the department consists of highly competent personnel there can be instances when staff members’ poor attitudes create issues that negatively affect the work environment and ultimately the quality of the product being produced.
As in all production facilities, it is essential to have a well functioning Engineering and Maintenance team. MainStream's Performance NOW will assess the facility’s personnel, machine manufacturers, machine condition, machine lay out, machine downtime levels and frequencies, and the preventative maintenance (PM) programs. MainStream's Performance NOW will also evaluate the department’s personnel to determine their skill levels. If you have individuals whose skill levels do not meet expectations, additional training must be performed and the team’s ability to conform and adopt new policies and programs must be evaluated.
Machines deteriorate due to lack of maintenance and age. Many times through well planned and executed PM programs machines can be brought back into good operating condition. Even with effective PM programs in place, all machines must be replaced at some point. MainStream operations professionals will facilitate opportunities to bring in manufacturers for courtesy visits to provide recommendations. Due to years of experience and deep food and beverage industry knowledge we can recommend preferred manufacturers of equipment based upon higher run rates, dependability, and quality.
Another area of opportunity to improve performance is to assess the facility’s machine lay-out, typically referred to as manufacturing footprint optimization (MFO). Machine lay out issues can cause time and labor inefficiencies and yield loss. MainStream’s Performance NOW operations professionals will work with your Engineering and Maintenance team to determine proper flow layout which will result in higher run rates, more throughput, less labor personnel, and higher yields.
Downtime exists in all areas of production. MainStream’s Performance NOW will dramatically increase your uptime and provide your facility with a sustainable increased optimum manufacturing level. This will be accomplished by monitoring downtime reports and actual results. We will then separate the information to identify the cause of downtime to determine whether it is due to mechanical, operational, parts, or personnel issues. Our Performance NOW operations professionals will provide management tools and methodologies such as improved PM programs, work schedules, line assignments, and operator PMs that will greatly reduce downtime resulting in improved and measurable results to your bottom line.
To learn more about MainStream’s Performance NOW contact us today at: