Data is equipping companies with essential information to combat the challenges facing food processing.
Data is equipping companies with essential information to combat the challenges facing food processing.
In the same way that food can nourish the body with nutrients for health and energy, data can nourish machinery with health and high performance. The Internet of Things has brought with it an understanding of the many ways data can be used to increase productivity, identify faults, and earn higher revenue. Today, data has become a vital lifeline in the production of high-quality and sustainable food processing. With Bühler Insights, companies have access to the most advanced data tracking in optical sorting, here is what this means for you.
To understand the value of data in optical sorters, it is important to understand the monetary value of a company’s time. We can look at sorting vegetables as an example. If a company is producing €10,000 of vegetable products an hour and there is a fault that is not discovered until two hours later, then the company has potentially lost €20,000 of revenue. This is just scratching the surface of the value of data in food processing, but it gives an idea of the cost of not connecting and utilizing data. The world needs to adapt to survive, and that includes the agriculture sector. Simply, data provides us with statistics that show behaviors, human behaviors, and machine behaviors. The more we understand behavior, the more we can optimize, patch up the leaks, react speedily, and create a leaner, healthier business.
Let’s dive into the three problems facing the food processing sector, and how data is the hero we need.
Two differently farmed food types will not always equal when it comes to processing costs and quality. Food processors will often receive their raw materials from multiple suppliers. The problem? One supplier’s quality may be better than another despite both farmers being paid the same. This could go unnoticed without the ability to measure and analyze the wasted material.
The solution:
Data can effortlessly show which supplier has a greater rejected percentage. Appearing in the dashboard, the data will visually show problem areas, allowing customers to identify and act to reduce costs and become leaner. This could mean negotiating with the supplier for a better deal, and if they ask for proof, they can always be shown the data.
Using vegetable sorting as an example again, oftentimes, fruit, vegetable or potato processing will involve frozen products. A common problem is when a product clump or ice chunk gets stuck and causes a blockage. This becomes a larger problem when the blockage obstructs the camera view which is detecting the product. In this scenario, perfectly good product can end up in the rejected stream, wasting resources and money. As well as vegetables, product blockages can occur across a variety of applications.
The solution:
The data integrated into Bühler SORTEX machines easily and instantly recognize blockages, reporting them on the dashboard and triggering an alarm. This means the issue can get sorted quickly with minimal contamination or loss of good material.
Companies will often process more than one type of product, and SORTEX is highly skilled at sorting different products, the problem is when operators forget to switch the mode accordingly to the product.
The solution:
Data outperforms human reliability. Bühler Insights provides a timeline of the mode selected, making it easy to track the issue and resolve it before too much good product is wasted. While the agricultural world is still rooted on the ground, the digitalization of agriculture is increasingly being seen as an ally in keeping food high quality, clean and sustainably produced.
For more information on how data can enhance your food processing, reach out to our experts today via the form.
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