Integrating Operations Functions
After more than 50 years, observations show that flow patterns of beverage plant operations are basically the same. Changes in materials (raw and packaging), machinery technology (process and packaging), personnel availability issues (numbers and skills) and manufacturing methodology (handling and conveying) have occurred. Whether it brought higher productivity, better efficiency, lower costs and increased yields depended on operating conditions and management’s ability to effectively integrate processing, production, warehousing and distribution functions.
Integration is critical because almost all beverage operating functions are sequential and each successive function is dependent upon the previous one. Observations and experience verified the need for operations integration proven by: 1) material processing delays, 2) line equipment stoppages, 3) product/package changeovers and 4) material malfunctions/losses. Such conditions determine how new technology changes can or should be installed and applied. Webster states, being integrated means, “marked by the unified control of all aspects of industrial production from raw materials through distribution of a finished product.” Pose the question: Are your beverage operations in sync?
In the beverage processing flow, products are still mixed or batched, put into cans, PET, glass or aseptic, packaged into six, eight or multi-packs, retrieved, order picked and staged, loaded onto route vehicles by MOD and/or routes and distributed to DSD or warehouses. But, without integrated operational functions (input/output cycle dependency), how are asset efficiency, performance vs. standard, productivity and unit costs affected in the total process? Implementing a truly integrated production process is a constant issue and has existed for a long time.
Processing raw material: Material used in beverage products (CSD, beer, wine, spirits, juices, water and others) requires accuracy in measurement from types and quantities to availability and integrity testing. Measurements in raw material processing can and will affect product quality, volume and expected yield. Although procedures/scheduling assist the integration process, errors still occur in finished product transfer. Remember, materials processing output, which is the final product, must be accurate in type and quantity or the next step, package production, can not begin to function.
Packaged production: Efficient processing should enable product packaging to begin without delay, malfunction or errors. Timely finished product availability permits package production to prepare for integrating the product into many configurations. Such availability data are critical to ensure that machinery, packaging materials and staff assignments are aligned to begin production.
Warehousing and pre-distribution: Effectively performed processing and packaging provide output data to allocate space and plan pre-distribution operations. Without accurate production output data, warehouse management cannot plan for handling input types and quantities into existing storage capabilities. With proper and timely data, order processing by manual or automated methods can facilitate more efficient route vehicle loading/unloading operations.
Distribution: Product distribution to the market cannot be effective unless orders are completed and delivered as submitted. To ensure such completion and delivery is accomplished, the integrating of previous operating functions would have been executed. Included in the process is pre-distribution, the final step before supply chain phase three begins. Cost effective beverage operations can be realized by practicing integrating operations functions. BE
John Peter Koss, a beverage operations advisor, is a licensed registered professional engineer and has 50-plus years of beverage business experience. He can be reached at oleboss@aol.com.