Food processors are under pressure to increase processing efficiency, as well as meet consumer demands for more diversified product offerings. As processors have to adjust to shorter runs and larger product selections, quickening changeover becomes an important issue. In a survey of Food Manufacturing readers, 59 percent noted changeover and purchasing equipment with better changeover options as an issue of concern in their plants, while 28 percent rated changeover as their plants’ biggest concern.
The majority of plants (57 percent) have reported that they run two or three different products per line/ per day, with some plants (2 percent) running more than ten products per line/ per day. 30 percent of respondents reported that line changes involved a change to an entirely different product, while other popular reasons for a line change were a change in product flavor (23 percent) or a change in product size/portion (23 percent).
According to survey results, these product changes can lead to several packaging changes per day:
- 2 percent report 11-15 packaging changes
- 15 percent report 16+ packaging changes
- 17 percent report 5-10 packaging changes
- 17 percent report 1 packaging change
- 49 percent report 2-4 packaging changes
What this amounts to is a lot of time spent on equipment changeover. In fact, 42 percent of respondents reported that their average product line changeover times were over one hour. Less than 15 percent reported average changeover times of less than 15 minutes. Plants reported several obstacles to equipment changeover, including:
- Spill-overs, cleaning – 15 percent
- Training workers to perform changeovers – 19 percent
- Scheduling product sequences – 23 percent
- Set-up time – 43 percent
An increasingly popular selling point on new equipment is automated, tool-less changeover that can be performed in minutes. In line with this, 87 percent of respondents indicated their willingness to pay more initially for equipment with quick changeover features. However, 56 percent of respondents reported that their changeover process still involves manual changeover and calibration. In addition:
- 15 percent reported automatic, push-of-the-button changeover
- 29 percent reported tool-free changeover
- 60 percent reported a combination of manual and automatic changeover
- 71 reported the necessity of changeover parts
At the end of the manufacturing day, the amount of changeovers a plant can perform is limited by the amount of time it spends on each changeover. Reducing changeover times on preexisting equipment, as well as buying new equipment with faster, more automated changeover features, can allow a plant to offer a more diversified product line. 66 percent of survey respondents reported that if changeover time at their plant was reduced, they would look into expanding by running more products.
Food Manufacturing, Advantage Business Media,
