The Power of the Plant Floor
"The Power of the Plant Floor� is an ongoing blog about various challenges and opportunities for food and CPG manufacturers are facing on the plant floor and how they can overcome real-life issues and better improve plant floor operations and productivity to benefit the overall business using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).
Mandatory Automated Traceability a Possibility?
If recent events are any indication, then it is quite possible that in the near future the FDA may require food companies to maintain lot and batch information records electronically to better facilitate forward and backward traceability. Back in March, Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services presented findi ...... Read More
Comments (1)Food For Thought…
Hi and thanks for reading this blog. My name is Mike Mitchell and currently I run Food Industry ERP Programs at CDC Software. In my role, I have had the luxury of speaking with various voices in the food industry ranging from analysts, regulators and food company executives. In the coming weeks and months, I’m excited to use this blog to offer insight on recent food ...... Read More
Comments (0)Traceability and the Consumer
There has been much written recently about the need for traceability both forward and backward in the food and beverage and life sciences industries. This is well intended and mandatory according to federal and international regulations. As a result, manufacturers have been implementing and enhancing the traceability solution with people, processes and technologies to address their complianc ...... Read More
Comments (5)Key Ingredients to Successful Quality-based Traceability
In this week’s blog, I would like to outline the key elements needed in a successful quality-based traceability system. Integrate Quality and Traceability Data Traceability does not stop at one up, one down. Further due diligence includes reviewing documentation associated with incoming inspections, certificates of analysis, supplier non-conformances, supplier audits and regulatory complian ...... Read More
Comments (0)Industry Needs for Traceability Systems
Traceability systems may be designed to include varying levels and approaches to improving breadth, depth and precision. A longstanding function of traceability has been to differentiate one supplier from another by providing their buyers and prospective buyers the assurances of a detailed and well-implemented program. Exactly how much breadth, the degree of information regarding the product ...... Read More
Comments (0)Industry Needs for Traceability Systems
Traceability systems may be designed to include varying levels and approaches to improving breadth, depth and precision. A longstanding function of traceability has been to differentiate one supplier from another by providing their buyers and prospective buyers the assurances of a detailed and well-implemented program. Exactly how much breadth, the degree of information regarding the productȁ ...... Read More
Comments (1)Think Backward
In the area of food safety, we need to think from the perspective of the consumer backward. Consumers typically expect their food to be safe. With all the visibility now, they are making a purchasing decision on what goes into the food, the source of their food and the product compliances a company deploys. Processors, on the other hand, need to demonstrate their food safety claims by implementing ...... Read More
Comments (2)Recalls – Why Prevention Bests Management
With food safety again making headlines, I thought it was a good time to discuss the ever increasing rate and impact of recalls on the global food supply. While there are numerous challenges in tracking and traceability systems solving food safety issues, there are some fundamental issues that are critical for the industry to address. Today I want to focus on how traceability systems traditionally ...... Read More
Comments (0)Cracking the Pistachio Shell
Alright, I admit it. I understand it’s not good to be exposed to salmonella, but when the news was about baby milk, and even peanuts, it still did not really hit home for me. Now, pistachio nuts are a different issue! Call me selfish, but I love my pistachios. In fact, even my dog loves them. What makes the news even worse is that I bought a five pound bag at Costco the day before the anno ...... Read More
Comments (1)Cheap is the New Cool – “Back to Basics” is Back in Fashion!
Are we buying a brand experience? A lifestyle? Are we conscious of what a chosen brand communicates to others about our personal or family status? No, we are buying the cheap one! In a mass, collective tipping point, it is no longer a sign of sophistication to pay extra for premium brands, it’s not just a sign of “excess” but of “excessive stupidity.” For i ...... Read More
Comments (0)HACCP: Same Issue or Does the Emperor Have New Clothes
Initially HACCP, (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), was put in place in the1960’s for the U.S. Space Program. Since then it has been applied to all stages of food production and various other industries, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Today, HACCP is now government-mandated in the meat and poultry industries (USDA) as well as the seafood and juice industries (FDA). The ...... Read More
Comments (1)Profit is the Goal—Part 2: Staying Focused on the Money
In my last post, I drew attention to the historic failure of plant measurement projects to deliver hard and sustainable benefits. In a recent (Summer 2007), study of 100 food and beverage and CPG companies, AMR Research found no measurable difference between the abilities of MES users and non-MES users to leverage metrics to respond to business challenges. Not a pretty pict ...... Read More
Comments (3)
