In their 2018 Manufacturing survey, Food Processing found out that food safety and cost control are the top pains felt by food manufacturers.
The demand for compliance regulation from customers and the government is increasing. So is the pressure to obtain certifications from GFSI and FSMA, therefore ensuring traceability and quality control is crucial. This might make it harder to cut on some costs, and that is why companies need to minimize waste and manage their production in the most efficient ways possible. Food manufacturers must also adhere to the guidelines stated in the Food Safety Modernization Act.
What can food manufacturing software do for you? Increase your efficiency and quality with Prodsmart!
Food Safety Modernization Act
Related: Total Quality Management
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was introduced in 2011 to reform the US’s food safety laws and is applicable to the food and beverage industries as well as packaging and manufacturing facilities.
There are seven FSMA laws:
- Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food
- Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals
- Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption: covers most types of products that are ready to eat without processing (21 CFR Parts 11, 16, 112)
- Foreign Supplier Verification Program for Importers of Food for Human and Animals
- Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration
- Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food
- Accreditation of Third-Party Certification (To whom will Conduct Food Safety Audits and Issue Certifications on behalf of the FDA)
One of the first challenges for Food Manufactures is understanding the FSMA law, compliance rules, and implementing them. These include preventive controls specific requirements for all the topics mentioned above and provide the FDA with new authority to conduct inspections and ensure compliance.
The FSMA establishes a mandated inspection frequency based on the risk of food facilities and requires inspection frequency to increase immediately. FDA will have access to all the production records, including industry food safety plans, which shall be documented by the company.
These inspections are unannounced, and that is the main reason why food and beverage manufacturers are looking for solutions to manage their production digitally, keeping their information updated, and getting reports easily.
Prodsmart’s manufacturing software is designed to help you stay within compliance of these food safety laws.
Why Manufacturing Software is Necessary
Manufacturing software is an advanced technology to help manufacturers track and manage their production, reduce waste and downtime, and increase productivity. It gives the control back to food manufacturers, who might have been feeling forced to comply with so many policies, without compromising their product quality or output.
How does manufacturing software help the food industry achieve its goals?
Reduce Paperwork
Using paper-based checklists and forms to manage and track your production and operations is time-consuming and can easily be the cause of human error. Suppose you can have a digital recording of your production. In that case, you will save time, and your employees will feel empowered by registering their production in real-time, giving you access to information as it happens.
Take Care of Your Quality System
Digital checklists, quality policies, and work instructions can help your staff understand how to do their jobs, ensuring compliance of every process on the first attempt, and reducing mistakes, need for repetitions, or quality issues. Since you are keeping records in real-time, you also get an automatic audit trail that cannot be deleted or falsified.
Manufacturing software with traceability features not only helps you prevent a possible food recall, but they also help you in case that happens, allowing you to make quick and informed decisions, minimizing the impact of the situation on your reputation and the wellbeing of your customers.
Related: Identifying and Avoiding QC Issues
Get Easy and Fast Reporting
Before having a manufacturing software, managers usually report about 1 to 2 hours per day collecting paper-based information, analyzing it, and introducing it to a spreadsheet. That time increases if you are about to face inspection and need to prepare records and reports.
Manufacturing software eases this burden and workload. Information is collected right within the software and is available to managers immediately, in the right format, reducing the time involved in reporting and analyzing dashboards and key performance indicators.
Managers are better and faster informed, therefore making smarter decisions and choices which are proven to increase efficiency and productivity on the shop floor.
Maximize Your Operations
If you can’t reduce your costs, the best way to control them is to maximize your operations. Preventive maintenance and real-time information can help you reduce machine downtimes. Planning and scheduling your procedures will help you produce at full capacity, maximize your operations, and increase productivity.
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