Food Processing - February 2008 - (Page 36)

BRINGING ON A NEW LINE The engineering ﬁrm speciﬁed this high-speed case conveyor line at a beverage production facility. OWNER RISK Advantages for DBB include: • Offers the greatest ﬂexibility for an owner to control cost, design and schedule issues. • Works very well for projects where manufacturing ﬂexibility, process changes and innovative products are scoped and installed. • Changes and uncertainty in a project do not have large cost impacts since the project evolves over time. While the specialized knowledge of design ﬁrms coupled with owner ﬂexibility may be a great ﬁt, it is important to note some potential challenges to the DBB process as well: • Responsibility limits may not be clear. • Costs and schedule may not be optimized. • There is an increased probability of responsibility disputes and owner involvement cost. Somewhere between turnkey and DBB is a spectrum of integration solutions that combine the best of both worlds. Multiple turnkey suppliers can be assembled to provide different aspects of a project. For instance, one supplier could provide all packaging systems, while another provides the building expansion and a third supplier takes care of electrical distributionn and infrastructure upgrades Engineering ﬁrms specialize in recommending optimum solutions to manufacturing challenges. They can recommend the right execution methodology whether the project is turnkey, DBB or somewhere in-between. Turnkey Whatever project methodology a manufacturer chooses, there are four basic phases to consider in every manufacturing project. The four phases are design, procurement, Hybrid 2 construction and commissioning. Phase 1: Line design Manufacturing line design is the integration of various machines to ensure smooth product ﬂow and transition from machine to machine with optimum line speed. Modern manufacturing lines handle various kinds of packaging and process needs for a variety of products. As package designs and sizes keep changing, the ﬂexibility of lines has become very important and a challenging factor in the process of line integration. 36 • FOOD PROCESSING FEBRUARY 2008 Consulting engineers can lead line design by developing machine speciﬁcations that meet owner requirements. For instance, if an owner wants to establish a program of product container light weighting, the engineer can develop the quality parameters to maintain package integrity for the consumer. Factors to consider in line design include: • Machinery interconnection methods and speciﬁcation, including various types of conveyor systems. • Handling of packaging materials to minimize line manning. • Packaging ﬂexibility – which means it can take a wider range of product sizes or material than is needed at the present time. • Balance machinery integration with function type, such as connecting intermittent processes (batch skids) and continuous motion machinery (ﬁllers). • Buffer and storage requirements between machinery. • Communication architecture and machine interlocks required for all the machines to act in concert and create a continuous manufacturing line. • Evaluate building infrastructure and utilities to assure machine requirements are met. In recent years, increasing demands, economics and environmental concerns have placed enormous pressure on production facilities to increase operating speeds, reduce waste, reduce rework and cut manpower requirements. Engineers can quantify line performance, optimize line layout and identify the optimal amount of accumulation that should be provided for maximum efﬁciency and machine throughput. Phase 2: Equipment procurement Equipment procurement is critical to the overall schedule of a project and often drives the ﬁ nal efﬁciency results of the new line. Today, equipment procurement often emphasizes fast track deliveries and low pricing to the exclusion of speciﬁcation requirements and pre-testing. Senior executives under pressure to cut costs increasingly are prone to view complex machinery and manufacturing lines as EXECUTION STRATEGIES Design Procurement Construction Commissioning Design Procurement Construction Commissioning Hybrid 1 Design Procurement Construction Commissioning Design/Bid/ Build Start Design Procurement Construction Commissioning TIME Production Design-bid-build is sequential but slow. The closer you get to turnkey, the more control you turn over to someone else. But you also shorten the time to production, because steps can overlap. WWW.FOODPROCESSING.COM http://www.foodprocessing.com

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Food Processing - February 2008 Contents Editor’s Plate NewsBites Regulatory Issues The Trends Rollout Food Biz Kids Product Spotlight Ingredients From Where? Product Development RCA Show Review Plant Operations Packaging New Supplier Products Toops Scoops

Food Processing - February 2008

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