Baking & Snack - May 2017 - 12

Crickets ...
In April, on my way home from SNAXPO 2017 in
Savannah, I stopped off in Chicago to check out
ProFood Tech, the new tradeshow focusing on food and
beverage processing.
At the show, I sat in on an education session, "Total
Cost of Ownership: A Better Way to Purchase Capital
Goods," led by Tom Egan, vice-president, industry
service, PMMI, and Madinah Allen, head coach, CapEx,
for FSO Institute, an operational execution consulting
firm. The session focused on creating a standardized
method for purchasing capital equipment based on a total
cost of ownership (TCO) as opposed to the initial investment cost.
Mr. Egan asked the room - populated by food producers and equipment suppliers - how many of them take
training into account when developing a request for proposal (RFP) for capital equipment. He was met with
silence. Crickets! Just one person indicated his company's training considerations, but no others.
It made me wonder. Are food producers reluctant to share their training practices? Is
training proprietary? If so, don't expect the
workforce gap to narrow anytime soon.
Training permeates nearly every aspect of a
bakery: operational efficiency, equipment maintenance and worker retention and safety, just to name
a few. And Mr. Egan illuminated just how much training - even planning for it - can greatly affect TCO.
"If you take away one thing from this session, put initial
training into your RFP requirements," he said. And that

requirement needs to be specific, including how many
shifts and workers (types of positions and skill levels)
will be included, and how much training will be required
based on the size and complexity of the equipment.
With training in the equation, not only will equipment
suppliers be able to more realistically quote a price, but
bakers will also be able to more accurately calculate TCO
before making a purchase decision. Not to mention, a
baker will be able to properly use and maintain - perhaps even extend the life of - the equipment. Not understanding things like cleaning and inspecting equipment, and not knowing lubrication points or how to
clear jams without hurting the functionality, will impact
overall expenses, Ms. Allen cautioned. "Ultimately, your
operational costs could go through the roof," she said.
And then there's the most important investment to
consider: human capital. When it comes to people and
training, it's about more than retaining skilled workers.
It's about keeping them safe. "That's a high risk, putting
people who have not been trained on a piece of equipment and expecting them to operate it," Ms. Allen said.
"That's a disaster waiting to happen."
So, the next time someone asks you about training,
don't be one of the crickets. Speak up! The more you
share, the better baking plants can operate on all levels.
As Andrew Blok, brand director for Los Angeles-based
La Brea Bakery, featured on Page 20, said, "A rising tide
floats all boats."
- Joanie Spencer, Editor
jspencer@sosland.com

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Baking & Snack - May 2017

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