Meat + Poultry - September 2016 - 24

COVER STORY

24

"It's more of an educational opportunity vs.
going out on the floor to gather information,"
he says.
Thanks to the company's adoption of Lean
Manufacturing, a number of key "touch points"
have been identified that serve as barometers
for production during a shift. By simply walking
to three key locations in both the harvesting
area of the plant and in processing, "I can see
how the link lines are each running; if the
stuffers are at the right set point and if we are
producing the right amount of finished goods."
Like Johnsonville and Jimmy Dean branded
products, Bob Evans links, patties and rolls
are made from pre-rigor pork vs. butcher-kill
products. These companies also typically
procure premium-quality sows and purchase
the top 15 percent to 20 percent of animals on
the market, also known as "fancy sows." More
traditional large-scale pork processors chill the

MEAT+ POULTRY | 09.16 | www.meatpoultry.com

LEADERSHIP LESSONS
Townsley has strong ties to Ohio, where he
grew up just west of Columbus, graduated from
The Ohio State Univ. and where his family has
maintained its 200-acre farm that dates back to
the 1800s. Shorthorn cattle are now raised on
the farm alongside acres of row crops.
But Townsley still has fond memories of the
years he worked at IBP, Smithfield and Premium
Standard Farms, living in the Midwest and
Southeast. He was at IBP when the late-Bob
Peterson was at the helm and years before the
beef company was acquired by Tyson Foods.
He recalls Peterson holding "president's
staff meetings" about three times per year,
when all of the IBP managers would gather
in the cafeteria of the corporate headquarters

Pete Barreras

BEF Foods operates a fresh
sausage processing plant
in Xenia, Ohio, (pictured)
and a very similar facility
in Hillsdale, Michigan.

carcass after stunning, sticking, dehairing and
evisceration vs. sows processed in pre-rigor
plants, where animals are stunned, stuck,
skinned (similar to beef carcasses), eviscerated
and then boned hot, without being chilled.
"Literally, from the time that sow walks
into that restrainer until the roll of sausage is
produced is about three hours," Townsley says.
The plant utilizes four mixers, one of which
is decades old and the other three brought in
along with newer stuffing equipment in 2013.
Eskridge focuses much of his and the team's
attention on operating equipment efficiency
(OEE) and constantly monitors his plant's
hourly OEE percentage. The goal is 85 percent,
which is regarded throughout the processing
industry as world-class production.
"The last two years we've been just over
85 and just under 85," he says. "[Through July]
we're tracking slightly over 84 right now."
Eskridge and his team leaders at Xenia and
their counterparts at the Hillsdale plant meet
weekly by phone and are constantly interacting
and comparing notes because both facilities
are very similar in operations and production.
They are able to advise each other of issues
and opportunities. Lean Manufacturing is a tool
both plants utilize to control waste throughout
their operations.
"We collectively share data on monthly
projects and weekly numbers," Eskridge says,
adding that he talks to his counterpart at the
sister plant daily. "We do a lot of sharing," he
says, "more than I've ever done at anyplace
else I've worked."
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