Supermarket Perimeter - September 2021 - 69

OPERATIONS
something as simple as making
sure Unifiller is communicating
with the right people at
the companies it's sold its
equipment to.
" It sounds obvious, but to
many it's not, " Bal said. " Often,
the person purchasing the
equipment isn't the one running
or maintaining it. So it's very
important to get the proper
training to the right person,
in simple terms and the most
convenient way. "
To that end, Unifiller's
guides provide milestones for
preventative maintenance and
reminders regarding common
wear and tear. Unifiller also checks
in on its customers to ensure
things are running properly.
Ensuring proper maintenance
means always looking for new
ways to improve best practices
and training. Unifiller, for
instance, is now in the process
of developing technology that
will trigger alerts to its customers
regarding required maintenance.
Unifiller's top priority when it
creates new equipment, Bal said,
is to design for easy sanitation
(often a quick washdown)
that is complemented with a
quick turnover (few parts to
disassemble and assemble). The
company provides its customers
with recommendations for
what service and maintenance
should be carried out on a daily,
weekly, monthly, or quarterly
basis. For example, its Universal
Servo machine recommends
preventative maintenance
at 3 Years, 6000 hours or 7
Million Cycles.
Key to the success of Unifiller's
equipment maintenance
is the quality of the people
implementing it, Bal said.
" Time after time, we hear
amazing feedback from our
customers whenever one of our
service techs has been onsite
for an install, service or courtesy
visit, " she said. " Many of our
customers see a spectacular
return on investment when
they purchase their Unifiller
equipment - they understand its
value to their bottom line. With
this comes an understanding of
the need to keep their equipment
highly maintained. "
We understand that
building a long-term and
rewarding relationship with
customers means working
with them to ensure that the
equipment is up and running
successfully as we promised
and is supported with
reliable after-sale service. "
Sonia Bal, Unifiller
Preventive maintenance best
practices from JustFood:
* Take inventory and assess risk. One of your first jobs
is to take inventory of all the equipment you currently
use in food production, and simultaneously assess the
risk each piece of equipment poses. Different types of
equipment will pose different hazards, based on how
they are maintained.
* Set a schedule and optimize timing. Most equipment will
come with a manufacturer's guide on how to maintain it.
This will often be broken down into daily, monthly, and
annual categories. Collect this information the best you
can and organize a master schedule that allows you to keep
track of all these important maintenance dates at once.
* Document proper procedures. However you decide to
approach the regular maintenance of your machinery,
you'll need to formally document those procedures.
There should be a single location, accessible to all staff,
which holds detailed descriptions of how each machine
should be serviced.
* Designate authority. There should be one person (or
potentially more) who are directly responsible for
overseeing your maintenance programs. Otherwise,
your staff may forget whose responsibility it is, or
they may skip over the maintenance procedure to get
things done faster in the short term. Choose someone
responsible and dedicated to food safety.
* Keep necessary items and equipment on-hand. Different
machines require specific items and tools to be properly
maintained, such as special types of lubricants, or spare
parts you can only get through one manufacturer. It's a
good idea to keep at least some of these supplies readily
on hand, especially if they're hard to find.
* Be prepared for temporary fixes. Preventive
maintenance won't prevent everything from going
wrong. Occasionally, you'll need to address small issues
with your equipment with temporary or short-term
fixes. You should have the equipment and personnel on
staff to handle this smoothly.
* Keep detailed maintenance records. As with most
responsibilities in the food industry, your equipment
maintenance should be documented. If your facility is
inspected for safety standards, you'll need this evidence
on standby.
Allentown, Pa.-based JustFood is a software provider that
connects departments, data and processes into a single
cloud ERP.
supermarketperimeter.com
SEPTEMBER 2021 - 69

http://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/april-may-2012/preventive-maintenance-an-essential-prerequisite-for-food-safety/ http://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/april-may-2012/preventive-maintenance-an-essential-prerequisite-for-food-safety/ http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2010/026/ https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/foodlaw/processingsector/recordkeeping https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/foodlaw/processingsector/recordkeeping http://www.supermarketperimeter.com

Supermarket Perimeter - September 2021

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