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IoT,Automation,andtheFutureofFoodSafety

RobertBurghPresidentofNexcorFoodSafetyTechnologies

info@nexcortech.com

What’sthePoint?

Goal:Profitablyproduceanddeliverproductontimethatisfoodsafeandtospecification.

EveryoneisResponsiblefortheFinishedProduct

•  SupplyChain•  Production•  Maintenance•  QA•  Sanitation•  HR•  Administration•  EVERYONE!TheBottomlineisOneNumber

FoodSafetyIsMoreThanSanitation•  ProductionBehavior:

–  GMP,producttospecification,ingredients,wrapping,etc.

–  Operateequipmentappropriately.•  MaintenanceBehavior:

–  Equipmentismaintainedtospecification.–  Buildingisenvironmentallysound:positiveair

pressure,nogaps,hygienicdesign,andmore.•  QABehavior:

–  Monitoringingredients,process,finishedproduct,etc.

•  FoodSafetyBehavior–  Sanitation,changeovers,allergens,pest

management,etc.

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TaketheTimetoStepBack

•  Whatinformationisbeinggatheredmanually?•  Whatisdataisalreadybeinggathered?•  Whatdataisn’tgettingtopeopleorprocessesthatvalueit?

Youdon’thavetobeahippietobeholistic.

ALotofNewandGreatTechisAvailable

•  Sensors–frommanymanufacturers•  Theabilitytoshareandstoredata•  ArtificialIntelligence•  MobileDevices

MakingitReal

Getpastthemarketingterms:

–  Sensor=Athingthatmeasuressomething(literallyhundredsorthousandsofthemavailable)

–  Cloud=Theserverisinsomeoneelse’sdatacenter–  ArtificialIntelligence=PatternMatching(reallyfastusingalotofdata!)–  EdgeComputing=Serverinyourbuildingsendsdatatothecloud

(becausetheinternetreallyisn’tthatreliableallthetime)–  Blockchain=SharedDataandTransactionsthatsupposedlycan’t

changeoncetheyareentered.–  Form&ReportBuilder=Dataentry–It’syourproblem,goodluck

WhattoConsider

•  ReviewyourPlant–  Whereis“LackofKnowledge”hindering

efficiency?–  WhereisDatabeinggatheredmanually?–  WhereisDatarecordedmanually(onforms,

screens,etc.)?

•  Reviewthelogic–  Whereistherevalueinexistingprotocols?–  Willupdatedornewprotocolsaddvalue?

•  Pickyourpriorities–  Whatwillbestimproveyouroperation?–  Whatcanbeusedmultipleplaces(synergies

count)?

Goals:•  IncreaseSales•  LowerCost•  MitigateRisk

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DefinitionofSuccess

•  Youmustdeterminewhatasuccessfulresultlookslike.–  Thisiscriticalbeforestartinganyproject.–  Soundsobvious,butunlessclearlydefined,noteveryonewillbeon

thesamepage.–  Bespecificaboutwhatisautomatic,whatrequireshuman

intervention,wheredatagoesautomatically,etc.–  Beclearabouthowthemeasureswillprovideapositiveimpactto

youroperation.Includealleffecteddepartmentsbeforestartingtheproject.

Protocols&

KPIs

NewTechnology/BusinessProcesses…NotAllPositive?

•  Aprovenexampleofsomethingeverycompanyneeds:–  ERProllouts:50%failwithmanyoverbudget,canceledorlawsuits.

•  TangiblevsIntangible–  Whenbuyingequipmentthegoalisveryclear,theresultseasily

provable.–  MostITprojectsrequirea“culturaldisruption”andachangein

processbeforerealizationofresults,evenwithclearlydefinedgoals.

Vs.

IoTandAutomationProjects•  Data=Themeasurementsfromthe

sensorsandsystems.

•  Information=WhatyoucandowiththeData.TheMoreActionablethebetter!

•  Automation=Intelligentflowsbetweentasks,data,systemsusinganynumberoftools.

•  Alerts=EmailsorTextMessagestriggeredbyrule-baseddatathresholds.

WrapArea

Zone1

BulkIngredients

MSS

Structural

Receiving

Zone2

PestControl

MakingSenseofWhattoAutomate

https://xkcd.com/1205/

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Opportunities

•  FoodSafetyDocumentation•  CorrectiveActionRequests•  MaintenanceWorkOrdersforSanitation•  AddressingRootCausesofConsumerComplaints•  Manpower(Resource)Management•  Inspections•  Non-ComplianceAlertsandEscalations•  AutomationofReporting•  Dashboards

ContinuousImprovement

TheOODALoop(backagainfrom2019)

Example:EnvironmentalSensors

•  FoodSafety•  Maintenance•  Production

Humidity Temperature AirPressure

Example:RFIDonVemagCarts

•  TrackVemagCartstoensurepropercleaning

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Example:AssignmentCompletionAutomation

•  SupervisorEmailedStatus

Example:CommunicationBetweenSystems

•  SanitationInspectionsgenerateMaintenanceWorkOrders•  MaintenanceInspectionsgenerateSanitationCorrective

Actions•  MaintenanceEmergencyRepairgenerateSanitation“Clean

andSanitize”Documentation

FoodSafety Maintenance

Example:SifterTailingChecks

•  Documentation•  Remind,EnforceandEscalate

ThankYou!AnyQuestions?