Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Manufacturing News

Maintenance On the High Seas

March 27, 2003
Alaska Ocean Seafood, a producer of surimi, uses a 370-ft. factory trawler that catches, processes and freezes fish while at sea. Sailing from Seattle, WA, the trawler spends about four weeks in the Bering Sea before returning to port. Maintenance to its "plant" and production facility while at sea must be accounted for at the headquarters in Anacortes, WA. Likewise, the trawler's purchasing and inventory requests must be tracked in the corporate accounting system.

Maintaining the trawler requires thousands of spare parts -- and thousands of inventory transactions -- each year. "Our inventory transactions are a key part of our financial system," says Dave Crumbo, finance manager with Alaska Ocean Seafood. "The trawler uses very specialized parts from all over the world, and inventory exceeds $2 million."

Alaska Ocean Seafood decided to link a maintenance software package with a financial software package to help capture inventory costs in the corporate accounting system. The company had some strict requirements for these systems.

Alaska Ocean Seafood chose MP2 Enterprise, a Datastream Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software system utilizing the Microsoft SQL Server database. For the financial side, the company chose Epicor Software Corporation, a provider of client/server Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) business applications.

"Unlike most companies, we chose the EAM system first, since we had very specific requirements for any maintenance management package," Crumbo says. "MP2 Enterprise had all the functionality we needed, including an unparalleled inventory control system, along with impressive interface opportunities. We then looked at the ERP packages available for an MP2 integration."

Alaska Ocean Seafood uses a satellite link between the factory trawler and the corporate headquarters. Purchasing, maintenance and inventory transactions are entered into the MP2 system while at sea. "The entire purchasing cycle is being replicated, both in Seattle and aboard the trawler," Crumbo says. "We get real-time information about cost information and maintenance data."

A day of downtime for our trawler could mean the loss of $500,000 a day, according to Crumbo. "Our maintenance staff needs to have the parts available before they leave port. A controlled purchasing system through the MP2-Epicor link gives us that assurance."

The trawler's maintenance staff also enjoys the MP2-Epicor interface because of the wealth of information available. They have the parts needed for repairs, and if an order is made, they receive more updates throughout the process. "Previously, if somebody ordered a spare part, they wouldn't find out when or where it was due in until after the part arrived," Crumbo says. "Now, they can use MP2 to find the status of the order, when it is expected and other vital portions of the purchasing cycle. With this system in place, we expect to trim 10 to 20 percent from the inventory we carry. Our parts are expensive, and we're trying to find the optimal amount of parts to carry at any time. MP2 gives us that power."

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    Latest headlines
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Food Safety
    By: Richard F. Stier
close

1 COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE(S) LEFT

Loader

Already a Registered User? Sign in now.

Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

More Videos

Popular Stories

mechanical and chemical recycling

Clean Label Packaging Expands to Include Sustainability Considerations

Yoplait Protein Yogurt

General Mills Sells North American Yogurt Business

Bottling machine

How Sensing Technologies Can Help Avoid Food and Water Waste

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

July 10, 2025

Smarter Innovation With Practical AI: How to Stay Agile in Uncertain Times

Regulatory updates, supply chain shifts and evolving consumer demands keep the food and beverage industry in a state of constant change.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • ATS CMMS platform

    Predictive maintenance, Internet of Things can lead to big maintenance savings

    See More
  • food plant construction

    The ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the food industry and its supply chains

    See More
  • Putting the Freeze on Flying Cheese

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • Functionalized_Carbohydrate.gif

    Functionalizing Carbohydrates for Food Applications

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • June 5, 2025

    How Cafe Spice Uses Automation to Propel Private Label

    On Demand Learn about Cafe Spice’s new, state-of-the-art, highly automated manufacturing facility in Beacon, New York. 
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!