Maintenance Strategies

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Just as the flapping wings of a butterfly in West Africa can ultimately trigger a hurricane that ravages the U.S., the failure of an inexpensive part in just one machine can batter the financial performance of the company that owns it.

No doubt about it, COVID-19 has changed the way most—if not all—businesses operate. While food and beverage processors have had to struggle with supply chain issues, robotics and system suppliers have had to face similar supply chain problems, plus come up with solid methods of service and maintenance support during the pandemic.

While not all processors have machine shops with CNCs in their plants, most food and beverage plants do have process and packaging equipment that would benefit from smarter maintenance.

At a press conference at Process Expo on Wednesday, October 9, the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) announced the launch of the Food Industry Technician (FIT) certification program in association with Lincoln Technical Institute.

In the last five years, augmented and virtual reality technologies have been making steady inroads to the manufacturing world, especially in finding useful applications in maintenance. Today, IIoT and Industry 4.0 technologies play an ever expanding role in maintenance.