Process game plan elements
Input and process noise
Step 2 of effective noise control is to differentiate input noise from process noise. Sometimes this may mean doing a takt time analysis to correct Input noise and a second time to assess opportunities for further re-deployment, line speed optimization, automation or robotics.
The opportunity in process optimization is a 6–20% efficiency gain where core processing equipment remains the same. This phase focuses upon making product effectively, which in turn reduces inputs such as utilities, ingredients and packaging.
The actions related to process optimization are based on lessons learned and the observation of Ontario-based food and beverage processors from the mid-1980s until today. Some of the skills, best management practices (BMPs) and technology identified in Input game plan elements are repeated in Table 5.
Process-related actions
| Process-related action | Skill | BMP | Technology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital mapping | No | Yes | No |
| Culture of sanitation | Yes | Yes | No |
| Takt time analysis | Yes | Yes | No |
| Activity-based costing | Yes | Yes | No |
| Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium membership/lean | Yes | Yes | No |
| Optical monitors | No | No | Yes |
| Product costing review | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bar coding inventory | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise resource planning | No | Yes | Yes |
| Traceability | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ergonomics | Yes | Yes | No |
| Predictive maintenance | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cash-to-cash cycle analysis | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Air balance/humidity control | No | Yes | Yes |
| Robotics | No | No | Yes |
| Digital integration | No | Yes | Yes |
Process efficiencies reduce the time required to make product and change overhead absorption rates. This affects gross margin, the cash-to-cash cycle (a time measurement) while faster production times reduce overall facility utility use per unit of output. This may have an impact on the overall carbon footprint of a product plus net emissions.