With Australian manufacturing facing tough economic times, some of the really hot topics today are ‘lean manufacturing’, ‘six sigma’, ‘kaizen’ and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). The concepts are all inter-dependent, and all have ‘quality’ as the lowest common denominator. Quality: one of the biggest issues in food manufacturing Every food and beverage manufacturer knows they […]
Last time, I looked at what ‘lean’ is, and what it isn’t and how the packaging hall is usually a ‘black hole’ of data. Naturally if you can’t see something, you can’t measure it, which makes it pretty tricky to fix. Now I’ll cover exactly how you can shine some light on that black hole […]
Continuous improvement a strong way forward In recent times, Australian manufacturers have faced the challenges of a high Australian dollar, intense competition, increasing interdependence of global supply chains, and shifting patterns of consumption and investment. To continue competing successfully — both domestically and globally — manufacturers must be dynamic, innovative and world-class in their performance and […]
Global Trends The global trend towards more information on pack labels of fresh and perishable items, has not been reflected in Australia – yet. The major issue here, according to retailers, remains accurate pallet labelling. Globally, there is a push to include more information on fresh produce — particularly meat — but also other perishable items. Richard Jones, […]