< Previous30 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS F luid pumps are critical in food and drink processing, not only enabling the movement of liquids through various stages of production, but in maintaining product quality and consistency — including preventing damage and changes in texture — ensuring hygiene, and optimising efficiency. Choosing the correct pump for the application is thus essential, taking into account factors from what food, drink, or ingredient is being handled and their viscosities — whether it be sauces, soups, jams, pastes, dairy, or alcoholic beverages — to hygienic design and durability. As a result, pumps are available in a variety of sizes and shapes, from small diaphragm pumps for purees to positive displacement pumps for viscous creams, The right pump Vital components in food and drink production, there is much to consider when choosing the right pumps for a processing line. The right pump Food & Drink International 31 www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS © stock.adobe.com/Parilov and large centrifugal pumps transporting milk. Making the best choice Ahead of integrating a pump into production, application and process requirements must be considered. This includes flow rate (the volume of liquid the pump can handle in a given time frame), pressure (ensuring the pump has suitable ability to overcome resistance and deliver a liquid at the required pressure), frequency and length of operation, temperature (some liquids require pumping at higher or lower temperatures, impacting performance and longevity of pumps), and fluid characteristics. These encompass viscosity (a pump must be able to handle the viscosity of a product without damage or impacting efficiency), shear sensitivity (to ensure the pump does not damage delicate products), presence of solids (to make sure a pump can accommodate the size of any solids so it does not clog, cause or become damaged), and abrasiveness (with wear-resistant pumps key to mitigating the 32 Á32 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS wear and reduction in efficiency of pumps where solid particles in liquids come into contact with the pump’s surfaces). Whether pumps are made with hygienic design in mind is also crucial, to minimise contamination risk, allow effective cleaning and sanitation, and adhere to regulations, standards, and certifications. Pumps need to be constructed from food-grade materials, such as certain stainless steels which have excellent corrosion resistance and are easy to clean, and those that are smooth with polished finishes and no hidden crevices or areas where products may stick and grow bacteria. Pivotal to preventing leakage and contamination, pumps’ seals should additionally be food compliant. Ease and speed of disassembly and reassembly for cleaning ought to be considered too, ensuring all parts of a pump that come into contact with a product can be thoroughly cleaned and sanitised. This moreover reduces the amount of time taken to clean and maintain pumps. Pumps that can integrate with Cleaning in Place (CIP) or Sterilisation in Place (SIP), that support the stringent cleaning and sterilisation processes core to food safety, are particularly useful, maintaining cleanliness without the need to disassemble equipment, in turn enhancing productivity, minimising downtime, labour costs and chemical exposure risk to people. With using fluid pumps in the food industry policed by a number of regulatory certifications issued by organisations like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, when selecting pumps it is further wise to seek out those with the relevant certifications. With innovation rife in engineering, one should consider whether pumps integrate features of current and forthcoming trends in not only pump design but the wider food industry. Energy efficiency is key in the sector, for example, as rising energy prices hit businesses, and sustainable production grows in importance amongst customers and consumers. The energy-intensive process of pumping can have a major influence on operational costs and environmental impact, especially where older pumps not built for energy conservation are concerned. This has led to the development of energy-efficient pump technologies, such as those incorporating variable frequency drives (VFDs) and intelligent control systems, to adjust pump speed according to demand, decreasing energy consumption, allowing precise control, and extending lifespan of components. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart sensors in the food industry is additionally making its way into pumps, with sensors attached to pumps facilitating real-time, continuous monitoring of performance and operating conditions like temperature, pressure, and flow rate. Data on this can then be analysed using predictive algorithms to enable predictive maintenance strategies. These systems can predict faults and inefficiencies before they occur, allowing timely maintenance, preventing breakdowns, and avoiding excessive downtime. Furthermore, with real-time, remote monitoring, proactive adjustments can be made to optimise performance, while real-time alerts can notify relevant teams or managers when any anomalies are detected in pump performance, whether via SMS messages, emails, or push notifications. However, though innovation in pump design is exciting for the food industry, it does also bring some challenges in order to fully utilise the technology. These include difficulties in integrating smart tech with legacy systems, not designed with modern technology in mind, making refitting some pumps with such technology difficult. Meanwhile, in a time of talent shortages, new technology brings a requirement for skilled professionals who can understand and operate it, either brought in through recruitment or training and upskilling the current workforce. In spite of these obstacles, the opportunities created by new advances in pumps are vast.Food & Drink International 33 www.fdiforum.net PUMPS AND FLUIDS © stock.adobe.com/surapon34 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING © stock.adobe.com/paulacobleigh Simplicity and efficiency Simplicity and efficiency Food & Drink International 35 www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING S eeing how integral food conveyers are to almost every stage in production, it’s evident that quality is key. There are also multiple elements to consider here, namely hygiene, ergonomics, and the overall reliability of your tools. Many food conveyor manufacturers specialise in hygienic conveyors, which cover all bases in making cleaning and maintenance as easy as possible, with minimal cost to time, money and effort. New and useful features are always being conceived and added. Pick and choose between self- draining functions, makes that needn’t be dismantled for cleaning, and consideration of details such as sloped top control panels, including the use of stainless steel and other materials known for hygiene wherever possible. Another potentially troublesome aspect to look out for is the minimisation of crevices in the pipes, as these can become bacteria traps. As ever, the smoothest route is always the best when handling and transporting food products. Though attention to this many details can take time when first selecting your conveyer system, choosing wisely will rule out many of the long-term concerns with food machinery. Optimal standards and guaranteed ease of cleanliness means that less time needs to be spent washing down equipment. Time waste is reduced even further when kit is self- cleaning to a certain degree, as with integrating as many smooth, sloped and self- draining surfaces as possible. Certain types of conveyors also eliminate contaminants by design, such as tubular drag conveyors for instance. Lessen those money worries while you’re at it, as keeping the cleaning time to a minimum lowers the sometimes weighty monetary cost of keeping a whole line of machines and conveyers clean. And of course, ticking off compliance with government standards of cleanliness from the outset leads to greater peace of mind for years to come. Nobody wants the stress of being brought up on the legality of their hygiene standards. But beyond that, your products will be protected from the need for recall, a disastrous scenario for any manufacturer, and which could also put the health of the general public at risk. Ergonomics come as standard in any conveyer, as they were invented to make food production easier and quicker. Before conveyers, all food and ingredients needed to be moved between machines by hand, which took a lot more labourers, and was more dangerous depending on the weight or temperature of the product. Any conveyor is going to free floor space, reduce the necessary number of workers, and ensure that staff aren’t doing any unnecessary heavy lifting or putting themselves at risk of injury. For health and efficiency reasons, the conveyors should be the elements doing as much of the lifting, shifting and rotating of products as possible. Workers shouldn’t have to move products for ease of access when they’re being carried by the conveyor belt, with tapered rollers, diverts and pushers ball transfers and other solutions available to Simplicity and efficiency are the keywords when it comes to conveying. 36 Á36 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING ensure product is always being guided in an ideal direction. It’s the most considerate course of action to allow your workers a say in the factory floor layout they’ll be working in on an everyday basis. Keep them involved with the process of designing their work space, ensuring that there is ample room between aisles of machinery, and that all control panels and surfaces are in easy reach from at least two sides. Once you’re up and running, be open to feedback on how comfortable they feel using the machines and conveyers. In the long run, workers who feel happy and listened to will run your factory and machines with care and attention, contributing all the more to a well-run production line. With your staff happy in their tasks, all that must be done is to ensure that product is moved between stages and levels as quickly and smoothly as possible. Here begins the fun part of choosing the safest, speediest route for your product and every involved ingredient. If they need to be carried down from a height, such as when ingredients come down from upper floors, get inclines involved in any creative way to maximise space and pace of transport. Your average incline is fine in factories with a good deal of room to manoeuvre, but for smaller spaces or more ingredients that require separation, spirals and chutes are ideal. Even here, whichever transport method you choose, ensure that worker health and safety is cared for. When depositing a load, a chute shouldn’t have to be reached into, or placed any higher or lower Food & Drink International 37 www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING than necessary for a worker’s hands to be 30 inches from the ground. All conveyor heights should be meticulously considered, and potentially dangerous lifting removed wherever possible. This can be even more readily achieved with gravity conveyors, which can carry cases from storage to the desired production area, as long as loads are kept light enough for moving them onto the conveyor. After the finer details of cleanliness and ergonomics have been seen to, the good news is you’re then well on your way to an optimum of reliability. Reduction of the care needed for machines, thereby freeing up focus for worker health and job satisfaction, sees a factory that can be working around the clock without any unnecessary disruptions, breakages or stops for machinery cleaning. From here, the key thing to assess for future- proofed productivity is ease of maintenance for every conveyor. For all that conveyors are often minimalistic tools, selecting, installing and upkeep for these small elements isn’t easy. The process, like the tool itself, embodies the necessity of attention to the smallest detail in the running of a food production factory. But the most important matters for your attention are covered in the three key facets we’ve explored. As long as efforts towards hygiene, ergonomics and reliability are taken to the best of your ability as a responsible business owner, then the efficient function of your machines, and every part in between, will for the best part keep looking after themselves. © stock.adobe.com/davit8538 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net SORTING AND WEIGHING C ompanies have an incredible balancing act to perform, with customer satisfaction on one end and protecting their bottom lines (and increasing profitability) on the other. Larger companies such as Amazon, Evri, and DHL have embraced automation, the process of introducing automatic equipment into existing processes. This has been to great effect, as now offering next day delivery is not only common, but also expected. For companies that utilise scales, it is especially important to keep up to date with changes in scale technology. Product weight impacts product storage and distribution, so inaccurate weighing processes could lead to additional transport costs, or even parcel damage. Thankfully, automation has hit the scale industry, allowing companies to weigh faster and obtain more accurate readings than ever. Allowing computers to take control of these basic tasks frees up personnel to focus on more complex and labour intensive work. This will speed up the entire sorting process. In scaling terms, one of the best automation options is the setpoint controller scale. These are best used in either manufacturing production lines, or as part of an automated sorting process. These allow you to program multiple weight values into the scale, which will then automatically update this information into a computer. These values will also be used in programmable logic controller functions, meaning that it can determine the next actions within the process depending on its weight. For example, when filling a container, 2 target setpoints could be programmed, one for near the target weight and one for actual weight, the controller will automate machinery to operate at full speed until the first setpoint is reached. The controller would then tell the machinery to slow down (possibly via a secondary source on a trickle function) until the second setpoint Automation in sorting and weighing The nature of sorting is changing. Today’s world is faster paced than ever before and distribution centres need to handle increased volumes of packages, and a greater variety of shapes and sizes, all whilst aiming to slash delivery times and satiate eager customers. 40 Á Automation in sorting and weighing Food & Drink International 39 www.fdiforum.net SORTING AND WEIGHING © stock.adobe.com/Sergey RyzhovNext >