What makes a good food processing project proposal
When proposing your plant’s next food processing project, it is essential to consider everything involved to create an effective proposal. This means taking stock of what you want the project to achieve, how it will fit in with your existing production lines and accounting for any other requirements.
By incorporating all these elements into your proposal, you can ensure that you obtain business-wide approval and that, once the project becomes a reality, it runs smoothly and efficiently.
In this blog, we will explain how you can craft a great food processing proposal that encompasses your intended goals and the logistics of your production line.
- Know the project objectives
- Consider your plant environment
- Plan to fulfil requirements
- Find the right solutions for your project
Know the project objectives
When proposing a food processing project, one of the first things to consider is what the aims of the project will be. The goals you set should be quantifiable and achievable; they should also align with the goals of your entire operations, including those of your sales teams.
Ask questions about your processes, such as what turnaround times you want to achieve, how much output you need and the qualities you need your final product to have. Once you have answered these questions, you can outline what you need to include in your project to make sure those objectives are consistently met. This may consist of determining how many lines you will need and what solutions are required for those lines to make them work at an appropriate level.
Outline the objectives in your proposal and demonstrate how you will address them in your planned project to ensure everything that needs to be accounted for has been.
Consider your plant environment
You will need your project proposal to consider the existing environment in your plant. By doing this, you will be able to make sure your project fits in within your operations and the production lines you already have in place.
Contemplate the layout of your facility and where the new project will sit within it. You should also review logistic aspects like where staff will be working. This is very apt currently as manufacturers deal with social distancing implications on their workforce.
You should also give thought to how any additions to your production line will affect the workflow of your products from start to end of the manufacturing process.
Part of reviewing the physical environment of your plant should include carrying out a risk assessment and calculating the cost implications (in terms of energy usage and so on) of the new project. With this, you will ensure that it can be operated safely in your factory and won’t increase your overheads drastically.
Plan to fulfil requirements
Once you have set out your project objectives, you will need to ensure your plan meets these as well as any other operational requirements. This includes making sure it is compliant.
We have already touched upon health and safety in your workplace, but you will need to ensure the safety of your product. This is particularly significant for food processing, where specific measures are required to meet industry standards, protect customers and enhance reliability.
Make sure the project plan accounts for the different requirements of your product, such as checking that any machinery you implement is suitable for the applications you will be using. It is also worth considering what kind of machines you may need to include in the project to boost compliance, such as weighing and inspection systems. Other additional requirements will include packaging, which your line will need to address.
Knowing your requirements means that you can ensure your plan and its components lead to a fully functional production line by cherry-picking precisely the right solutions.
Find the right solutions for your project
Once you have grip of the logistical needs of your project, including the requirements of your products, operations and any other functions you need to meet, it is time to determine what solutions will fit into your line. Your proposal should include information on which machines you will use, which partners you will use and how they tie into the broader objectives of your project and overall operations.
The first step to this is determining what kind of machines you need, such as weighers, conveyors, x-ray systems or metal detectors. From there, you can find appropriate providers and models to suit your production line.
When researching machines, pay attention to their features, such as whether they conform to industry standards. This will allow you to ensure that you meet the right regulations across your production.
Another feature to look out for is how hygienic the machine is, which will enable you to keep up with food safety standards. This is especially important if you are dealing with applications that are wet or sticky, where easy cleaning of machines will be required to increase productivity and turnaround times. Look for the IP rating of any machines you consider as these will tell you how waterproof and dirt resistant they are.
Other features to consider include the speed, energy consumption, maintenance, accuracy, capacity and auditability. You can use these features as a benchmark to determine which machine is most suitable and ensure you find an ideal solution for your project. You should also reflect on any additional resource or staff training you may need to operate the project lines.
At Yamato, we offer a range of line solutions, including inspection systems, multihead weighers and static scales. Most of our products will fit in with your existing systems, making for easy installation within your current lines, and conform to industry standards so you can ensure compliance and productivity. Our products integrate with other partners, such as packaging machines, elevators or distribution systems.
If your project has unique requirements or you need advice on how to make your proposal a reality, we can help provide a bespoke solution for you and your applications.