Timely feedback from a real-time SPC system is allowing one bread manufacturer to minimize production of non-complying snacks–a costly waste of raw ingredients, manpower, and machine energy.
One of the nation’s largest independent bakeries integrated WinSPC real-time quality improvement software into its plant floor production operations. One of its goals is better compliance with the FDA’s maximum allowable variation (MAV) standards, which help ensure that customers are not short-changed with underweight products.
The bakery produces snacks and sweets for a diverse range of premier food companies. It is its configurable manufacturing setups and history of experience collaborating with outside customers that enable the bakery to serve such varied food production needs. Just this year, the company earned the F4SS Outsourcing Excellence Award for its outstanding collaborative R&D and new product development.
To build upon its tradition of excellence, the company has installed WinSPC real-time quality improvement software on the production floor, an initiative to further improve the company’s process cost efficiency and better the quality of its snacks and sweets. WinSPC has been set up to automatically alert line workers the instant an unacceptable snack is produced. This timely feedback allows the company to prevent the production of additional non-complying snacks–a costly waste of raw ingredients, manpower, and machine energy.
WinSPC can be set up to alert bakery production workers and supervisors of non-complying events to help prevent the production of over- and underweight product
Additionally, the bakery is keen to reduce product giveaway in the form of overweight snacks, and is taking steps to reduce the production of underweight snacks in order to better comply with the FDA’s maximum allowable variation (MAV) compliance standards. To improve in these areas, QC personnel study historical process information that has been captured into WinSPC in the form of statistical control charts. This allows them to get a wide, panoramic view of snack weight output over time, clarifying which processes give away the most and therefore need to be prioritized in the improvement stage of the DMAIC method.
WinSPC’s post-production analysis tools can give bakeries insight into product giveaway and FDA maximum allowable variation (MAV) non-compliances (underfill); then help them prioritize improvement initiatives in these areas
Of note, QC personnel can do such statistical analysis right in their lab, without walking out onto the production floor. This is because each instance of the WinSPC application is connected facility-wide, granting visibility of all data to every user (assuming, of course, that the user has been granted the appropriate permissions within the application).
Beyond offering post-production insights, WinSPC has simplified the bakery’s recording of process and product measurements at the point of production, and streamlined the storing of those measurements. The application’s visual, easy-to-interpret data collection view makes entering snack and sweet measurements easy, while WinSPC’s centralized digital database enables line workers and management alike to access charts and other visuals based on recorded data from any area of the facility.
About DataNet Quality Systems
DataNet Quality Systems empowers manufacturers to improve products, processes, and profitability through real-time statistical software solutions. The company’s vision is to deliver trusted and capable technology solutions that allow manufacturers to create the highest quality product for the lowest possible cost. DataNet’s flagship product, WinSPC, provides statistical decision-making at the point of production and delivers real-time, actionable information to where it is needed most. With over 2500 installed facilities worldwide and distributors across the globe, DataNet is dedicated to delivering a high level of customer service and support, shop-floor expertise, and training in the areas of Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, and Lean Manufacturing services.