AUTOMATION LEADS THE WAY
Trend Watch
AUTOMATION LEADS THE WAY
NEW MAX 6000
By Todd Graff | VP of Operations , Foodmate US .
Last year , I was asked to write an article about 2016 Poultry Industry Trends , and attempt to predict the future – a daunting task indeed . I talked about animal welfare , the presidential election , oil prices , and tightening labor markets . I masterfully skirted the prediction part of the article and simply stated factors that will surely impact our industry .
So , 2017 starts with oil prices at $ 50 + per barrel , corn prices trending down , a major price fixing lawsuit against the poultry industry , and a new President . This year will be defined by the new President and his administration . Specifically , the new administration will have a major impact on the labor markets . National unemployment is below 5 % and states like Arkansas and Texas are even lower . Many states have approved increases in minimum wages with some states like New York , California , and D . C . approving $ 15.00 an hour minimums to be phased in .
Results tracker
Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner brings fast return on investment
The incoming President ’ s employment , immigration , and trade policies will certainly have the biggest impact on our industry . I believe this year will signal a true paradigm shift in the poultry processing industry – Automation . Over the past decade , the poultry industry has vacillated between automation and manual processes primarily based on labor conditions however , I believe this is truly the shift to automation forever . Our industry has suffered the wrath of high turnover and unfilled positions for much too long and our focus will shift to minimizing staffing levels . However , this change does not happen without impact .
Poultry processors will need to invest in their maintenance staff . We cannot expect our maintenance teams and operators to learn automation through only ‘ on the job training ’. In order to maintain yields , throughput , and uptime , it requires a skillset – a skillset we must be willing to invest in and pay for .
Now with Kneecap Separator ( KCS )
Automation , if properly cared for , will give you predictable results every minute , hour , shift , and
week .
Foodmate US is a leader in automated dark meat and front half deboning . Our newest offering is the MAX 6000 which will process 100 front halves and breast caps per minute . The MAX 6000 will produce butterflies , fillets , and clipped tender in / out with integrated skinner and wishbone remover . The entire solution is staffed with 4 loaders and fits in a footprint of 30 ’ X 5 ’.
This year , I am not going to skirt the prediction part as I did last year . Those that do not invest in automation to reduce overall staffing will find themselves at a severe disadvantage . Those processors that do embrace automation and invest in it will maintain competitive yields , reduce overall operating costs and reduce injury caused by repetitive motion . Here ’ s to 2017 !
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After installing a Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner , the results from one of our customers improved by an average of $ 16,643.00 per week , compared to their manual thigh deboning operation which uses hand-operated powered meat trimming knives .
Cost per Pound - US Dollars
Yield
$ 0.10 $ 0.08 $ 0.06 $ 0.04 $ 0.02 $ 0.00
Consistent yields Consistency is the key word when comparing the OPTI Thigh Deboner to manual deboning operations . When looking at the yield numbers it is evident that the Foodmate yield numbers do not deviate more than 1 % over a 4 week period . The yield from the manual deboning system deviates by as much as 3 % over a 4 week period . In other words , after installing the OPTI Thigh Deboner , the operation was no longer dependent on the performance of each individual operator .
Labor cost and pound per man / hour A cost per pound reduction of $ 2.5 cents does not sound like much , but when multiplied by 245,000 lbs . per week it contributed as much as $ 5,401.00 to the weekly bottom line for this customer . In addition , the customer saw a significant increase in pounds per man hour .
72 % 70 % 68 % 66 % 64 % 62 % 60 %
LABOR COST IMPROVEMENT REDUCED ON AVERAGE $ 0.025 PER LBS PRODUCEd
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Production Weeks
yield improvement increased on average 4 %
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Production Weeks
Foodmate $/ lb Hand Line $/ lb
Foodmate Yield Hand Line Yield
Savings - US Dollars
$ 25,000 $ 20,000 $ 15,000 $ 10,000 $ 5,000
$ -
Total Savings per week INCREASED ON AVERAGE $ 16,643 PER WEEK
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Production Weeks
Savings
Comparing the Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner with manual deboning operations , results such as these are real and consistently achieved .
Training cost and ergonomic benefits A very common problem found in manual thigh deboning operations is high employee turnover . Some plants report turnover rates of 50 % or more in this process . Deboning thighs by hand , even when using powered trimming knives , requires a lot of skill and can cause a high amount of ergonomic issues such as carpal tunnel syndrome . The high cost associated with training deboners is often not accounted for during the justification or payback analysis , but it should definitely be considered when justifying the investment to switch from a manual deboning operation to a Foodmate thigh deboning operation . On average it takes 4-6 weeks to train a person to become an average hand-line deboner . The training time to operate an automated system is a week or less . In addition , the machine significantly reduces ergonomic issues , which can result in significantly reduced employee turnover .
Pay Back Analysis
To support your justification , Foodmate can put together a very detailed and customized payback analysis based on your input . In most cases this makes it evident that replacing your manual thigh deboning operation with a Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner offers significant financial benefits and a short payback period . Most customers that invest in a Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner report a payback period of 6-9 months .
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