A Case For PRIMS (Production Recipe Ingredient Management Software)
A Biased but Thoroughly Accurate Account
Food and Beverage Manufacturers, avoid expensive software solution package Traceability or Tracking modules, that cannot effectively Ingredient Track, nor protect against Ingredient losses, despite what you are being told.
Yes, I know you were told that your Software Package has a module that can lot and batch track, and traceability-“no problem”. But did they tell you, you would still be relying on manual recording, not controlling the ingredients/recipe/product, and never be entitled to accurate inventory control. Did they tell you their system makes the presumption your plant floor and operators make the perfect recipe every time (oz. per oz.), yet offer no way to make that presumption achievable on the plant floor, actually never making you aware the presumption is made in the first place. Nor, did they tell you their inventory control is based on the presumption of a perfect recipe, again, offering nothing on making the assumption close to being valid, or that the assumption existed in the first place.
What’s the problem with manual recording on the plant floor; especially, in light of the importance of traceability (Lot and Batch Traceability or Tracking), and the fact, that a system and its reports are only as good as the accuracy of the data being entered? Simple; manual recording of plant floor data, is prone to error, and lacks any sort of ingredient and recipe control, or inventory control (therefore handles inaccurate data at all times). Wouldn’t it be more beneficial having accurate data streaming through a masterful data and reporting system?
Problems of Manual Data Entry for Ingredient Traceability or Tracking/Tracing:
- Operators/supervisors main concern is production first, entry of tracking data second – the lapse in time, leading often to erroneous or forgotten entries. It’s a priority choice that doesn’t have to exist.
- Written data in itself is prone to memory mishaps/lapses, but the possibility for error arises again, when it must be re-entered into the actual information gathering system
- Data on a piece of paper will always be subject to the inevitability of being misplaced, or becoming damaged goods on a busy plant floor.
- Time consuming, paper exhausting, file filling and organization time consuming, and “isn’t this supposed to be a computer-based approach?”
These inherent problems were recognized early on, and PRIMS (Production Recipe Ingredient Management Software) was developed. Consider PRIMS, whether your system is fully automated, does hand scaling, a combination of both, or simply carries out a recipe.
The Case For PRIMS:
Site visits/surveys/analysis of Food and Beverage Plants, and edits/development of the PRIMS system by customer requests over the past 15 years, have led to the following list of priorities for most/if not all Food and Beverage Manufacturers. Feel free to call it an ERP list, but it might be prudent to redefine this list as Essential Resource Protection.
Food and Beverage Manufacturing Goals: ERP (Essential Resource Protection)
- Recipe Consistency-You worked hard to perfect the perfect recipe, and you created the one people come home to, time and time again. So guarantee, a perfect batch every time, and satisfy your HACCP requirements, as well.
- Protect your Brand- You worked hard to create/develop/mold a company over the years, so protect it with compliancy to the FDA tracking requirements of 2002’s Title III Act. But do it efficiently, automatically, and cost effectively.
- Prevent Ingredient Loss- Resulting from the operator’s recipe scaling mentality of “over is better than under”, while at the same time ensuring a perfect batch every time. This in turn, ensures accurate inventory controls, and accurate data flowing throughout the entire system.
- Reduce Batch Cycle Times – Automate controls, utilize production scheduling, and reduce downtime with batch/recipe control.
- Control Inventory (ingredient and finished goods), and deliver product on time with efficient scheduling, while controlling your receiving
- Finance and Accounting, Payroll (HR).
PRIMS does not carry the assumption that the perfect recipe was carried out on the manufacturing plant floor. It was understood early, how significant it was to control the recipe, the recipe’s proportions, the operator and the process, so that data that will be carried throughout the system, is collected accurately and expeditiously up front.
PRIMS makes sense, and briefly, here’s why:
Upon the entry/or auto-generation of data, into a well thought out Receiving and Inventory Module, which cares for your CoAs and HACCP requirements, internal ingredient lot numbers are generated, and labels are printed. Management has already utilized PRIMS, in creating formulas and work plans, which are downloaded to operator stations (Computerized Scales and Washdown/Multi-Lingual PLC Terminals) which consume little plant floor space.
These terminals simplistically guide your operators through the recipe. The operator is instructed to scan lot code labels on ingredients, and allows them only to proceed to the next ingredient addition, when the ingredient weight tolerances you set, are met (cut ingredient losses by 95%) (See PRIMS ROI Calculator). Automated systems are equally controlled, as batch cycle reduction times of 5%-up to 20%, are regularly seen. A recipe can never be forgotten, because it never needed to be remembered. An operator can never over-scale, and the batch will be replicated perfectly near 100% of the time. And time consuming and tedious recording of lot data, has just been automated (with human error, taken out of the equation), leaving Quality Assurance Professionals to handle more important tasks. Accurate data is now sent streaming through the PRIMS system, or into the MRP or ERP you currently have in place. PRIMS becomes the perfect compliment, entering accurate data into your current system, or can become a full system unto itself.
That PRIMS system is equipped with lot/batch Traceability or Tracking, costing, purchasing, receiving, inventory (ingredient, finished goods, non-food related), shipping, production/efficiency scheduling, material requirements with alerts, multi-language, security, and multi-reporting functionality (PRIMS Modules (PDF)). And you now have accurate data being handled by a system specifically built for you, the Food and Beverage Manufacturer.
Who is Satisfied:
Top Management – the ROI numbers (ROI Calculator) are impressive, the brand is protected, the data and reporting is accurate, and the culture/environment of the facility is not only uncompromised, but actually improved, as…
Director of Operations/Plant Supervisors – not only will production be uncompromised, but efficiency and scheduling will be optimized. Don’t forget those 5- 20% reductions in batch cycle times. Not to mention your operators will enjoy the simplicity of the stations, which are multi-lingual, wash down, and carry a small footprint. Operators enjoy the units (7-12 inch screen, Colored or B&W, Touch Screen or Numeric) – it’s an easy opt-in.
Quality Assurance – you’re kidding, near 100% conformance to batch specifications, and the elimination of tedious recording and tracking of tracking numbers (imagine, you had to track your tracking numbers). Their focus can now be directed towards making quality changes elsewhere in the system.
Operators – margin of error has been eliminated. They pick, scan, weigh, touch the screen and add. And Customers enjoy the same great taste every single time, as the recipe you took so long to perfect, is perfected day in and day out.
Who else is happy? Try PRIMS Current Users.
It was intentional that PRIMS can handle all of your facility’s needs, with the exception of the General Ledger and Payroll (PRIMS Flowchart ). There are so many accounting software packages out there (economic and quality packages) that PRIMS decided not to stray away from its forte, Production Recipe Ingredient Management. PRIMS can be integrated to any accounting software that has an ODBC Database (almost all). That means your package has become complete. You have just witnessed the making of an ERP Essential Resource Protection system, consisting of the PRIMS system, and an accounting package of your choice.
If your facility currently has no Traceability or Tracking or recipe management system, consider PRIMS. If you currently have an ERP or MES system, with no Traceability or Tracking abilities, consider PRIMS, and let it compliment the system you now have. And yes, even if you have an ERP or MES Traceability or Tracking module, consider PRIMS, because you are streaming inaccurate data, and you are missing out on major possible bottom line additions (by not controlling scaling/ingredient additions), not to mention missing out on creating the perfect batch every time (no better marketing tool-let customers taste the best every time).
Please contact Matrix Controls with any questions, or feel free to fill out a Needs Analysis Form , where we can further provide solutions for your company.