In this edition:
Feature Article
Enhancing the Automation Experience with SiteDocs
With ever-changing technological enhancements and the food industry’s move to digitization, we looked within our walls to find ways to improve efficiency and streamline, digitize, and improve our own processes.
Site Docs has allowed us to streamline our paperwork acquisition to improve efficiency, reliability, and ultimately automate the process from job site through to management.
The safety of our employees is our number one concern, so every job site is inspected upon arrival and every piece of equipment is inspected before use. This means paperwork and a lot of it! Site Docs has enabled us to automate and consolidate our paperwork into an organized digital system. Our foreman can fill out all necessary paperwork on a mobile device with signature capability and can add notes and upload any relevant reference photos. These digital documents are sent instantaneously to the management and other team members with real-time access.
Through this digital automation, our health and safety team has access to every inspection allowing them to provide instant feedback for any areas of concern and provide timely support when needed. From a compliance standpoint, Site Docs allows crews to be easily organized and prepared for inspections with no additional legwork.
The digital system also allows employees’ certifications and safety training documents to be uploaded within their profiles for easy searchability and reference. Previous forms submitted from the same job site can be seen in advance to anticipate needs and can prepare crews for any potential issues or areas of concern to mitigate risk and maximize productivity.
The digital nature of these forms allows for reporting capabilities that would otherwise only be possible if the paper forms were first collected and digitized by hand – a lengthy process at best. Going paperless with SiteDocs allows safety documents to be accessible to other teams, in real-time, and aligns with our paperless initiative to be more environmentally conscious.
Industry Trends
Automation Overcomes Uncertainty
With the uncertain and changing market demands that the industry has seen in the previous quarter, the efficiency, consistency, and certainty that automation brings has never been more welcome – the time for automation is now.
With COVID-19 pandemic continually creating new guidelines and mandates within facilities, automation is the answer. An automated processing line will allow your employees to always remain safe and maintains consistent production output during any labour shortages or safety regulations that arise, creating a lean operation 24/7.
While automation may seem like a big expense off the top, it can provide greater potential for seamless growth. By helping to mitigate the risk of human error and improving efficiency, automation is the best choice for balancing resources while optimizing output. It can allow for real-time data and statistics on your product, whether it be how many cookies have been packaged in a given time period or keeping the climate of a grain silo at a favourable level.
The Government of Canada and Ontario’s recent announcement on ongoing funding for the agri-food supply chain consists of providing upwards of $5.4 million in additional funding for:
- Implementing technology or other systems to improve food safety
- Transitioning to automated, advanced manufacturing and/or robotic processing technology to enhance labour productivity
- Developing new products or processes to increase sales
This funding is in addition to other programs launched earlier this year to assist eligible Ontario farmers and processors to innovate and grow.
With a complete technical team, Tri-Mach Group can assist clients with entry-level automation needs in machinery upgrade analysis and automation option sourcing. We also offer engineering integration services, providing a detailed analysis of how our solutions can overcome the unique challenges your operation faces. Moreover, Certo-Tech, a division of our sister company Advance Millwrights Inc., designs, fabricates, programs, and installs complete automated systems for end-of-line products. Visit tri-mach.com/automation to start your automation implementation today.
New at Tri-Mach Group Inc.
Tri-Mach Welcomes New Director of Business Applications
Tri-Mach Group is pleased to welcome Manisha Mawji to the company as Director of Business Applications. Manisha will be responsible for supporting Tri-Mach’s growth by leading business initiatives for the digital transformation of our organization.
Manisha comes to Tri-Mach with 15 years of experience in implementing technology solutions and re-engineering business processes to empower organizations to work more collaboratively and productively. She also offers a strong background in both Business Administration and Computer Science and holds Project Management Professional, Microsoft Certified Solution Expert, and Microsoft Certified Trainer designations.
Manisha’s arrival comes as a result of the continuous growth Tri-Mach Group has experienced, resulting in a greater need to integrate our teams and digital technology into all areas of our business, fundamentally changing how we operate and deliver value to our customers. Her combined education and work experience will allow her to make these improvements fluently.
Tri-Mach Group is thrilled to have Manisha join our team during a pivotal stage in our company’s growth strategy. The new business processes she will be working to implement in the coming months will allow our teams to work as one, more efficiently and effectively, ultimately improving all departments. With these enhancements, Tri-Mach Group will be better able to meet the increasing demands from the industries we serve and continue to develop fully-integrated turnkey solutions.
Food Safety 101
FDA releases “New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a “New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint”. Originally announced in April 2019, the FDA has been working on this initiative, influenced recently by the COVID-19 pandemic. The document was released in July of this year and focused on four core elements:
1. Tech-enabled Traceability
2. Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention and Outbreak Response
3. New Business Models and Retail Modernization
4. Food Safety Culture
To improve tech-enabled traceability, the FDA will be completing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Section 204 rulemaking for standardizing critical tracking events and key data elements. The FDA will develop foundational components, encourage and incentivize the adoption of new technologies, and leverage digital transformation with the goal of having complete traceability throughout the food safety system. According to the report, tech-enabled traceability will “tap into new technologies and integrate data streams to identify outbreaks and trace the origin of a contaminated food to its source in minutes, or even seconds, speeding our response when public health is at risk.”
With traceability improved, the FDA states that it will then be able to conduct analyses to inform the FMSA’s prevention-based framework. Using smarter tools through more data streams and new technology for analyzing data, leveraging third-party audits, and working with local experts and regulatory partners, will result in more effective and efficient communication in preventing contaminated products from entering the market.
New business models and retail modernization aims to explore how to adapt to the ever-changing retail market for food distribution. The report poses the question, “How do we educate distributors, manufacturers, and retailers on the importance of temperature control, cross-contamination, and other safety issues?” The FDA aims to better answer this question as well as modernize current food safety practices in traditional retail establishments.
Food safety culture, the last of the four core elements, is based on the idea that the FDA should “foster, support, and strengthen food safety culture on farms, in food facilities, and in homes.” The FDA suggests that the culture surrounding how employees regard food safety must also be addressed along with aiming to reduce the burden of foodborne disease. “We should also look within to ensure that we, as regulators, are promoting the development of a global food safety culture.”
New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint
Product Showcase
Custom Food-safe Tilt Dumpers
Did you know that Tri-Mach Group can build custom, food-safe tilt dumpers? Tilt dumpers are the ideal product to dump vats and containers of meats, fruits, vegetables, bulk goods, and more! Dumpers improve ergonomics and reduce strain for operators by eliminating the need to bend down and remove products from totes. Like all of our custom food-safe stainless-steel products, these tilt dumpers are fabricated in a nonferrous facility with continuous welds, free from burrs and pits. To ensure a sanitary finish, the final product is bead blasted with fine glass media.
Tri-Mach dumpers are constructed with a 5-horsepower hydraulic system and stainless steel cylinders with safety valves at each cylinder. The load will be supported in the event of a power failure or if a hydraulic hose is cut. Designed with a 40-degree dump angle, reinforced pivot points, and floor level loading, these dumpers are capable of lifting up to 3000 lbs.
We know that every project is unique, and so, our dumpers can be designed to fit your unique dump height, and can be customized with manual and automatic adjustable hold down bars, safety cages, a dirt barrier, break-away bottom, extension stands, and more. Our team of engineers will work with you to develop a solution to get the job done efficiently and effectively.
A Message From Our President
As we head into the last quarter of 2020, I can say with certainty that this year has been one like no other. While many businesses have felt the unsteadiness of the pandemic, it is not lost on me that we have had the privilege of continued operation, albeit a little different then it was before. As the food processing industry modulates with ever-changing health and safety regulations, we are fortunate to have a strong team with unwavering dedication and effort.
The coming months are our busiest time of the year! We look to wrapping out 2020 on a positive note with continued growth as we fill out our new building. We are thrilled to have expanded our team this year with many new positions and have seen growth in the US market. We look forward to what the future holds. I cannot thank our team enough for their continued efforts and dedication this year.
Thank you for reading this edition of IMPACT.
Ryan Martin
President
Tri-Mach Inc.