Pay attention to engineers
and R&D at Nestlé, has urged food manufacturers to recognise
the link between sound engineering and strong financial
performance. He also told delegates at the International Congress
on Engineering and Food (ICEF) in Montpellier, France yesterday why
he still has a problem with engineers.
Bauer used the opening lecture of ICEF to urge the food industry to invest in engineering. "There are lots of lousy factories out there," he said. "Old factories with tiling and non-stainless equipment. It's a boomerang, as it comes back and hits you hard. But by paying a few thousands, you could save millions."
Bauer believes that the food production industry lags behind other industries in this regard. "People working in process automisation seem to operate in other industries such as chemistry and pharmacy," he said. "In food, progress seems to have been kept back. The whole area of modelling process optimisation needs to be implemented better."
"I strongly believe that we have to be very prudent, that the foundations of classical engineering solutions are not diluted. If we miss out on the basics, we will not be able to make fundamental changes necessary in engineering. Inertia I do not accept."Confectionery, says Bauer, remains one of the most under-engineered industries in the world, and urged chocolate manufacturers to think of engineering as an investment. He used the example of Nestlé's Aero bar, which used to require vacuum chambers. Production is now in-line, and the company no longer requires vacuum chambers. This, he says, has saved millions.
"But I still have a problem with engineers," he told delegates. "You are normally fantastic, but when it comes to showing your contribution, you are usually the last to be cited. That's why we need to push forward."For this to happen, engineers need to be given more responsibility. They are involved, says Bauer, at the centre of product creation. "Engineers in food production make important financial decisions - they play a significant role in investment and asset management.
"They take the final decision - should we pay more for a piece of reliable equipment? And because each project will be challenged by the financial side of the company, engineers need to know about the financial environment."
The crux of Bauer's argument is that good engineering goes hand-in-hand with cost improvement. He outlined out a number of engineering breakthroughs in the food processing industry such as waste avoidance and reductions in energy usage and water usage.
"Energy cost is often beyond labour costs in food production. Energy can be as much as ten per cent of the total production cost. So anything that can be done here will come back as a big saving in the production environment. Engineering is often the driver of low cost production."
The real beauty of engineering, says Bauer, is found in all the little tricks designed to improve productivity over time. "Ferarri can be the fastest car ever but if you lose time in the pit stop, well that doesn't help. Likewise, if a frozen food factory has to close down its operations every 24 hours for cleaning, its losing money to a factory that only needs to close down every 72 hours."
ICEF runs from 7 to 11 March at Le Corum, Montpellier, and FoodProductionDaily.com will be reporting from the event.
