Aaron Hand

Editor at Large, PMMI Media Group

COVID-19 has put new demands on sanitation procedures.

Challenges Amid a Pandemic

COVID-19 is changing the way food and beverage manufacturers manage their cleaning processes and products, accounting for social distancing and increased sanitation requirements.

Ecolab is using augmented reality from Microsoft to help service its customers remotely, particularly in light of pandemic restrictions on access.

Remote Access Technologies Help Keep Food Sanitation Workers Safe

Cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, and videoconferencing applications are among the latest tools that suppliers are using to keep food and beverage workers safer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CRC uses DroneDeploy to fly and map thermal imagery and conduct thermal inspections.

Drones Map and Inspect Energy Operations

California Resources Corp. is growing its drone program with the use of DroneDeploy software to save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year mapping and inspecting operations and enabling proactive asset management.

Sunny Dell Foods is a private label and custom recipe provider of high-quality marinated and refrigerated mushrooms, pasta and other sauces, soups, dressings, marinades, peppers and capers.

A Quick Metal Detector Turnaround Gets Mushroom Maker Back Online

When a legacy metal detection system went down and brought production with it, Sunny Dell Foods was able to get back in operation with a brand new system in just 36 hours.

More from Aaron Hand

After evaluating the club store format of its Keurig McCafe carton (left), KDP redesigned the packaging for e-commerce (right), working specifically with Amazon SIOC specifications.

Keurig Dr Pepper Helps Guide CPGs Through Amazon Packaging Compliance

Having braved its own journey into Amazon’s Ships in Own Container (SIOC) certification demands, KDP packaging engineers explain what’s required to ready products for e-commerce delivery.

Bendt No. 5 is Bendt Distilling Company’s first blended whiskey release, blending five different whiskeys made in-house.

Craft Distiller Turns Waste From Whiskey Process Into Revenue

A waste byproduct becomes a useful livestock feed for farmers by using a centrifugal sifter to dewater the stillage, the grain/water mixture stripped out after the fermentation process.

The Brenton RP1000 robotic palletizer with integrated Orion MADX stretch wrapper.

Robotics Integration in End-of-Line Packaging

Showing how various modules can be integrated into a packaging line with robotic capabilities, Brenton highlighted innovations in case packing and linear servo tracks.

Using Beumer Smart Glasses provides operators with hands-free troubleshooting, and helps to mitigate the costs of a technician traveling to the customer site.

Smart Glasses Ease Troubleshooting Communication

Beumer has added augmented reality to the tools available to its customers while servicing equipment, enabling faster, easier support. The OEM even used the smart glasses technology to commission and install new equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Getty Images 184637581 Potato Chips

Frito-Lay Potato Chip Fryer Puts Bearings to the Test

After realizing that their Graphalloy bearings had been going strong for six years without any attention, the Arkansas plant decided to see where else Graphite Metallizing’s graphite/metal alloys could provide maintenance-free support.

Agropur will provide mobile access to production data to improve decision-making on the plant floor.

Data: It Does a Milk Producer Good

Transforming raw materials into a variety of milks and ice cream mixes, Agropur lacked the data needed to improve its operations. An integrated control and information system from Rockwell Automation provided the needed visibility.

ProdX allows multiple facilities to be connected to a single data point.

Smarter Food Safety Relies on More Data, Compute Power

Demand is rising for improved precision in food inspection. Food producers are taking advantage of the data and processing capabilities in their systems to not only improve food safety, but also to work toward improved traceability.

Microlab moved its batch assembly to a semi-automated, single-piece flow to reduce production times and improve product flexibility.

How Lean Work Cells Can Speed Production, Increase Flexibility

By moving from batch assembly to a semi-automated, single-piece flow assembly, component manufacturer Microlab achieved a 90% reduction in its production cycle time.

Paul Singh, Michigan State University

Honoring Hall of Fame Careers: Paul Singh of Michigan State University

Now on a biennial cadence, the Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame is inducting four new members into its ranks in 2020. The cornerstone of Paul Singh’s career at MSU has been his focus on education.