Posts Tagged ‘Journalist’

Manufacturing Journalist Tr Cutler Profiles Leading Baked Goods ERP Escape Velocity Systems

Jul 26, 2010 Bakery Pies

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests the grain category is the largest segment of American dietary consumption, encouraging consumers to eat at least five ounces of grain products every day. From snack cakes, energy bars, cookies, crackers, rolls, donuts, pastries, pie, pizza crusts, cakes and muffins, and fortified breakfast cereals, bakery manufacturing covers a very broad range of foods. Since the average American eats more than 50 pounds of bread and more than a 100 pounds of cereal each year, it represents billions of dollars in revenue for bakers; the worldwide market for bakery products is now greater than $300 billion annually.

According to Evan Garber, president of Bakery ERP specialists Escape Velocity Systems (EVS), “The unusual production characteristic for most bakeries is the practice of frequently mixing dough in a small kettle; many dough’s are then used in one batch run. For each batch of dough the production team is aware of the ingredient lot number, but at the other end of the production line, quality control typically goes though a process of elimination to determine from which dough their test samples came.”

In the feature entitled, Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker, Escape Velocity Systems (www.evs-sw.com) is profiled as the leader among ERP vendors who serve this niche market. In the current issue of Business Excellence, the article authored by manufacturing journalist TR Cutler, details the nuances of the technology requirements of the baked goods sector.

Bakery ingredient items can be given lot attributes which can be entered by the QC department, however. Since flour is typically the key ingredient, most bakeries have to analyze the properties of each flour lot to determine absorption rates to maintain high quality standards. Getting the correct moisture in batches is an art with scientific elements.

Flour lot #1 has attribute absorption of ten and Flour lot #2 has attribute absorption of eight. These attributes stay with the lot throughout production life and can be used by production planners to estimate a compensating water content needed for a batch. “It’s important to track lot expiration dates,” Garber noted. “QC must also be able to determine that the real expiry date is different than the date calculated for a batch and be able to change it. The most important factor is that QC must be completely integrated with the rest of the organization’s ERP shelf life. Many bakeries’ QC departments are on separate systems, including Excel spreadsheets. The value proposition that bakery technology solutions must bring to food safety and quality is that QC is integrated with the rest of the ERP.”

Indeed if QC determines that a lot is bad and records it in the system, the lot is automatically put on hold and cannot be used in manufacturing or shipped out. If QC tests for attributes of a lot and records them in a bakery specific technology solution, the production planner can see the attributes of the lot and plan for compensating ingredients (such as water or gluten). Shelf stability and expiration date management applies to many food products, none more than baked goods.

“Serving this large and lucrative market requires knowledge of bakery management and maintenance of hygienic production of baked goods,” insisted Garber. “Sanitation processes, allergen control programs and bioterrorism defense strategies must be well defined and followed to ensure the bakery and the public are not at risk.” Generic technology solutions for the food sector will not suffice; hyper-vertical applications are necessary to meet the mandated compliance requirements from BioTerrorism Act to HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points).


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    Make Extra Money at Home Making Baked Goods

    May 29, 2010 Bread Bakeries

    Baking is a fun thing to do, and bakers are not the only people in this world entitled to the pleasure of baking. That’s why ovens in Ireland and in other parts of the world became commercially available nowadays-the democracy that comes with letting other people experience how to do it. Now, this can even be more enjoyable when it is transformed into a make extra money at home in Ireland.

    If you love baking and you are constantly baking batch after batch of cookies, brownies, pies, and bread loaves then you might want to consider baking more than what the family needs. Not only will you save electricity maximizing the heat of the oven in every batch of baked goods, you will also make more money selling it to other people. Bakeries might be a block away from the neighborhood. Or maybe the bread from the grocery is not as good as oven-fresh ones. Make these the selling points of your home-baked products.

    Packaging differs. It is really up to you with regards packaging the products. It is a good idea to package the bread and brownies attractively during seasons such as Christmas or Valentines. It makes a good gift that way.

    Baking bread does not only prove that internet money-making opportunities need to be technical and produced by keyboard and mouse. Sometimes, the internet can simply be used to promote another venture-which in this case is baking. Make extra money at home in Ireland now and see the benefits of selling home-bakes goods.

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    Manufacturing Journalist Cutler Profiles Food Safety Leader Evs

    Apr 13, 2010 Bakery Recipes

    Escape Velocity Systems (www.evs-sw.com) is profiled in the current issue of the International Food and Safety Quality Network article authored by manufacturing journalist TR Cutler. The term escape velocity refers to the speed that is necessary for an object to overcome gravity and soar into space. EVS provides direct applications for businesses looking for a catalyst, not just a software package. Process manufacturers require the best software solution coupled with industry experience that will accelerate the velocity with which they race towards their goals. The gravity of status-quo opposes aggressive, cutting edge organizations as they strive towards high quality and short lead time delivery while reducing inventories and operating costs.

    In the feature entitled, Food Safety Drives Growth in Kosher & Halal Foods Cutler notes that, “Most consumers believe that kosher and halal food products follow stricter quality standards than non-kosher products in the same category and since safety is a real priority for consumers, regulator practices from HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) to the

    Bioterrorism Act to lot traceability, food manufacturers are responding.

    These quality practices are impacting the fortunes of manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. Reputations and brands are at risk when safety concerns and product recalls are front-page news. There are so many recent examples from spinach to pet food; the cost when quality standards are lacking is both financial and brand-killing. Evan Garber, President of Escape Velocity Systems suggested, “Any technology solution must indicate whether a formula is Kosher or Halal. O2 is one of the few batch or recipe process manufacturing ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems which allow a user to indicate formulas that are Kosher or Halal. Whether Muslim in the case of Halal certification

    or a Rabbi in the case of Kosher certification, both will typically review formulations as well as historical production to verify that kosher products have been used. The ability to print and view all formulas and ingredients that have a designation (Kosher or Halal) is vital and must be true of historical production batches.”

    Other ERP functionality for these two designations include the requirement of “source of ingredients” because of the direct relationship to lot tracking of raw materials from procurement through production to finished goods. The requirement of “status of production equipment” relates to machines that only run kosher or halal items (given the cleaning specification of both food designations). Garber suggested, “Production planning (finite capacity) rules can be set that state that a section of formulas (kosher or halal, in this case) are only run on certain machines. If a planner tries to run on another line, the schedule board

    will prohibit it from moving. Production history can be updated for the machine indicating that a batch was actually run and received the required verification that batches were run on proper equipment. Indicators that the needed blessing has been made to a particular batch, item, or lot can be indicated.”

    Most food manufacturers which produce primary, semi-processed, and finished products in all principal food segments can apply kosher and halal food safety standards to their operations.

    Escape Velocity Systems (EVS) was formed in 2001 to combine specific industry knowledge related to process manufacturing, distribution, and ERP implementations with cutting edge software development. The company focus is to create tools that enable mid-market enterprises to achieve their goals, focusing on lean processes and ROI. According to President Evan Garber, “We realize that good ERP software is the hub of information in any process manufacturing enterprise. Timely, reliable, and centralized data are non-negotiable elements for businesses competing in the 21st century.”


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