Twenty percent practice predictive maintenance, recognized by many of our respondents as a key Best Practice. Sixty-four percent of panelists' plants maintain a separate maintenance department, while 27 percent incorporate maintenance skills into their production teams. Half of these are meat processors. Twenty percent of panelist companies share corporate operating and financial data with their employees. Only 7 percent have no formal training programs.
Improved automation ranks second among responses.
Many responses relate to improved engineering, maintenance and equipment. Many want improved automation. A dairy plant manager hopes for improved morale. Sometimes, this creates an unhealthy work environment. FE Food Engineering launches the new millennium with the food industry's first study of Best Manufacturing Practices.