Page 32 - Food&Drink magazine July 2022

INDUSTRY 4.0 & IIOT
Meaty insights
In a time of great change and technological progress for the food processing industry, the return of events to meet and explore challenges and opportunities is welcomed. MEQ Probe CEO Remo Carbone reflects on his learnings from IFFA 2022 and the Global Food Forum.
AS the founder of an Australian Agtech start-up focused on the meat sector, attending IFFA 2022 in Frankfurt, one of the world’s leading expos on meat processing and packaging, I was eager to see some of the incredible advancements on the horizon for our industry.
Similarly, while the Global Food Forum held on home soil in Melbourne discussed the current challenges in the global food supply chain, it also looked
at the immense opportunities for serious problem solving.
These are my top five observations from both global events.
1
The IFFA 2022 exhibition in Germany was vast, with several football fields’ worth of equipment on display and in motion.
Many machines were
32 | Food&Drink business | July 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
ROBOTICS IS IN ITS INFANCY, BUT THE
OUTLOOK IS PROMISING
PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE MUST
BE PRIORITISED
designed to handle a specific part of the food processing workflow. For example, robotic arms moved items from one conveyor belt to another or were used for the fine-motor task of sharpening knives.
In my experience of working with primary producers and in Agtech, I’ve witnessed the frustration and controversy long associated with attempts to incorporate robotics into the sector.
In speaking with Australian processors, common complaints are the intensive and expensive process of commissioning the technology, only to have it fall short of expectations. Invariably they end up being shelved or used in a limited capacity.
Those on display in Frankfurt managed their specific tasks impressively, however it was hard to ignore that these were basic and simple procedures.
What is needed, especially amid the current labour shortage and high cost of labour in Australia, is using robotics to operate machines and tools.
2THE NEED FOR MORE DATA SHARING
A meat processing plant is a series of links in a chain, with different machines handling different parts of a carcass. While machines perform specific tasks well, data collecting and sharing between machines are needed to elevate these processes and optimise them for full efficiency.
This is true for small and large operators alike, and it is a missed opportunity. Software interfaces are still somewhat archaic, with no modern UX incorporated to drive a better user experience.
Without data sharing, the industry misses out on the benefits of advanced analytics and feedback loops, which equates to lost revenue in a market where product demand is particularly high.
3
If the biggest enemy of a food processing plant is downtime, then a broken-down machine is
the main culprit. A machine breakdown can bring a plant to a standstill, but one way to circumvent this issue is through the utilisation of predictive maintenance.
Machine manufacturers need to think beyond the operational role of a machine and how they fit into the larger workflow of a plant. Putting themselves in their customer’s shoes will allow manufacturers to understand how they can add value to a
plant by designing their machines to share information and automatically adjust function, preferably without human intervention.
Remote diagnostic tools and predictive maintenance would be an ideal starting point for this, with a view to move towards ‘smart plants’ that allow for predictive workflows with minimal disruption.
Greater collaboration between machine manufacturers and processing plants will go a long way to further unlocking the potential of this sector.
4
the Australian food processing industry was a major focus of the Global Food Forum.
Historically, much of the unskilled labour in the wider agriculture industry was filled by immigrants, but the pandemic brought this to a standstill and migration patterns have not recovered to pre-Covid volumes.
Most Australian processors are currently 30-40 per cent short of labour needs and the industry consensus is that the government needs to step up and allow expedited visa processing.
Automation and robotics may help, but these solutions are still several years away from full integration. Food processors need labour now, alongside strong investment into the automation of the food system, while the agricultural industry deals with enough variables being at the mercy of the environment and weather.
If we can mitigate one variable – labour – it would make for a more stable, sustainable food supply chain.
CRITICALLY SHORT LABOUR SUPPLY
The labour crisis within