Since the June 2016 referendum, the UK’s relationship with the EU supply chain has been under serious scrutiny. Fears of the impact on businesses due to changes in imports and exports are prevalent in the UK food processing and manufacturing industry. As more challenges are placed on UK Brexit strategies for food manufacturers, producers and processors, companies are quick to look for improvements to strengthen their position. Strategies that will positively impact your food production process.
Business Retention Strategies
Many companies’ retention strategies target unnecessary spending as well as short-term investments. Investments that will offer long-term financial benefits. Machinery and automation are usually at the forefront of business retention. However, since more than 90% of the costs associated with a building are related to the people in the workplace, for most, the initial focus to consider is labor productivity.
Labor productivity
Labor productivity reviews the company’s employee organization, the level of number of employees and the final result of production in relation to labor costs. Sometimes drastic changes are made to a company’s employee resources as a result of LP analysis. Consequently, companies are going the redundancy route to eliminate a large proportion of labor costs.
It is becoming more common to see announcements related to layoffs in the manufacturing and food processing industries. And for consumers, suppliers and processors alike, it has become a matter of concern. Although the long-term financial benefits of laying off employees are fairly minimal, it appears that rather than being a last resort, layoffs are becoming a solution for initial cost savings and business retention. . – We shudder at the thought!
Staff cuts are NOT the answer
Although staff cuts require little or no investment and provide a reliable short-term answer for cost savings; making layoffs has its clauses. Very often the main cause for concern is redundancy; particularly in larger, more established manufacturing companies, it focuses on negative publicity and the influence it leaves on a ‘brand’. Consumers have been proven to build a level of trust and, in some respects, an individual relationship with their preferred and reputable brands. And when negative attention is drawn to these brands, it is common for this relationship to be intervened. And so the downward financial spiral begins.
Clearly, it serves to benefit not only consumers, suppliers, and processors, but also the manufacturer and the company, if all alternative cost-saving opportunities are considered before taking any drastic redundancy measures.
Unable to afford the investment
We understand that investment in automation equipment and machinery; That can quickly increase productivity in a food manufacturing environment doesn’t come cheap. And if so, you need to take into account how much ‘value-added maintenance time’ is likely to be required for service and repairs to ensure the proper functioning of the equipment.
Overnight changes are possible
When investment in production equipment is not an option, it is time to look for improvements in labor productivity. Of course, without reducing the workforce or making radical changes to employment contracts. Instead, the minimal investment and long-term changes that can be made almost overnight are striking. Changes that not only have the potential to increase labor productivity by nearly 20%, but are also guaranteed to provide engineers and maintenance teams with additional “value-added maintenance time.” Which in turn adds up to increased productivity percentage!
It is not uncommon for a company to overlook the physical environment that surrounds its employees. It’s also not unusual for them to underestimate the relationship between the quality of this environment and the productivity of their employees. Extensive evidence shows that a poor quality work environment, especially in manufacturing industries, can have a major impact on staff performance. This is emulated by the correlation between the health status of employees and the level of absences due to illness. There are ways that companies can improve the health status of their workforce without imposing healthy routines, diet and, of course, exercise.
Impact on environmental quality
Improvements to the physical environment of the workplace have been shown to improve employee health and significantly increase labor productivity. Which indirectly reduces labor costs and enables employee retention.
One of the main environmental impacts on the health of employees within a food manufacturing plant is indoor air quality. When it comes to “air quality,” most people just focus on outdoor air, with its mix of smog, smoke, dust, and other air pollution. What people don’t think about is indoor air quality (IAQ).
Impact of indoor air quality on employees
Indoor air quality has a huge impact on the health and productivity of employees. To perform effectively in their roles, airflow, exhaust, and ventilation must be optimized to ensure employee health and comfort. The health repercussions of poor IAQ are extensive and have been linked to headaches, rashes, breathing difficulties, asthma, heart and liver damage, and even cancer.
A number of studies and experiments have been conducted and evidence has shown significant improvements in employee performance by efficiently removing air pollutants through extraction. And providing circulation and supply of fresh air offers a positive effect on comfort and health. However, in low-toxic or non-toxic environments, such as food factories, processing facilities, and administrative offices, it is difficult to recognize how much air pollution might actually be circulating.
Unlikely Contaminants and VOC Contamination
Poor indoor air quality is typically caused by volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution. VOCs are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. This high pressure causes a large number of molecules to evaporate into the air, causing pollution of the work environment. VOCs can emanate from a number of unlikely applications; from computers and printers, manufacturing machinery, building materials, furniture and fixtures, floor coverings, and cleaning products.
All of these products and applications omit a variety of VOCs, including formaldehyde, toluene, and other chemical solvents. In addition to pollution, the heat produced by machinery and technical equipment accelerates the diffusion of emissions into the surrounding air. And since, on average, as a nation, we spend 90% of our time indoors and more than a third of this time in the workplace, the importance of workplace air quality becomes apparent.
Food Audit Compliance
Understanding where and how air moves within a production facility not only improves employee productivity, but also offers other important benefits. Mapping of ventilation, supply, and exhaust air are critical to food manufacturing compliance audits; guaranteeing hygiene and safety to legal requirements. In addition, clean air management is essential to maintain separation between high-care and low-care areas. When these are managed effectively, they can reduce the amount of financial loss associated with downtime due to contamination.
Providing a good level of fresh air ventilation, contaminated air filtration, and VOC removal is essential to reducing indoor air pollutants and maintaining good workplace IAQ.
Boost employee productivity
Small changes can be made to air mapping and air handling within a manufacturing plant to improve cognitive performance and productivity. Consequently, significantly increase labor productivity and manufacturing production. As a result, you increase employee retention and reduce labor costs and waste.
Initial outlays for better IAQ can be as little as a few hundred pounds, depending on the physical size of a business and the air handling products and services required. However, once complete, the business potential of a 20% increase in labor productivity, significantly reduced output costs from inefficient air handling, and limiting the possibility of negative brand reputation, far exceeds the investment. But most of all, it even changes the business retention strategy to business development!
It is true that there are a host of other areas where a food manufacturer could focus their attention for development and improvement. But Indoor Air Quality could be the ‘breath of fresh air’ a company needs to nurture the UK manufacturing industry through the effects of last year’s referendum result.