Baking & Snack - March 2022 - 96

featured technical expert Q&A
Matthew Phillips
LeMatic Inc.
Matthew Phillips didn't start his career in baking, but the process
of manufacturing inside a food supply chain, and the people who
do it, are what drew him in.
" Learning about bakeries and how various disciplines must
work together to take on a challenge or solve an issue highlights a
unique and exciting culture within the industry, " Mr. Phillips
said. " Additionally, LeMatic is a business that owns the entire process
from design, manufacture, assembly, implementation to service
after the sale. That total ownership of the product was a key
factor in establishing a career in the industry. "
Mr. Phillips started out in logistics before moving to the automotive
field in sales and project management. He's worked in
the baking industry for the past three years, serving as LeMatic's
senior sales executive and aftermarket manager before being recently
promoted to director of aftermarket services.
As director, Mr. Phillips gets
to see and hear the challenges
clients and partners experience
with LeMatic's equipment and
find a solution - which is what he
enjoys most.
" When there is an opportunity for
improvement, it is my division of the company
that gets the raw feedback of what works and what is a
challenge, " Mr. Phillips said. " There is nothing more rewarding
than integrating into a project, establishing a common solution
and obtaining our goal while working with a customer. I would
have to add that I love hearing from customers with 1980s vintage
equipment still in working order as part of their currentday
operations. "
What are the most common issues when it comes
to packaging, and how can you avoid them?
This is an easy topic, and it is terribly overlooked in our industry.
Training is at the heart of most of the common maintenance issues.
Many times, my team is contacted by a client with equipment problems,
and the cause is not from a simple bearing failure or a torn belt
but rather the setup process could be identified as the cause of the failure.
When we have the opportunity to send in a technician to work
alongside an operator or maintenance representative, the training
those people receive greatly improves the operation of the line.
How do certain ingredients affect the kind of
packager, slicer, pan cleaner, etc., you'll need?
Ingredients and the resulting product can change the performance
of a machine in one changeover. Products with seeds, egg wash
coatings, sugar forms and cornmeal bottoms are all part of the normal
life in a bakery. With each product, the key is to understand
the impact and what actions should be taken to ensure equipment
efficiency and product quality.
For example, a cinnamon raisin bagel can be an extreme challenge
for a bagel slicer. However, a move to a Teflon-coated blade
will greatly reduce the buildup that takes place and allow for longer
runs between blade changes. Most products with inclusions
require higher horsepower motors and more robust slicing blades.
In considering product ingredients, equipment design should
reflect the need to manage crumbs, slicing quality and packaging
rates. Some ingredients retain moisture more than others. This requires
slicing blades, hold-down belts, conveyor belts and product
guides all to be designed and configured in an optimal way.
96 Baking & Snack March 2022 / www.bakingbusiness.com
What does a robust maintenance plan entail?
A robust maintenance plan starts with the basics. If the core of the
maintenance plan is not understood by those who have to manage
it, the high-level functions are cut short by the failures that take
place at the most basic level. A few examples: " When do I replace
that chain? " " What does that error message mean? " " If a pyramid
belt is worn, what impact does that have on my slice quality? "
When these basics are understood, the steps in diagnosing
maintenance issues are more limited. This all goes back to having
regular training from the OEM. This allows a maintenance program
to then grow to predictive maintenance with replacement
kits on the shelves.
What factors determine which robotic or vision
system works best in a bakery line?
Finding the right people is key to getting the most from our packaging
lines. However, utilizing automation is key for successful
growth in the baking industry. Labor shortages and employee fatigue
are a battle we all face. Repetitive movements are not easy
on the operator or the business. Looking for key integration
points is critical in the baking world, not just in high production
volume bakeries, but even in larger artisan-style bakeries. Some
lines don't need full automation but rather " automation-assisted "
production lines that can cross over the line from being in the red
or the black. Each bakery is so different, but they all have certain
areas where repetitive movements can be aided or even alleviated
by some level of automation. The key is to not only measure
the amount of labor utilized but also the turnover in that same
area. Turnover costs us all.
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Baking & Snack - March 2022

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