Baking & Snack - November 2023 - 87

OPERATIONS
Maintenance
URGENT CARE
Bakeries search for the best prescriptions to keep their operations
running smoothly amidst a critical shortage of skilled maintenance workers.
by Dan Malovany
In an annual checkup on the state-of-the-maintenance
department, the diagnosis is deteriorating, and the prognosis
is not good for many bakeries and snack producers.
Chronic labor woes have not improved, and in some
cases, have become worse despite heightened awareness
of the issue by the associations and the industry over the
past few years. Skilled mechanics are seeking better opportunities
in the broader manufacturing sector with
better hours and higher compensation.
Working on weekends or the graveyard shift can be a
rough sell.
" The industry has not done enough to make this line
of work sound and feel enticing, and mechanically talented
workers are finding other ways to go, " said Jeff
Dearduff, veteran bakery engineer and president of JED
Manufacturing Services. " Jobs with weekends off along
with four- or three-days-a-week shift schedules, and predictable
work-life balance rule the day. We thought that
we could go to the technical schools and recruit, but many
of those resources have dried up due to lack of interest. "
The symptoms of this stressful situation are showing
up throughout bakery operations. On the production
floor, short-staffed departments result in overworked
mechanics who have to prioritize what equipment gets
preventive maintenance and other systems that need to
be nursed back to health.
" What's actually happening? Maybe everything
doesn't get maintained? You begin to only fix what's
broken, " said Rowdy Brixey, president of Brixey
Engineering. " Because of the labor shortage, you're going
to start to have gaps, and gaps eventually become
problems. Now when you do shut down, you fix the
most important problem, but you're really not doing
anything to prevent a higher multitude of problems for
the next shutdown. You're having what I call a 'cascading
run to failure.' "
What gets neglected and goes unnoticed the most?
First, Mr. Brixey said, anything that's out-of-sight and
out-of-mind, like routine exams of the building, roof,
gutters, intake vents, exhaust stacks, drains and more.
Second, regular testing of redundant systems like boilers
and air compressors also gets delayed until they begin to
fail and need critical care.
" The danger is 'When does the run to failure become
more than just a mechanical breakdown? What if it impacts
food safety, people safety or causes a recall?' " Mr.
Brixey asked. " You eventually will address these problems
when they hit you in the back pocket or when you
fear that they will affect your pocketbook. You have to
ask, 'Do I have the time and talent available in the next
shutdown window to address these potential failures before
they happen?' "
www.bakingbusiness.com / November 2023 Baking & Snack 87
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Baking & Snack - November 2023

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