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We think food… and so does our softwareLet’s talk about yield, giveaway and mass balance

February 2020

Let’s talk about yield, giveaway and mass balance.2

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Introduction

Increase yield, decrease waste and improve profitability Video: How Baird Foods Services uses real-time yield data to track daily targets and demonstrate yield efficiency No animal is ever the same, no yield is ever identical Case study: Why cheese makers are now giving away less, thanks to SI

Make the time to giveaway less and profit more Case study: How Avara Foods makes the most of dashboard technology to limit giveaway Video: How Avara Foods’ dashboards are delivering the difference on the factory floor

Mass balance Case study: How Baird Foods Services mass balances every production run Video: How mass balance transparency is core to Baird’s customer service and traceability

About the author

About SI 22

Contents

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With real-time controls and reporting in place, to support ‘in the moment’ decision making, Paul knows how best practice implementations can achieve 98.5%+ mass balance every day.

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Yield, giveaway and mass balance - an expert overview

Within this latest “We Think Food” guide from SI,

Paul Marston, one of our cost modelling and technical

reporting experts explains how to profit from a better

understanding of yield, giveaway and mass balances.

With food processors already directly profiting by

improving yields and reducing giveaway, Paul also

explains the growing importance of mass balance

management. He also highlights real examples of

best practice and shares knowledge gathered

through his personal experience of working with food

processing companies throughout the industry.

get a visual on efficiency

The installation of real-time visual dashboards on the shop floor, immediately alerts managers to excess giveaway as the batch is being processed.

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Increases in yield, decreases in giveaway and an industry-leading mass balance are the things that make every food manufacturer more profitable. That’s why they are also three areas of daily concern for businesses.

When multiplied across several production lines and the number of units despatched every day, the losses that can be attributed to poor yield or excessive giveaway inevitably have an impact on the sustainability on a food processor and the wider industry.

With margins also directly impacted, making

even the smallest of changes can have a

dramatic impact on daily and annual profitability.

Even the slightest gains in this area can

immediately have a positive effect on your

bottom line.

But as many businesses perceive giveaway as

too difficult an area to control, they focus on

those areas that are easier to manage.

For instance; production cost savings,

better use of ingredients and improved

throughput or quality.

The problem with fixed weight products

For those companies dealing with fixed weight

products in particular, knowing how to

minimise giveaway can be game changing.

However, when excessive giveaway and poor

yields occur during food manufacturing, and

results are reviewed retrospectively (often the

next day), it’s already too late to do anything

about making improvements.

From our experience across the food production

sector, we also know that the variance in quality

and specification of raw material - from one

batch to the next - can significantly impact

yields.

This is the reason why our approach to

yield management reflects the difference in

raw material intake. By recording data that

processors can also share with their supply chain,

we also know further quality improvements can

be achieved.

When inconsistencies or quality issues are found at the raw material intake phase, these need to be accounted for within overall yield and mass balance calculations.

Introduction

If you can mimimise giveaway on fixed weight products, the results can be game changing.

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In addition to providing This information can

also be used to:

• Recalculate expected margins and order

replacement material.

• Challenge suppliers whenever their raw

material hasn’t met the agreed specifications.

• Evidence claims for reimbursement required

from suppliers.

Real-time data – the key to better margins

When it comes to margin management and

profitability, the key to success is being able to

track and measure whatever yield has actually

been achieved, rather than just what was predicted.

By collecting their data in real-time and

benchmark it against historic information, our

customers are able to review the efficiency

of processes, including yield quality, as each

batch is being produced. Then, they can then

make often subtle ‘in the moment’ changes to

production lines to improve outcomes.

Nearly 40 years’ experience of working on

both sides of the fence, in the food processing

industry, has taught me that the best way

to effectively monitoring yield, giveaway

and mass balance, is by integrating all

manufacturing processes using real-time

shop floor data capture.

By capturing and recording data in this way

at every stage of production, manufacturers

can determine cost v margins and the profit

opportunities they create from raw material

according to each supplier.

Paul Marston

Cost Modelling & Reporting Expert

Being able to reduce giveaway by up to 50% is not uncommon. Often businesses don’t think they have a giveaway issue, until they see our combined real-time reports, showing potential six-figure savings. Paul Marston, Cost Modelling and Reporting Expert.

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The best way to effectively monitor yield, giveaway and mass balance, is by integrating all manufacturing processes using real-time shop floor data capture. Paul Marston, Cost Modelling and Technical Reporting Expert.

If video does not open, paste the following link into your browser: https://youtu.be/BaQ27B-ZtSs

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For food manufacturers, there are numerous ways that manufacturers can improve yields and be smart, when it comes product choices that use both data and their expert knowledge.

Integrating real-time shop floor data

capture plays a pivotable role in this

process. It’s at its most effective

when the data is made available to

those individuals who can make ‘in

the moment’ decisions to improve

outcomes.

Factory floor dashboards to keep everyone

informed in real-time

This is the reason why manufacturers are now

embracing shop floor data visualisation tools,

more commonly known as dashboards. Here,

on the factory floor, data collected at key parts

of the process, can be displayed in real-time to

operatives on the production lines.

In my experience, it’s when these dashboards

are positioned in full view of line managers

and operatives, that the technology is at its

most effective. For instance, for those who are

engaged with benching of fresh produce, or

skilled butchers cutting meat, it can be quite

simple to make changes to scheduling or

products being prepped. This is especially the

case when these operatives can see the status

of both the production plan and schedule.

Shop floor dashboards also provide managers

and operatives with the ability to monitor and

make decisions about each batch in real-time.

For example, review whether anything needs

adjusting to meet target weights and yields.

Monitor yield with traffic light indicators

and variance reporting

When it comes to changing the line to process

a different product, dashboards can be set up

to alert managers to any changes to yields,

resulting from to either the quality of raw

material or changes in processing. With RAG

(red, amber and green) statuses flagging up

yield information, real-time decisions can be

made by managers, as they have both trusted

and accurate data to back them up.

As all real-time variance reporting will be stored,

it can also be turned into reports, highlighting

variations over time across production KPIs.

This information can be used to:

• Help steer and support further investment

decisions in line and equipment purchases.

• Show which operatives perform the best.

• Identify which operatives could benefit from

further training or support.

Increase yield, decrease waste and improve profitability

By providing factory floor dashboards, showing what raw material is coming through and the customer order details, everyone has a clear picture of where they are against the plan.

For more information about SI’s

real-time dashboards, download

our Active Dashboards guide.

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Systems Integration (Trading) Ltd

food productivity software

How Baird Foods Services uses real-time yield data to track daily targets and demonstrate yield efficiency.

If video does not open, paste the following link into your browser: https://youtu.be/B7Wx8XRjKxw

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Maximise yield to match target value

In simple terms, whenever a beef carcass

is cut into the main groups of topside,

knuckles, sirloin and fillet, the result delivers

32 main primals. But, as each one of those

primals can be cut in a slightly different way,

this adds further complexity to maximising

yield and matching target value.

Other complications include:

• Volume loss caused by the maturation

process.

• Changes in daily value for different

cuts of meat.

• Variations in customer orders.

Create products with the best margins

When yield targets don’t match up to

what happens on the factory floor,

product value will be negatively

impacted. As an illustration of the

problem, take this example:

• 9% is the target yield for sirloin onthe hindquarter

• 8% is the actual yield + 1% lean trim

• Result? Significantly lower productvalue than predicted.

When converted into monetary terms,

if you expect to make £10,000 out of a

boning batch and it only delivers £9000,

both margins and profits are seriously

affected.

At SI, we’ve spent many years, analysing food

processing data to find ways to address these

problems. By combining and analysing data

insights, we’ve shown our customers how to:

• Optimise raw materials

• Compare yield specifications for each product

• Uncover true variances

• Reduce waste and maximise profit margins.

No animal is ever the same, no yield is ever identical

SI’s clever applications optimise raw materials, compare product yield specifications, uncover true variances, and maximise profit margins.

In the meat industry, it isn’t possible to achieve complete consistency of raw material. This is because no animal is the same size, shape or weight and each one will have different fat content. Of course, this means that every carcass will yield a different amount of raw material.

To find out about more our work within

the meat processing industry and our

specialist modules, click here.

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Case study: Why cheese makers are now giving away less, thanks to SI

Excess giveaway has not only had a big impact on meat processors, it has also been a major commercial problem for cheese makers and processors.

As fixed weight and size is the most common way that cheese is sold, it’s the cutting process that’s critical to achieving the least giveaway as possible.

One of our forward-thinking dairy customers has

been working with SI to automate its processes

and, for the past 6 years, has used our integrated

reports to monitor its giveaway in real-time.

At SI, by capturing data at all key operations

within the cut and packaging processes,

not only have we been able to measure and

recognise the reasons for its giveaway levels, but

we’ve enabled our customer to understand the

potential payback on the investment in our work.

Our reports quickly revealed the significant

ways in which they could reduce giveaway.

This discovery proved to be the catalyst for

strategic investment in more advanced

cutting equipment.

Through continuous monitoring of its

performance (by measuring the outcomes

against their previous processes), they can

determine in real-time the giveaway savings

they have achieved. Now, with revised

processes recording every batch, our giveaway

reports are run every month to demonstrate

the investment payback.

With this data-led approach, focused on giveaway reductions, further efficiency and productivity gains, our customer was demonstrate payback on its investment in the SI solution in year 1.

A 1% reduction in giveaway on 1 million kilos of cheese at £5/kilo will deliver a saving of £50,000.

To find out about our work within the cheese

industry and our specialist modules, click here.

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All food processors have an issue with giveaway. The first challenge is to discover the amount of product you actually giveaway when its happening the most.

It’s too hard to stop giving product away!

That’s a statement we regularly hear from food

processors, whenever we talk to them about

how to manage giveaway more effectively.

But with SI’s help, we can prove to you that

when the time is taken to implement the right

processes, it pays for itself.

Many food processors purely measure

giveaway in terms of the final product

weights. But, if you are to understand how

best to reduce your giveaway, you must

first know what your real giveaway is.

This can only be achieved by monitoring

all your processes. This includes losses

from changeovers or cleaning, and always

weighing everything from raw material

intake to WIP and finished goods.

When giveaway measurements are only reviewed at the end of each day, you’ll know what the giveaway was, but you’ve missed your opportunity to reduce it.

However, when the giveaway is measured in real-time, then the window of opportunity opens to analyse processes and materials on an ongoing basis.

Of course, as your waste decreases

across your manufacturing operations and

margins improve, so your sustainability and

environmental footprint also improves.

Make the time to giveaway less and profit more

Food waste in the UK totals 10m tonnes per annum.source: Our Planet, Our Health Report, published by the Environmental Audit Commission

What does your giveaway look like?

Giveaway happens across every sector within the food processing industry. Key examples include:

• Losses within abattoirs and meatprocessing.

• Cutting and trimming losses.

• Losses encountered due tocontrol and production problems.

• Waste resulting from recipe lines,including overfilling and pastrytrimming.

• Equipment failure.

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Managing fixed weight giveaway

In the case of fixed weight retail pack,

tight giveaway monitoring is exceptionally

important. For instance, if one supplier’s

poultry consistently delivers less giveaway

for fixed weight than another’s, due to

greater size variances, then closer monitoring

of these batches will help to reduce

giveaway.

Equally, if you’re grading poultry products by

size or weight, and can inform the processing

line that a larger product type is due to

arrive, this could help them to make filleting

decisions about whether to reduce the

overall size of the chicken breast.

With closer monitoring and real-time data,

not only can you reduce the giveaway, but

your sales team will have the data it needs

to sell the trim on, increasing the overall

margins made on each bird.

As David McCarthy, Production Systems

Manager at Avara Foods (previously known

as Faccenda Foods), explains. “There are a

number of changes that we can make to the

way we process produce, to limit giveaway.

However, we can only change the

process if we know that we have a potential

giveaway issue coming down the line. That’s

where SI’s real-time data comes in.

“For example, for larger birds, we

might pull the mini fillets out of the

main muscle, to reduce the weight

of a fillet going into our fixed

weight robotic packing process”.

Thanks to SI’s real-time data, we’re able to make changes to the way we process products, as they are coming down the line, and limit the giveaway. Avara Foods

To find out about more our work within

the poultry processing industry and our

specialist modules, click here.

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Systems Integration (Trading) Ltd

food productivity softwareWith data captured from the weighed finished goods, we are delivering a real-time dashboard feed of yield and giveaway information to the areas of the factory that can actually make a difference to future runs. Avara Foods.

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At Avara Foods in Telford, SI has combined its live shop floor data with the latest in dashboard technology. Large-scale dashboards have been installed at strategic locations throughout its processing facility and back office operations.

These dashboards provide KPI data about the performance of each line, showing the giveaway results for the previous half an hour.

As David McCarthy, Production Systems

Manager explains: “With SI’s help, we’ve

created a really useful tool that uses our data

to support the production and planning teams

across the business.

“As we can view key metrics, such as giveaway

and general line performance, our line

managers and operatives can see in what

direction the giveaway is going and make

relevant changes to optimise performance.

All this information is available via the

dashboards, at exactly where differences can be

made. For example, within the factory it’s made

a real difference at our boning section. And

with everyone is the factory clearly informed

about progress, it’s also made a real impact on

our productivity, efficiency and on our margins”.

Case study: How Avara Foods makes the most of dashboard technology to limit giveaway

Systems Integration (Trading) Ltd

food productivity software

How Avara Foods’ dashboards are delivering the difference on the factory floor

From raw material intake to end-of-line packing; we know what we’ve produced, all the weights and resulting giveaway.

Now, we have a much bigger picture of our overall performance, which is excellent. Avara Foods.

To read more about our work with

Avara Foods click here.

If video does not open, paste the following link into your browser: https://youtu.be/7T9Yjw07vJI

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Using real-time data capture to improve productivity

“We worked with the SI team to create several

automated reports to feed our dashboards, both

line-based and office-based. Using these customised

reports, the live data feeds from each line are captured

and presented back to our teams.

“The reports are great at flagging up any issues with

production volumes, throughputs and giveaway,

enabling us to make the ‘in the moment’ decisions to

adjust what’s being done.

“Another benefit of every line having a dashboard, is

the difference to team performance. Each of the line

operatives can see what their team is achieving and

check their performance against the other lines. As a

result, individuals are proactively looking at how they

can improve productivity and perform better as a

team, particularly when compared to the other lines.

“It’s a bit of a culture change in relation to the whole

business. It’s made a significant improvement in terms

of productivity, reductions in giveaway and of course

it’s all benefitted the bottom line.”

“SI’s customised reports and dashboards have delivered significant

improvements in terms of productivity, giveaway reduction and, of

course, improving the bottom line.” Avara Foods.

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Determining mass balance for every batch, as fast as possible, is critical, particularly when it comes to working out the value and margins that can be achieved from secondary products.

For example, beef processors have a real

challenge when it comes to successfully

monetising bi-products from the core primals.

This is especially the case when customer

orders vary across each batch.

Knowing how much offal or fat is available to sell

or has to be produced to meet the order is just

one such challenge. And, for offal, mass balance

will be further affected if health issues, such as

liver fluke are detected. In this case, the volume

of secondary products available to sell will be

negatively impacted.

For more information, read our case study

on Baird Foods Services.

This is why it’s important to record data for

every part of the process, measuring the weight

of offcuts as well as primals. By knowing this

information, you can meet the golden rule of

100% customer order delivery, whilst also letting

your sales teams know what is available to sell.

The faster this information is made available,

the greater the opportunity to achieve the best

margins.

Mass balance

When inconsistencies or quality issues are found at the raw material intake, these need to be accounted for within overall yield and mass balance calculations.

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For Baird Foods Services, mass balance is a critical daily control for its pork butchery operations.

As the processor provides a service delivering industry-leading yields, it always mass balances productions runs to a minimum of 98.5%.

Kevin Horner, Baird Foods Services’ Factory

Manager: “When we developed our supply

chain solutions using technology and shop floor

data capture, we implemented critical controls

for every part of the pork butchery processes

that would be undertaken.

98.5% mass balance - that’s the minimum target

“In real-time, we can see exactly what is

happening on the line and make ‘in the moment’

decisions, ensuring we deliver the best quality

products to our customers. As a result, all of our

yield and mass balance data is transparent.

At the end of each day, we provide this

information as a report to our customers.

“When any product leaves our site and returns

to the customer, there are three core principles

which we always adhere to: yield, mass balance

and traceability. These three principles provide

our customers with the confidence that we

always follow the highest standards, processes

and procedures that we have committed to

carrying out on their behalf.

“It proves to them that the end product has

been produced from their own raw material

and that they are getting all of their product

returned to them”.

Audit and traceability, always delivered

with mass balance

Kevin continued, “For our business model to

succeed, having a system in place that records

and recalls all of our data is essential. Using

SI’s software, we can perform a mass balance

and traceability report within the space of 10

minutes. This reporting delivers full visibility of

every step of the process.

“SI’s set up a range of reports for us, with live

data feeds, that can be run in seconds.”

“For our first BRC audit, we were asked to carry out a full trace, right back to intake. We carried out the wholetrace, whilst they observed the process, in a few minutes.

“The auditors were shocked! They told us that they’d never seen a trace carried out so quickly, so completely, and with a mass balance built in!”

Case study: How Baird Foods Services mass balances every production run

At Baird, we have to provide a service that delivers industry-leading yields; we always mass balance all of our productions runs to a minimum of 98.5%.

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Systems Integration (Trading) Ltd

food productivity software

How mass balance transparency is core to Baird’s customer service and traceability

If video does not open, paste the following link into your browser: https://youtu.be/lqQjM3lbYDs

Paul Marston has been working at SI

for over 20 years. With a background

deeply rooted in the meat industry,

his expertise and experience has been

instrumental in the development of our

unique cost modelling software and

bespoke customer reporting tools.

Through collaborating with customers

across the industry and by applying SI’s

food ERP and modular software, Paul

has helped them overcome processing

challenges, improve productivity and

maximise profit margins through

demonstrable savings.

By developing our specialist reports

with our customers, Paul is able to

help individuals take full advantage for

the data insights SI and its modular

software can deliver. Whether it’s in the

boardroom, sales team or on the shop

floor, Paul has made data come to life

to support business growth, ensure

customers are audit ready and tackle

the issues of yield, giveaway and mass

balance.

About the author

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Systems Integration (Trading) Ltd

food productivity software

Lincoln House, Wellington Crescent, Fradley Park, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 8RZ

T: +44 (0)1543 444 555 F: +44 (0)1543 444 333 E: Info@sifoodsoftware.com

At SI (Systems Integration), everything we do is geared around helping our customers to run their perishable food businesses as efficiently as possible, whilst enabling them to fulfil their customer expectations.

Our customers rely on us to provide

superior levels of control, throughout

their businesses, delivering a real-time

understanding of what’s going on.

By working with us, and through use

of our specialist food ERP and MES

solutions, they can make informed,

effective decisions and fine-tune their

operations in real-time.

At SI, we know that a business

relationship is based on mutual trust

and understanding. We work alongside

our customers to get under the skin

of their operations and define the very

best solutions to fit with the way their

businesses work. With our combination

of unrivalled knowledge and our

proven Integreater food processing

set of modular software, specifically

developed for the challenging food

production environment, SI provides the

obvious choice for companies seeking

productivity improvements across

their operations.

Whatever the challenge, we are driven

by a common purpose, to ensure our

customers are always satisfied.

We never give up; we always take

ownership; we make our solutions

work for you. Our drive, tenacity and

commitment are the foundations of our

longstanding customer relationships.

Proven solutions delivered by food processing specialistsEstablished in 1992 by our CEO,

Rob Stephens, our team of food

production and business experts has

formed long-term partnerships with

leading food manufacturers across the

UK, the Republic of Ireland, USA and

Canada.

If you work in a challenging food

production environment and would like

to discuss ways to improve efficiency,

we’re here to help. Simply visit our

website to find out more or email

info@sifoodsoftware.com.

About SI