Dispatches from EU manufacturing food and safety summit
Product visibility is the Objective
More than 175 sites have been implemented with the firm’s software suite including working with Astra Sweets, Tropicana, Neuhaus and Inex.
Objective, formerly known as De Clercq Solutions, has grown between 10-15% over last few years and employees more than 50 people.
Jan de Coster, sales and marketing director, Objective, told FoodQualityNews.com that based on the visibility given by the system employers can take action to improve their processes.
Three pillar approach
Three pillars make up the software: manufacturing execution systems (MES), warehouse management systems (WMS) and workforce management systems (WFM).
MES aims to optimise production through controlling operators and machines, WMS looks at logistic processes, making optimal use of available space, completing orders in time and maximising stock accuracy and WFM is for registering absences and hours performed of employees.
“What we try and do is optimising increased efficiency in helping people reduce their costs and get their deadline achieved based on software tools for people on the floor,” said de Coster at the EU Food Manufacturing and Safety Summit in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
“It is helping companies measuring…through tracking and tracing. We are able to do food tracking and tracing from raw materials up to the end product, including the different production processes.”
The system supports compliance with BRC, FDA, HACCP, GMP and other regulations.
Visibility in the factory
In the warehousing and distribution environments this includes making sure people are doing the right things, there is visibility on deadlines and lead times are decreased, said de Coster.
“The suite gives visibility in what is going in and what is going out, food tracking and tracing which is important for the food industry.
“It helps to give you visibility on your production process, on production problems, on scrap by allowing people on the floor entering information in the system it gives them power, we call that operator empowerment, but also collecting data from food production machines.
“Planning is an important aspect as well, to make sure you have the right people and the right machines to produce what you have planned to produce in the ERP system.”
Objective is experienced with MES and WMS systems to allow companies to control and monitor your production, warehouse and operators in real-time.
He said the firm is not just about software programmers but has people experienced in the food industry.
“We know the needs of the industry and follow the regulations…we are not the editor of the software but we act as a systems integrator so we make sure as well that we integrate the machines on the floor.”
