Drives & Controls September 2022

n FOOD & BEVERAGE How automation can tackle the F&B skills shortage I t’s fair to say the skills shortage facing the food and beverage industry is at critical level. A divided workforce, with different groups offering apparently opposing skill sets, poses a significant challenge. The latest figures show a chronic shortage of labour for lower skilled roles, with around 290,000 full-time workers having left the sector since the start of the Covid pandemic. Two thirds (67%) of F&B companies are now facing shortages in seasonal labour, and 72% in unskilled roles such as pickers and packers. This can result in delays in manufacturing and getting products out the door, as well as increased storage costs. The way forward is to establish a balance between the human workforce and new ways to automate processes. This will help and protect employees, optimise processes and improve product quality. As a company’s most valuable assets, employees must reap the benefits of any implementation of technology. It’s important to devise strategies for deploying or retraining them to carry out more value- adding tasks. The numerous manual tasks required to produce food create an enormous cost for manufacturers as they tie up valuable staff resources, impede efficiency, hygiene and safety compliance, and introduce unnecessary risks. Many routine tasks can rapidly become boring or frustrating, and the manufacturer’s key assets are not being used to their full potential. But which processes should be automated to improve efficiency, safety and sustainability? Examples of repetitive manual tasks include sorting and classifying goods, as well as aligning, orienting, filling and labelling containers. Other examples include lifting and handling boxes and cartons, replenishment, moving finished goods, quality inspection and warehousing. As employees stand for many hours and interact with machines, there’s a risk of postural harm or accidents – which can also affect productivity. Repetitive processes need to become Skills are in short supply in the food and beverage sector, especially following Brexit and Covid. At the same time, workers want more pay, greater flexibility, and careers they can be passionate about. Garry Lewis, Omron’s market development manager for fast-moving consumer goods, believes that the answer lies in a blended approach that combines automation technologies with the human workforce.