Pro Tip: Bakeries need people with a full system understanding of the process to help create predictive tools that save money and eliminate waste.

Having upstream and downstream knowledge of your process system can assist in purchasing, repairs and troubleshooting, providing desired results without trial and error.

When purchasing assets, a holistic approach is crucial to getting the desired results. Consider a bread cooler, for instance. How will the product enter? The easy way or the hard way? How much skewing can be tolerated when the product exits? What product temperature range must the cooler expect at entry and what delta can be tolerated at product exit? What is the maximum product height the cooler can accept?

Product weight, product spacing and units per minute are all critical factors that must be defined. Knowing the system specifics and variables prior to placing an order can help determine exactly what specifications are needed to build into a request for quotation, commonly called an RFQ.

Quantifying the correct parameters can save you from ordering the right machine for the wrong product, and therefore, wasting time and money.

In addition, employees and employers who have a solid understanding of the ways each sub-system interacts to become a larger system will be able to troubleshoot issues much easier.

For instance, your product isn’t baking the way it should but where did the issue arise? Is it the mixing, the proofing or the oven? With a full system understanding, someone downstream of the oven would be able to notice a variation in the product and follow the system backwards to accurately pinpoint the problem and reduce waste and cost and time.

In the end, this data can lead to predictive tools to address an upstream control that can prevent waste further down the line.

Destany (Des) Wilson is the scheduling manager and administrative assistant at Brixey Engineering Inc. where she manages the company’s social media platforms and website content. In addition, she has assisted in the development of several preventative maintenance programs, inventory designs and data scrubbing projects.

You can connect with her on LinkedIn.