Tools of the Trade

With food and beverage manufacturers under increasing pressure to maintain high safety standards, it’s vital to work with suppliers on tool traceability 

Health and safety in manufacturing is an issue that receives the utmost respect from companies in the food and beverage sector. Most manufacturing firms prioritise the safety of their workers in potentially risky environments, but in the food and beverage sector there is the extra dimension of protecting the customers who will be consuming the products they have made. 

Organisations in the food and beverage industry are responsible for ensuring that no foreign elements or contaminants enter the products they produce – getting this wrong could have drastic consequences for a business. 

Nonetheless, accidents involving employees still occur, with 135 workers killed in work-related accidents in 2022/23 and 561,0000 workers sustaining a non-fatal injury during the same time period. These statistics reinforce the importance of businesses complying to all applicable health and safety legislation, such as ISO22000 Food Safety Management, issued by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), both for employees and consumers. 

An essential aspect of this is a manufacturer’s Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) strategy. It is important that the products and parts ordered for MRO provide part of the solution, rather than causing further problems. 

Supermarket pressure
Companies are under significant pressure to maintain the highest safety standards from their customers. The major supermarket chains are, understandably, incredibly careful when it comes to their suppliers’ safety standards. They regularly conduct unannounced audits of suppliers’ premises to ensure that they are maintaining the highest standards at all times.

One of the factors that companies will be judged on is the traceability of their tools. Craig Stasik, Industry Sector Manager at RS,  explains that this is a crucial element of safety compliance for food and beverage manufacturers: “Tool traceability is absolutely key to this sector – all tools need to be accounted for at all times so that these companies can be confident that no objects find their way into the production and no contamination takes place,” he says. 

In practice, this means that when engineers go into the food processing plant to carry out repairs, it’s essential that no errant tools or parts get anywhere near the consumer product. As such, companies need a way to ensure that every tool that goes into the factory is safely returned to a storeroom once work has been completed. 

“At RS, we work with a company to decide on the right tool brand that suits their individual needs and then we look to tailor the toolbox so that it is bespoke for the engineers’ needs,” explains Stasik. “The idea is to have nothing in the set that doesn't get used. In addition, tools are provided in colour-coded foam cut out housing so that it’s obvious when something is missing at a glance.” 

This type of storage solution also means that it is quicker and more efficient for managers to audit the tools to ensure that they have not been misplaced, lost or left on the production line or taken home by engineers – a practice that’s not unknown in the industry and creates a high risk of contamination. Other steps companies should consider is introducing a clear method statement for engineers so that if a tool breaks, the engineer will write a report clearly saying what has happened and where it happened so that a risk assessment can be carried out. 

Clear safety procedures
Maintaining these sorts of safety procedures is vital because when a supermarket audit happens, the inspectors will look at tools closely to make sure that everything is accounted for and there are no signs of contaminants present on the tools or around the areas where they are stored. The consequences of getting this wrong range from an official warning to fines, through to having products dropped from a nationwide supermarket chain, which could be devastating for the business. 

Putting the right safety measures in place, particularly when it comes to tools, requires a collaborative relationship with suppliers and tool manufacturers according to Stasik. “It's mutually beneficial for tool manufacturers, suppliers like RS and food and beverage companies to all work together to get tool safety right,” he says. “The first step is to visit the company, discuss their set-up and the sort of issues they want to resolve, and then to look at the type of products that will enable them to do that. 

“We work with key suppliers like Stanley Black & Decker who are supporting us so that we can provide total traceability for tools,” he adds. “That can mean toolboxes and shadow boards, all the way through to electronic tags to identify where the tool is and where it should be. We’re constantly evolving and developing new technologies which fundamentally help change the face of maintenance in the modern world. It’s key that we understand these technologies and use them to create value for our customers.” 

Consolidate suppliers
Overall, when it comes to MRO as a whole, there are clear advantages in consolidating suppliers and standardising product ranges. This is both in terms of cost, but also around the continuity of service companies receive and the warranty they get on tools. By choosing a single or small group of suppliers for access to the type and quality of tools, it will help ensure maximum efficiency and safety. 

“By rationalising the brands that a company uses, to ideally just one brand across multiple sites, it’s possible help the business to be more efficient and to reduce costs by removing unnecessary duplication of tools or spending too much on non-approved products,” says Stasik. “We are currently working with a well-known bread manufacturer to help them with this issue. They buy tools from a wide range of suppliers using a variety of brands, so we are now putting together bespoke tool packs for their individual engineers using one brand across the business. 

“This allows them to monitor their spend on these items. They can also easily see if any tools are missing since they are housed in foam inserts, and if any tools break, they will know what warranty they have on them.” 

The relationship between suppliers and customers is always evolving and innovations can help to improve tool traceability and efficiency. Customers are always making new demands of their suppliers, and tool manufacturers are always trying to create new products and solutions in response.  

An example of this is the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in tools. This means an engineer can use a pass card to access the tool while their ID is logged, then if that tool is not back in its cabinet within a set time, an alert is sent to the engineer’s line manager. There are also scanners that can search for missing tools and identify where they are via their chip.  

This is the future for tool safety, and it is available today. 

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