Enhanced production scheduling in the food manufacturing industry with Proficy Scheduler

Palsgaard develops and produces emulsifiers and stabilizers for a wide range of food manufacturers worldwide. The company is specialized within products for bakery, confectionery, dairy, ice cream, margarine, and dressings. Additionally, they produce emulsifiers for the polymer production and cosmetics industry.

Production scheduling in the food manufacturing industry presents unique challenges that are difficult to accommodate due to the need for precise timing, sequencing, and compliance with strict regulations, alongside managing unpredictable demand, allergen risks, shelf-life constraints, and resource limitations, all of which demand highly flexible and specialized scheduling solutions.

These challenges were all something that Palsgaard struggled with before Proficy Scheduler. Production Planner at Palsgaard, Christina Elstrøm Jensen explains:

“We have deadlines and products that must progress through production within fixed time frames. We have restrictions relating to shelf life and storage capacity. We have storage volumes of up to 130 tonnes. With such large volumes, it is critical that we meet deadlines – should we fail to do so, the consequences are enormous. In other areas of production, the main issue is allergens. One production plant operates with as much as 6 allergenic groups that must be processed in a fixed sequence, to avoid carry-over. Here Proficy Scheduler is crucial because it provides a full overview of the allergens, and it is easy for us to determine which products that belong in a given allergenic group.”

Palsgaard implemented Proficy Scheduler to control their production, as they needed a highly flexible and specialized scheduling solution to effectively accommodate the complexities and improve their overall production efficiency. With the implementation of Proficy Scheduler, Palsgaard was able to meet all the stringent requirements and demands of the food manufacturing industry, ensuring precise timing, sequencing, and compliance with regulations.

“The overview provided by Proficy Scheduler enables us to be more precise in offering delivery times to customers, and we also save time and as we all know, time is money. Production is much more flexible today, and we can very quickly determine, for example, whether we have the capacity to take in rush orders or not. Proficy Scheduler makes it much easier for us to manage our many semi-manufactured products. Products are processed in segregated stages, and today production has a full overview of when they need to move the product from one group to the next and when they need to carry out extra cleaning cycles. There will always be residue left in the machines; we cannot get around this fact by simply introducing fixed sequencing. However, the consequences of carry-over are carefully monitored and controlled with Proficy Scheduler,” Christina explains.

Managing multiple product variants and lines in production presents significant challenges. Companies must coordinate the transportation of products between different production areas, ensuring that delays in one area do not adversely affect another. This requires a clear overview of the consequences of any scheduling changes. Additionally, some products must meet strict time constraints, such as leaving a production area within a specific timeframe, necessitating precise scheduling. Predicting potential problems and initiating pre-emptive measures are crucial to avoid downtime, changeovers, and extra cleaning. Christina emphasizes:

“Palsgaard operates with multiple product lines, and Proficy Scheduler makes the connections between them visible. We transport products from one production area to another, and if we fall behind schedule, we are immediately able to see the consequences of the delay for the second area. This makes it possible to make qualified decisions about how we can mitigate any delays. Some products must leave the production area within 8 hours and this makes it necessary to have a clear overview of the consequences all way round. We try to pre-empt problems. Proficy Scheduler helps us predict a lot of the potential problems so that we can avoid downtime, changeovers, and extra cleaning. It really is important to be able to predict potential problems and to act promptly by initiating pre-emptive measures.”

“Proficy Scheduler makes it possible to see the consequences of various scenarios, so that we can schedule activities optimally. If we predict delays, we can handle these more efficiently. We are also able to reallocate the employees affected by the delay. We are simply much better prepared now. Scheduling is like a jigsaw puzzle where you constantly pull the bits apart and reorganize them to make them fit more neatly together.”