One of the most massive industries in the nation is the food processing industry. With this industry, there is little to know chance of growth being stunted because people will always have to eat, so they’ll always have to buy food. One way that many food processing factories are keeping up with this consistent growth without downgrading quality is by employing factory automation.
Nowadays, in modern food processing and packaging factories, you’ll find endless types of machinery from automated cutting and forming, wrapping equipment, and sorting machines. These types of machines have now become a necessity in order to keep up with production levels, maintaining quality control and increasing profit margins.
One big reason many plants and factories are turning to a more robust automation is to reduce injuries in the work place. When employees are working on the assembly line, there is a greater risk of injury. However, with machines and equipment performing the work, the risk of injury to employees is drastically reduced. In addition to reducing injuries, cross-contamination is also reduced or eliminated through automation because human contact with food products is reduced.
This high level of automation doesn’t mean that human labor will be entirely eliminated, however human labor will begin shifting. Rather than packaging, sorting, and other tasks, employees will become machine operators that know how to run the machinery and ensure that quality and efficiency is maintained. This means that employees will likely have to have higher levels of training and education to keep up with the ever changing technology that comes with factory automation.
