EVS Blog

A unique characteristic of products made by process manufacturers is that they can be purposefully ingested (food/beverage) or can accidentally be ingested, inhaled or absorbed though your skin (chemicals). Because of the close contact these products have with our bodies, process manufacturers are one of the most highly regulated industries in existence today.

Food companies deal with product labeling regulations that are not only demanding but, if done wrong, can be extremely costly. If you’ve ever read the labels on your food at the grocery store you’ve probably noticed that there is a consistency on all labels to have nutritional, allergen and nutritional statements on the container. Did you ever wonder what happens when a food manufacturers label is wrong or missing?
The product gets recalled.

As you can imagine, a recall is a very expensive proposition for food manufacturers. Something as simple as an incorrect allergen statement can cost a food manufacturer tens of thousands of dollars.

Chemical manufacturers reporting requirements aren’t quite as well known as food, but are as important. If a truck carrying a load of chemicals crashes, the driver needs to have a document stating what the chemical is and how to remediate it. If the driver doesn’t have the documentation or the documentation is wrong, the manufacturer will be fined unmercifully.

Similarly, for hazardous chemicals used in industrial or household applications, manufacturers are required to have material safety data sheets (MSDS) so users can know what hazardous materials the product contains and what do do if the products in ingested, catches on fire, etc.

Typically discrete manufacturers don’t have to deal with these types of regulations and their ERP solutions typically don’t manage these regulations. Keeping allergen/nutritional labeling and MSDS and other chemical reporting outside of the ERP is generally risky and could cost the company a lot of money if/when it messes up. Any ERP made for process manufacturing will have these regulatory compliance modules built in.

To continue reading this series, see the next article: Process v Discrete Mfg #7: Laboratory Function

This series of blog posts is mostly written from my experience as a process manufacturing ERP software SME (subject-matter-expert) though I have a hard time with a title that has ‘expert’ in it. For many years process manufacturing has been lumped into the general category of manufacturing with discrete manufacturers; it has been my mission for the past 15 years to educate people on the differences and how a process manufacturer can identify when an ERP is (or is not) made for their specific industry.

One of the most common and obvious features that process manufacturing ERPs have and discrete ERP has no use for is a laboratory module. Since process manufacturers mainly deal with food and chemicals they need to be able to calculate values while formulating a product. For example, a food manufacturer needs to be able to calculate nutritional values of products that they formulate. Chemical manufacturers need to calculate percentage solids, VOC, % pigment, etc for their formulas. Many times, specifications from customers or the sales team require them to meet certain vales of new products.

A discrete ERP salesperson will ask how you currently do your laboratory calculations now. When you mention that you use Excel or Genesis they will say to keep using the systems. However, having a disparate laboratory system creates significant issues. For example, when a chemist changes a formula he has to also change the BOM in the ERP. If the formula change creates the need for an updated product label, the compliance department needs to be notified and the proper label needs to be updated and used at the right time in production. How much does the new formula cost? Well, the purchasing agent needs to do some research to determine the last or market price of the ingredients then give them back to the chemist.

Seems like a lot of plates in the air at once, doesn’t it? Let’s assume that the chemist makes multiple changes to the formula over the period of a week and sends them out to the various departments as the ‘final’ then ‘final-final’ then ‘this is really the final one’ and ‘now I’m shutting down my computer’ version. If Excel spreadsheets are being distributed to the various departments, whose to say that the most current version is what everyone is using?

You can’t.

If you are a food manufacturer and send a new product out with the wrong label, you will have the huge expense and bad press of a product recall. If you are a chemical manufacturer and your Haz Mat label or MSDS are incorrect you could face huge fines.

Only when the laboratory function is part of the ERP can you control the R&D process; not only more accurately but more efficiently as well. When the laboratory and formula function is integrated to the ERP, the ERP can tell the chemist the last product cost (purchasing is off the hook), complacence labels can be printed from the updated formula and with the check of a box, the formula can be live and ready for production.

To continue reading this series, see the next article: Process v Discrete Mfg #6: Allergen/Hazardous

If I were to call you a “jerk,” it would be rude but… sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

If I call you a “terrorist,” I am stepping over the line of rude and am now at the level of hate-speech or discrimination.

If a US senator (or VP) calls someone, or a group of people “terrorists” they are wielding a very dangerous weapon. A weapon that shouldn’t be threatened unless they are ready to use it.

Let’s take a look at a section of the Patriot Act of 2001 which defines domestic terrorism:

Sec. 802(5) The term ‘domestic terrorism’ means activities that (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.

While I’m not sure how any leader in Congress or in the White House wouldn’t be considered a terrorist under this definition, I’m sure that going on TV and calling people a terrorist would, in fact, make them a terrorist as well….can a terrorist call a terrorist a terrorist?

When the government decides that you are a terrorist, under the Patriot Act, they can do some really nasty stuff – intercept communications, detention, freeze assets, etc. The Act is a creepy piece of legislation, you should read it sometime.

Whether used in jest, out of frustration or trying to undermine a political foe, our legislators and leaders need to be more responsible with their words. In the absence of responsibility, they should be held accountable for the threats they wield, as they are very serious.

This is the last of my politically charged entries for a while; at least until the next infuriating incident happens:-) . Ok, back to process manufacturing….

Let’s first cover a few definitions. Discrete manufacturing is the assembly of widgets, process manufacturing is the blending of goop. Mixed mode manufacturing refers to products that require both blending and assembly. Can you think of a product that needs both blending and assembly?

(tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, DING) Okay, times up!

I’ll let you in on a little secret (shhhh, don’t tell anyone); most process manufacturing is actually mixed-mode. So the answer to the question is almost every single product made in the food and chemicals industry. Think about it, a bakery blends dough (process) then packages the bread (with a bag, label and 1/12 of a case) which is a simple assembly (or discrete). Any blended item that is packaged requires at least some type of discrete or BOM function.

So how do BOMS and Formulas differ? Let’s start with formulas:

A formula is essentially percentage-based (40% sugar, 40% flour, 20% eggs). Whether the percentages are expressed as percentages or more discrete numbers (30# sugar, 30# flour…)doesn’t really matter. A formula can be sized to meet a certain weight or volume; so our formula above, a 1,000# batch will require 400# of sugar. If you size the batch to 33.2# you would use 13.28# of sugar. Formulas should be able to use both weight and volume units of measure and be able to interpret to a total formula weight and total volume. If you put 40# of sugar and 40 gallons of flour in a blender, how many total pounds and total gallons would you have? Note, we’ll talk about density later. A formula is where your R&D lab spend their time doing product development.

A BOM assumes that you are going to assemble discrete parts; 1- desk top, 4-legs, 16-screws. You will always scale the BOM as a multiple of one. You would never scale a BOM to 150 pounds of desks or 37.2 desks. Many times discrete systems will tell you to simply make the BOM equal to one pound or one gallon then size based on a factor of one, again, this looks good in a demo but is a disaster in operation.

But, since process manufactured items require a BOM for packaging, we need a BOM. Can an ERP have both a percentage-based formula and a BOM? Yep, in a real process manufacturing ERP software you will. A finished good definition will have both a formula and a fill quantity as well as a packaging BOM.

To continue reading this series, see the next article: Process v Discrete Mfg #4: Batch vs. Work Order

My friend is celebrating today, as he was able to get a new credit card. As you may recall, my friend has a spending problem. For every dollar he spends, 43 cents goes and stays on his credit card. He told the bankers that he would put $10 from every paycheck towards principal on his existing maxed-out cards so that in 10 years he will have paid off 20% of the existing balance (no mention of putting money on the new credit card that he will soon max out). I guess that satisfied the bankers for now.

Whether you believe that the credit card is justified since he ‘needs’ to spend more money or whether you believe he needs to get his finances in order; simple mathematics will always apply. Whether we are talking about the average Joe US citizen or the government; if you continually spend more than you make, you will eventually have a day of reckoning.

Moral or social ‘duty’ will never trump simple math. The most brilliant financial minds in the country will never trump simple math. A negative added to another negative will always be a bigger negative. An ever increasing debt will eventually reach a point where the debtor cannot even pay the debt service, much less the principal; it’s simple really.

But for now, let’s celebrate! For we are back to business as usual!!!