Augmented reality (AR) is a powerful tool on Stellar’s job sites. Today’s AR technology is revolutionizing the way we design and build facilities, making construction projects more efficient and ultimately saving owners time and money.
Stellar leverages augmented reality in three major ways:
As Henry Kissinger said, “If you don’t know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.” But how do we develop an effective roadmap when the industry is in a state of transformation? During our Food Engineering webinar last week, co-host Diane Wolf and I discussed the importance of a strategic plan when preparing for your food manufacturing business’ future.
Continue Reading “How to Evaluate Market Trends to Grow Your Food Business”
As a food processing design build firm, it’s the first question we ask our clients—are you planning to insure through Factory Mutual Insurance Company (FM Global)? As the preferred insurer for most commercial and industrial projects, Factory Mutual has rigorous specifications and standards so it’s important to address those requirements during the initial food processing design phase, whether you’re planning new construction or an expansion.
So you want to incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning into your food processing facility — but where do you start? These tools have grown increasingly popular, and you’ve likely heard people discussing different platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. But how do you get access to these tools and what can they do?
When it comes to introducing machine learning to your processing, think of it as a three-tiered ecosystem:
1. Service providers (AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure)
2. IoT solutions partners (system integrators, data experts, etc.)
3. End users (Facility operator, plant owner, etc.)
Continue Reading “Machine Learning and AI in Food Plants: Where to Start”
Nearly two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, consumers continue to rely on daily comforts for moments of normalcy in uncertain times. Coffee is at the top of that list.
For years, coffee has earned a top spot among America’s favorite drinks. In a recent national study, the National Coffee Association found 60% of respondents had a coffee in the past day, more than any other beverage — including water!
While it’s a safe bet that coffee will continue being the beverage of choice for many Americans, how they drink it is constantly changing, and the food and beverage industry needs to stay on top of these evolving trends to stay competitive.
We’ve pulled together some of the hottest trends to watch in 2022.
Continue Reading “5 Coffee Trends to Watch in 2022”Food safety has never been more important at processing and manufacturing facilities.
One in six Americans gets sick every year from eating contaminated foods, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plus, the problem is only growing: Food safety regulators in the U.S. are recalling about twice as many products now as a decade ago.
While there are numerous best practices for incorporating food safety into the actual processing, employee welfare areas are a critical point of potential risk that can’t be ignored. This is especially true for facilities that have both raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) operations.
Let’s examine the various touch points employees encounter at a facility and how to design these spaces to maximize food safety.
Continue Reading “Recalls on the Rise: How to Design Food Safety into Employee Welfare Areas”
CO2/NH3 cascade systems offer food processors a practical way to increase efficiency. By using two centralized refrigeration systems working in unison to provide cooling temperatures, they maximize the effect of carbon dioxide and ammonia. The high-temperature system pulls heat away from the low-temperature system, which in turn uses recirculated liquid to cool the evaporators.
Cascade systems that use CO2 as a secondary refrigerant offer unique advantages. Carbon dioxide is nontoxic and nonflammable, and is also less likely to damage food products in the event of a release. For food plant owners, CO2/NH3 cascade systems offer six key benefits, which are detailed below.
Continue Reading “[Infographic] 6 Benefits of a CO2/NH3 Cascade System”
Ensuring security and safety at your food or beverage plant has never been more important. Facility owners are increasingly considering how to best protect their product, investments and, most importantly, their employees. Following 9/11, the government even increased security regulations for these processing plants that are so integral to the nation’s food supply.
Of course, no amount of planning can absolutely guarantee safety or prevent an incident, but these design measures are effective at discouraging threats and improving security.
At Stellar, we’ve built numerous food plants, and we’re constantly exploring and designing new security measures into our projects. Here are seven ways to increase safety at your facility:
Continue Reading “7 Security Measures to Increase Facility Safety [Infographic]”
While we’ve already blogged about ways to determine the fitness of your refrigeration compressor, it’s important to pay attention to the big picture as well. Ensure you keep up with the the health of your entire refrigeration compressor package, as failure to check components including the motor, control panel and suction superheat, can cause major failures. Here are the 14 key factors to check within each component of your compressor package.
Equipment manufacturers play a key role in the food safety program of a food processing plant, ensuring that equipment is designed and built to meet stringent sanitary requirements. Plant owners often spend significant time and money to acquire the right equipment with the proper sanitary construction. Yet once that equipment is designed and delivered, the next critical step is ensuring that it’s installed properly, within those same sanitary standards. If you do not carefully screen installation subcontractors, you could put your plant at risk of a food safety issue.
Continue Reading “Sanitary Process Installation: What to Ask When Selecting a Subcontractor”
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![[Infographic] 6 Benefits of a CO2/NH3 Cascade System](https://stellarfoodforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/6-Benefits-2.png)
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