Tag

Food plant design-build

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3 Applications for Big Data in Food Plants

Big data comprises the large volume of data that businesses collect on a day-to-day basis. The question is: Are you taking advantage of it?

Data and analytics tools can be customized to meet your facility’s unique needs and goals — whether you simply want to gain insights to resolve certain pain points or install system-wide automation technology that takes your efficiency to the next level. 

Let’s take a look at three applications for big data in a food processing facility:

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Big Data in Food Plants: Short-term and Long-term Investments that Yield ROI

Today’s big data tools and technology can create significant cost savings in modern food and beverage plants — and the return on investment (ROI) can come in the form of reducing losses or improving production.

Every company has a different outlook when it comes to capital spending, though, with some focused on short-term investing and others taking a long-term approach. Let’s look at some short-term and long-term options when it comes to big data and analytics tools.

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Project Commissioning: The Key to Meeting Your Food Plant’s Construction Goals

Constructing a new food plant is more complex than ever. Increased competition, changing consumer trends, automation technology and energy efficiency are all factors that owners must consider.

Among all these moving parts, it can be easy for a plant owner’s original vision or goals to be lost or not fully realized. That’s why commissioning is becoming a critical part of the design-build process. A commissioning partner works with the owner throughout the design-build process to ensure their goals are achieved.  

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Maximizing Drone Technology on Food Plant Construction Sites [VIDEO]

Maximizing Drone Technology on Food Plant Construction Sites from Stellar on Vimeo.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are revolutionizing the way buildings are designed and constructed. Stellar leverages this technology on our job sites to make projects more efficient, accurate and cost-effective.

Here are some of the ways we utilize drones:

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AR on the Construction Site: See How Augmented Reality Benefits Builders and Owners [VIDEO]

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:

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Decision by Committee: The Pros and Cons of Group Decision-making

In recent years, more food and beverage companies have adopted a different perspective on decision-making. Rather than having one person making unilateral decisions, many businesses have shifted toward a “decision-by-committee” approach, where a small group of stakeholders are part of the process.

This trend is especially prevalent in larger companies that are adopting a more inclusive corporate culture. The goal is to foster greater pride and buy-in from employees by including diverse perspectives in decisions that affect them.

For example, I recently worked with several owners who utilized the decision-by-committee approach when Stellar was building their new food plant. These facilities are multimillion-dollar investments, and these leaders increasingly want to seek input from their employees who will be working in the facility and with the equipment every day.

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7 Cost-Saving Ways to Optimize Your Food Packaging Process

The economy is thriving, the labor market is competitive and disruptive innovation is shaping the present and future of the food industry. Food plant owners are always looking for cost savings, especially in today’s fast-paced market. Could your packaging be a ripe opportunity?

Let’s look at a few considerations for optimizing your packaging process.

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An Inside Look at the Award-winning Royal Cup Coffee & Tea Processing Facility [PHOTOS]

For more than 120 years, Royal Cup Coffee & Tea has been rooted in its hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Over the past century, Royal Cup has grown from selling coffee out of a horse-drawn wagon to a major international importer, roaster and distributor of premium coffees and teas.

Recently, in an effort to meet the demand of its rapidly growing consumer base, Royal Cup consulted with the Stellar team on how it could revamp its 40-acre campus to increase production as well as set the industry standard for safety and efficiency.

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Designing Food Plant Welfare Spaces to Attract and Retain Employees

Food and beverage manufacturing facilities in the U.S. today are experiencing a labor shortage, mostly due to a healthy economy and low unemployment rate. Turnover rates at these facilities are already high to begin with, so more food plant owners are looking to attract employees and increase retention rates.

Many of Stellar’s clients — whether they are building new facilities or renovating existing ones — are asking us to design employee welfare spaces to be more unique and attractive to prospective employees.

While processing areas are still the heart of a food plant, these spaces are increasingly being viewed from a personnel-focused perspective. Plus, break rooms and employee amenities are becoming more important for business than ever before.

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Augmented Reality in Building Design and Construction

Image credit: VisualLive‘s AR app, MobiLive

 

Augmented reality (AR) — superimposing computer-generated images on the user’s view of the real world — is increasingly used in a variety of applications today. From smartphone games and social media filters to furniture design and classroom education, this technology is being utilized across virtually every industry, and building design and construction is no exception.

In fact, exciting developments are happening at the intersection of AR and the work we do at Stellar. While it’s been used as a marketing and selling tool, we’re beginning to apply AR on job sites more frequently. It’s safe to say this powerful technology is revolutionizing the way buildings are designed, constructed and renovated.

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