Streamline Food Processing Output by Incorporating a Digital Display Strategy

Food processing, as defined by Wikipedia, is the transformation of raw ingredients, by physical or chemical means into food, or of food into other forms. Food processing combines raw food ingredients to produce saleable food products that can be easily prepared and served by the consumer.

Food processing typically involves activities such as mincing and macerating, liquefaction, emulsification, and cooking (such as boiling, broiling, frying or grilling); pickling, pasteurization, and many other kinds of preservation; and canning or other packaging.

With all the various methods involved, it's critical for companies to ensure quality while also meeting government standards.

Education, training, maintaining and updating facilities all work together to help keep the plants processing their food at the desired rate. And of course, no matter the plant, safety first is smart company policy.

So, how can food processing plants and manufacturing facilities in general help to better inform their employees while keeping things moving forward and adhering to safety protocols? The answer: develop, implement and execute a digital display strategy.

How to Implement a Digital Display Strategy

Incorporating a digital display strategy is a very important way to streamline manufacturing. By determining specifics, companies can keep the ultra-important front office to factory floor pipeline connected and running effectively.

A few specific areas to add to your strategy include:

1.) What are your goals of implementing your new digital display strategy?

Defining clear goals, action items and expectations keeps your messaging on point and your strategy moving ahead. Will the digital display cabinets feature announcements, offer real-time production output, do a combination of both?

All of these are important. Digital monitors and TVs attracts attention. The last thing a business needs is to confuse workers or worse, waste their time. Make a detailed plan of what it is that you want to accomplish and then put your plan in place. Last but certainly not least is safety. All the above can work flawlessly but an effective digital display strategy must also be a safe and compliant strategy.

2.) Where are the best locations to add your digital display units?

This question is crucial to the successful execution of your digital display strategy. You need to put yourself in the shoes of your employees, all of them (meaning everyone who will see the messaging). Choose high-traffic areas and ensure that the signage is not too high or too low. Safety matters so choose wisely! Ex. Inability to broadcast a critical announcement (like impending severe weather) in an expeditious manner.

This is also important for accessing the display to adjust the screen or add new hardware/software.

3.) What software/resources will you need to achieve your desired goals? 

When considering software, you need to again circle back and focus on your digital display strategy. Are you using display monitors, TVs or maybe a combination of both? Will you use the display to simply update your employees on company news or will you be using software that can streamline production? Even simple messaging requires the right program and successful implementation of the software.

This stage is also where to determine who should have access and what they have access to. Too many cooks in the kitchen can lead to confusion, which can lead to processing and manufacturing delays, which obviously, impact the bottom line.

4.) What electrical/technical/mechanical barriers stand in your way?

This is a big one as well. You can have your strategy, couple it with the best location and pick the software you need and still run face forward into the brick wall of construction and modification. Some food processing and manufacturing plants have specifically-designed facilities that cannot really be altered.

Something as simple as adding an electrical socket could prove to be just the opposite. Same thing goes for mechanical and technical barriers. Sensitivity to patented processes and the location of other production equipment (ex. Assemblies, sanitation stations, etc.) are definite concerns that must be addressed before you move forward.

5.) What content (messaging) will you be displaying for your employees?

Now comes the easy part, well, a lot easier than many of the above steps. Who are you talking to and what message are you trying to convey? By firmly defining your target audience, you’ll be able to fully communicate your messages no matter what they may be.

You’ll also want to consider a cadence for your digital display messaging if you’re highlighting one or more items, working through different production stages, etc. Be clear, concise and to-the-point.

6.) How to avoid over communication and distraction.

The last thing you need (after getting this far with your strategy) is too say too much, too little or talk to the wrong audience. All employees would love to know that the facility is closing early the day before a holiday. Conversely, all employees would not want to know that only front office staff were able to head out a bit ahead of schedule.

This builds from points four and five above. Select specific content, keep on message, use the necessary software and make sure that only those who have access to update your content can do so. This will prevent many headaches,

If you’ve got all the above in place, the last important decision you’ll need to make is what type of digital display will you use (TV vs. monitor) and how will you protect the signage?

Numerous food processing plants and manufacturing facilities already use The Display Shield and The TV Shield to handle messaging and to streamline operations. An extremely important reason as to why is simple. Our units protect and secure digital displays and signage in almost any environment.

For example, food processing plants must be kept immaculately clean. When the plant is operating, there will obviously be some parts of the processing that will need cleaned up at day’s end. The Display Shield and The TV Shield are easy to care for and can take the brunt of a pressure washer spraying the polycarbonate screen clean each and every day.

The front panel of The Display Shield is an industry leading .220 inch thick proprietary anti-glare LEXAN® polycarbonate which is perfect for direct viewing of the display and offers a complete defense against a flying debris.

The Display Shield has a semi permanently affixed front shield that is designed to stay closed at all times but does give plant operators the ability to remove the front panel in the event of a mechanical failure of your equipment. The Display Shield uses a custom security screw system that requires a specific tool to remove the front panel.

This makes The Display Shield completely tamperproof and provides optimum safety for your display. The cabinet also has a built-in 60 PPI filtered ventilation system and thermostatically controlled fans to keep the unit at the ideal temperature in most hot environments. This is particularly important in food processing plants that require boiling, etc.

No matter the need for a digital display cabinet, food processing companies as well as manufacturers can turn to The Display Shield and The TV Shield to help streamline employee communications while delivering quality products to their customers.

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