New Data Platform for the Food Industry

Following a successful presentation by TOMRA Sorting Recycling last year, TOMRA Insight is now being offered to customers through TOMRA Mining, TOMRA Food and Compac, a member of the TOMRA Food family. The platform is being enriched with new features and functionalities for all these industry sectors. With TOMRA Insight, sorting and classification machines become cloud-connected devices, generating valuable production data. This data is securely stored in the cloud, converted into actionable information, and can be accessed from anywhere via a suitable web-based interface from desktop and mobile devices. TOMRA Insight's data collection capability assists food processors in real-time and retrospective operations. Since product quality is continuously monitored, machine operators can quickly and optimally adjust machine settings the moment product quality on the line changes. Additionally, since TOMRA Insight provides deep data previously inaccessible, customers can now base operational and business decisions on more complete information. As part of TOMRA Insight's subscription service, TOMRA engineers assist customers monthly in analyzing important data. Accurate and timely comparisons across multiple sites, shifts, batches and seasons are now possible. Felix Flemming, Vice President of TOMRA Sorting and Head of the Digital Division, stated: "Thanks to TOMRA Insight, which captures and uses valuable data, sorting has evolved from an operational process into a strategic management tool. With continuous development tailored to customer needs and priorities, this tool is becoming increasingly powerful. New functions and features are released to the market every three weeks. This is the customary result of TOMRA's work in establishing close relationships with customers in pursuit of shared objectives."

Many advantages for food processors

The performance metrics collected by TOMRA Insight provide food processors with benefits in many ways. By monitoring machine health and performance and providing predictive and conditional maintenance support, downtime is reduced. Production is maximized by integrating sorting equipment according to product quality evaluation as it passes through the line. Productivity is improved by identifying production gaps and analyzing possible root causes. Since decisions can be based on correct data concerning product composition, targeted quality in sorting is more easily achieved. Operations are simplified as spare parts ordering becomes easier and access to data and documentation becomes more flexible. Jeffry Steemans, Digital Product Manager at TOMRA Food, stated: "Food processors participating in pilot studies report that their investment in TOMRA Insight will pay for itself within weeks. At these facilities, product quality improved, production volume increased, waste decreased and productivity rose. Additionally, customers say they are very satisfied with the transparency that allows machine operators to access information and make more sound decisions." The Jersey Royal Company is one of the food processors who experienced TOMRA Insight early and now benefits from the subscription service. Located in Jersey, part of the United Kingdom, this company produces Jersey Royal fresh potatoes, which have earned international renown in the Channel Islands. This operation grows, washes, classifies, packages and supplies approximately 20,000 tons of potatoes to the supply chain annually. Four of this company's sorting machines (one Halo and three TOMRA 5A units) have been connected to TOMRA Insight for over six months, convincingly proving the platform's effectiveness. Andrzej Kopacz, Operations Manager at The Jersey Royal Company, said: "TOMRA produces the 'Rolls-Royce' of sorting machines and TOMRA Insight provides powerful support for these machines. Using the information we get from Insight, we can now manage product quality more precisely and meet customer expectations, improve product control and classification processes, see where sorters need help to hit their targets, reduce waste and use equipment with lower downtime. We can also provide better feedback to our producers. For example, if we detect too many green potatoes arriving for processing, we track it immediately. For us, it is very clear that TOMRA Insight is worth having." Food processors interested in TOMRA Insight can request a demo by contacting their local sales manager or the TOMRA team directly at http://insight.tomra.com.