How to define requirements for industrial food processing equipment

Selecting industrial food processing equipment should begin with the process that needs to be performed, rather than with a specific machine model.

The product, processing stages, production flow, capacity requirements, product handling, control functions and installation conditions all need to be understood before different technical solutions can be assessed.

A structured requirements specification provides a common technical basis for discussions between the food producer, equipment supplier and other parties involved in the project.

Start with the product

The first step is to define the products that will be processed.

Relevant information may include:

product category
product dimensions and format
variation between different products
how the product is positioned during processing
how products enter and leave the equipment

A production line designed to handle several different product formats may have different requirements from a process dedicated to one standardized product.

The characteristics of the product also influence which processing stages and process parameters need to be considered.

For this reason, equipment requirements should be based on the products that will actually be processed.

Define the required processing stages

The next step is to describe what needs to happen to the product.

Industrial food processing can involve several stages, including drying, smoking, cooking, other forms of heat treatment and cooling.

Not every product requires the same combination of processing stages. The requirements specification should therefore identify which functions need to be performed by the equipment and which stages take place elsewhere in the production line.

It is also important to understand what happens immediately before and after the equipment.

How does the product arrive at the process? How is it moved to the next stage? Is manual handling involved, or will the equipment form part of a more integrated production flow?

These factors can influence which type of equipment configuration is suitable for the application.

Identify the relevant process parameters

Once the processing stages have been defined, the relevant process parameters need to be identified.

Temperature and time are central parameters in many thermal processes. Depending on the application, airflow, humidity, smoking and cooling may also need to be monitored or controlled.

The relevant parameters depend on the product and the process.

It is useful to distinguish between:

the parameters the equipment must be capable of measuring and controlling
the actual process values required for a specific product

Product-specific settings and any critical process limits need to be established and validated for the actual production process.

The equipment requirements should therefore describe the control capabilities that are needed without assuming that one set of process conditions is appropriate for every product.

Define capacity in the context of the complete production flow

Capacity should not be treated only as an isolated machine specification.

To determine suitable equipment capacity, it is necessary to understand the production flow before and after the process.

Relevant information may include:

normal production volume
planned batch sizes
batch or continuous production
number of product variants
variations in production demand
capacity of the preceding processing stage
capacity of the following processing stage

A machine may have sufficient nominal capacity when considered on its own, but that does not necessarily mean that the same capacity is required by the production line as a whole.

Product changes, cleaning and other planned interruptions may also need to be considered when defining practical production requirements.

Plan product handling

Product handling forms an important part of equipment planning.

Depending on the process, products may be hung, placed on racks or trays, loaded onto trolleys or transported continuously through processing equipment.

The requirements specification should therefore describe:

how the product arrives at the equipment
how it is positioned during processing
how it is unloaded
how it moves to the next processing stage

When new equipment is being installed in an existing factory, these questions also need to be assessed in relation to the current layout and material handling system.

Available transport routes, working areas and operator access may all be relevant to the final configuration.

Consider the installation requirements

Food processing equipment depends on the technical infrastructure of the production facility.

The exact requirements vary between different machines and systems. Depending on the equipment, relevant utilities may include electricity, water, steam or cooling media.

Ventilation, drainage and available installation space may also need to be considered.

A technical requirements specification can therefore include information such as:

available floor space
ceiling height
available utilities
ventilation
drainage
access for installation and service
interfaces with existing production equipment

These conditions should be assessed at an early stage because they can affect both the equipment configuration and its position within the factory.

3D model of large industrial manufacturing equipment.

Include cleaning and hygienic design from the beginning

Cleaning and hygienic design should be considered when the equipment requirements are defined.

Food processing equipment and its installation need to be assessed according to their intended use and the way the equipment will be cleaned.

This can include factors such as construction materials, accessibility and the intended cleaning method.

The relevant hygiene and cleaning requirements will depend on the product, process and production environment.

Cleaning should therefore be treated as part of the technical requirements rather than as an issue to address only after the equipment has been installed.

Define the required control functions

The control system should correspond to the needs of the actual process.

It may be relevant to define:

which process parameters need to be measured
which parameters need to be controlled
which process times need to be managed
whether multiple process programs need to be stored
which process information operators need to access

Protech equipment uses different control functions depending on the type of machine. For example, Protech cooking chambers and intensive cooling systems monitor and regulate several process parameters.

The functions required for a specific project should, however, always be based on the actual product and production process.

Consider the equipment as part of a production system

A requirements specification becomes more useful when it describes the context around the machine as well as the machine itself.

This is particularly important when new equipment is being integrated into an existing production line.

A smoking, heat treatment or cooling process is influenced not only by what happens inside the chamber. Product handling, upstream and downstream stages, factory infrastructure and operating routines also form part of the production system.

Equipment selection should therefore be based on the complete process rather than on a list of isolated machine specifications.

From process requirements to equipment selection

A good requirements specification does not need to contain the final technical solution.

Its purpose is to describe the production requirements clearly enough for relevant equipment concepts and configurations to be assessed.

The product, processing stages, capacity, product handling, installation, cleaning and control requirements are all important parts of that description.

Once these factors are defined, there is a stronger technical basis for discussing which type of food processing equipment is appropriate for the intended production process.