EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR - SmartSlice 3D!
We all like machines or computers to be 'user friendly', but we often feel threatened by their ruthless efficiency. Machines are designed and made to do people's jobs. But that's not always the case!
Beak and Johnston Pty. Ltd of Greenacre, New South Wales, Australia, is a specialist producer of portion control fresh meat, pre-cooked ribs and roasts and ready-to-serve soups and sauces for retail, hotels, chain restaurants, catering and institutions.
B&J is a successful, fast growing company, selling their products at home and to the Far East. It only takes the absence of one or two butchers to cause problems in meeting order delivery times. This, added to the shortage of skilled labour, is one of the reasons why, in 1999, the company decided to invest in automatic portion control slicing.
Three portion control machines, including a SmartSlice 3D, were brought in for extensive slicing trials on the boneless beef production line. After exhaustive testing, B&J placed an order with AEW THURNE.
B&J's Production Manager, Greg Keep, has no doubts about why SmartSlice 3D was the eventual choice: "It won on hygiene, minimal product handling, speed, consistency, accuracy and payback. AEW THURNE's superb sales and service support counted for a lot too."
SmartSlice 3D has made a huge difference to the way we work - quality has improved dramatically, labour costs are down significantly and yields are improving. The butchers at B&J can now spend more time on preparation of the primal prior to slicing, which is one major reason for the increase in quality.
Consistent Quality
Quality control is a subject close to Greg's heart
and he has nothing but praise for the machine's ability to produce superbly
finished slices with accurate weight at speed all day long.
"Now I can have consistent quality with quantity without having to
worry about staff shortages, what's more, the machine doesn't have mood
swings and the guys like it because it's so easy to use,"said Greg.
Every year, B&J employees fill in a questionnaire which includes the
casting of votes for the prestigious "Golden Beaky Award" -
an award for employee of the year. The butchers voted unanimously for
SmartSlice 3D on the grounds that it made their lives easier and more
enjoyable than just working at a bench all day.
If ever there was an example of a machine being called user friendly,
this just has to be one of the best.
