Research shows that operational troubleshooting and technical service is by far the No. 1 use of remote technology for bakers, snack producers and any manufacturer involved in the packaging industry.

Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development, PMMI, pointed out that reducing costs, driving efficiency and fewer restrictions by IT departments have combined to bolster the popularity of remote access, but there is one more driver.

“By far, we’re seeing companies figuring out how to use technology to help compensate for workforce availability and close that skills gap that sometimes exists with operators and maintenance,” he said. “Bakers are sometimes forced to hire not the best candidate, but rather, the most available candidate, and that’s the person operating or providing service to the equipment. With remote monitoring and other technologies, these new operators and technicians can be empowered to do their jobs better.”

Justus Larson, vice president of operations, Franz Family Bakery, Portland, Ore., noted one of the biggest obstacles involves getting companies to buy into the benefits of remote technology.

“To anyone aiming to deploy telepresence technology, I advise selecting a person to champion the deployment, conduct preliminary trials with a select group of early adopters, identify and address possible challenges before full deployment, and make sure the IT department is engaged in the choice and implementation of the devices,” he said.

Karl Thorson, global food safety and sanitation manager at Minneapolis-based General Mills, said he currently has two priorities with remote access.

“First, I am trying to communicate the opportunities with this headset,” he said. “We’re still in the rollout phase, so we have finally gotten to the point where we’re now trying to institutionalize the use of this headset throughout the company and where we’re going to implement it going forward. Second, I would like to see one or more headsets at each plant.”

Many automated bakeries aren’t at the headset stage. Instead, they rely on providing remote access via their IT network. Izquierdo said that can cause some complications in packaging departments, especially where bakeries use equipment from various vendors. Software compatibility issues may complicate remote troubleshooting in some operations. 

Moreover, he said, an incompatible wireless connection or a fault in the data exchange can slow down the performance of the most state-of-the-art equipment. Many bakeries also have older and newer equipment on the same line, which makes it challenging to fix an issue remotely.

“When you invest in technology today, you must look at reliability, productivity and keep a close eye on the digital services and remote access to ensure they are compatible and consistent with the facility,” he advised.

Dave Watson, food, bakery and snack engineering subject matter expert at The Austin Co., recommended that bakeries begin to figure out which technologies can best adapt to their operations.

“I just see a whole world of opportunities with this technology, whether it’s remotely accessing systems on the plant floor or using smart glasses to conduct audits or bringing in multiple remote experts as you walk through the plant,” he said. “There’s no question that this will integrate with artificial intelligence at some point so that we can merge those technologies as well as the Internet of Things. In a nutshell, it’s exciting, and it’s going to change how bakers deal with troubleshooting and operational issues.”

For Thorson, remote technology does provide the solution to being in two or more places at once.

“If I want to get engaged with more capital projects and provide more support for the plants, how do I do that in lieu of travel with all of the costs and time involved?” he asked. “I hope this will increase my involvement in those processes.”

Overall, telepresence technology has come a long way.

“We encountered some challenges with these devices when we first tried them,” Larson recalled. “They were difficult to use and set up, had poor Wi-Fi connection, low-quality video and poor audio in loud settings. However, many of these issues have been resolved in recent years.”

This article is an excerpt from the September 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature one Remote Technology, click here.