JBT’s PRoCARE preventative maintenance programs are being successfully put in practice across all areas of the food processing industry where JBT has a presence, including in the realm of ingredients, sauces and dressing elaboration where A&B Process Systems provides turnkey solutions.
Stratford, Wisconsin-based A&B, which became part of the JBT family in 2015, delivers tailored solutions for food processors worldwide which combine a range of equipment from stainless steel process tanks and vessels, to process modules and skidded systems.
Being able to offer customers PRoCARE preventative maintenance programs means A&B can help detect potential issues before they become problems, maximizing uptime and avoiding potential costly, budget-scattering production stops and delays.
A&B custom fabricates complete process systems into skidded modular process systems
Safety first
“PRoCARE has helped us to maximize our uptime and efficiency at each of our customers even during the pandemic,” explains A&B’s Joel Fernandes. “The food industry is considered essential, and plants need to keep lines up and running, so PRoCARE has been a definite plus.”
The preventative maintenance program, he continues, rules out complications that can arise in a busy food processing facility by applying actions, such as leak detection inspections, scheduled calibration services, remote assistance and parts replacement, among many others for A&B-manufactured tanks, vessels and other systems.
Of course, the size and complexity of such equipment make remote maintenance almost impossible, says Fernandes, meaning that having thorough safety procedures in place during the pandemic has been an essential requirement.
“Every single customer has their own Covid procedures, but additionally our team has to undergo Covid screening in order to execute their jobs, so the customer is doubly protected,” he says.
Proven benefits
Customer feedback for PRoCARE to date has been very positive, not least of which was from one of North America’s leading food processors, according to Fernandes, who says the company has been consistently upbeat about the program’s benefits and advantages. “One example of this is where our technicians fixed a leak that was found in one of their tanks during a preventative maintenance inspection,” he says.
Asked to sum-up PRoCARE, Fernandes puts it succinctly: “The program delivers maximum uptime, better financial predictability, and a reduction in the Total Cost of Ownership.”