At FrieslandCampina’s processing facility in Beilen, liquid raw materials – including milk, whey, and fat – are transformed into basic powders for infant nutrition. These powders are either further processed and packaged on-site or delivered directly to B2B customers.
The challenge
“While we operate according to established standards and fixed work instructions, like any process department, we regularly encounter non-standard situations,” explains Jeroen Hamminga, Processing Team Leader.
“These situations can occur during any shift, day or night, and often it’s the first time operators have encountered that specific issue. While you learn from mistakes, I prefer operators to know how to anticipate deviations. This requires access to expert knowledge and experience, which isn’t always readily available. Additionally, we sometimes lose valuable expertise when experienced staff retire. We needed a solution for this.”
Finding the solution
“We discovered ELICIT Online, who specialize in ‘getting knowledge out of heads,’ as they aptly describe it,” Jeroen continues. “Through a series of interviews, they quickly captured critical information about process deviations from our most experienced operators and technologists.”
The result is an online tool that guides operators to deviation solutions in just a few clicks. Jeroen provides a practical example: “Not everyone knows how to handle moisture anomalies in the powder since they occur infrequently. Now, operators can simply open ELICIT and navigate to the moisture deviation topic to see which parameters they can adjust to regain control.”
Improving standard processes
“One significant benefit is the improvement of our standard processes through consistent deviation handling,” Jeroen notes. “For instance, we previously experienced regular issues with process foaming. Now that we’ve documented the required operator steps and apply them consistently, our production has improved.”
“Faster deviation correction has reduced our error margin and improved average quality. While some employees are still adapting to the system, we’ve observed a clear decrease in support service requests. The tool itself is very user-friendly and clearly organized.”
Learning and cause-effect relationships
The program’s learning function has proved particularly valuable. Jeroen explains: “Beyond teaching new procedures, it clarifies cause-and-effect relationships. For example, our entire drying tower process is visualized at a glance.”
Additional benefits include:
- Knowledge testing capabilities
- Deviation reporting functionality
- Automated notification system for environmental violations
- Quick submission of wastewater deviation reports to relevant stakeholders
Support and satisfaction
“The support has been exceptional,” Jeroen emphasizes. “We receive prompt and valuable advice whenever questions arise. Overall, we’re extremely satisfied with ELICIT Online. We’ve found an effective way to handle non-standard situations, with action suggestions that are accurate, quick, and easily accessible.”
Key outcomes
The implementation has delivered several important improvements:
- Faster resolution of process deviations
- Consistent handling of non-standard situations
- Better knowledge retention and transfer
- Improved quality control
- Reduced support service requests
- Enhanced environmental compliance reporting
Relevant cases
FrieslandCampina: Faster in control.
FrieslandCampina Beilen develops and produces total solutions for the infant nutrition market, ranging from loose ingredients and basic powders to complete infant nutrition, including consumer packaging.
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