Our company is divided into product development and the actual production. I have worked in both parts.
The production is situated in four different buildings, and each building occupies different processes. Some of them are batch and others are continuous. For example, the production of the top selling cream is done continuously.
When we work on batch processes we receive a recipe from the team lead, originating from the product design department and is then upscaled to the production line. The raw materials are then measured out and brought to us. We then had to check if all amounts were correct and complete.
We then entered the order numbers and scanned the raw materials at the start of each batch. The computer then tells you which phase is currently started, and we had to manually add the different raw materials through the manhole. Once added, we had to confirm that the material has been added. You feel a bit like a monkey, just being prompted, completing and then acknowledging. Every state has to be confirmed by the operator – yes, the temperature has been reached, yes, I have really added the material.
Continuous operation is somewhat different. There are larger storage tanks for the raw materials and automatic dispensing into tins. You had to prepare the phases but that was not necessarily documented. Instead, the quality had to be assessed throughout the running of the production by taking samples and analysing them. The raw materials are added automatically, without our input, and the finished cream was then dispensed into tins. However, the flow rates needed to be checked on a regular basis, because sometimes the pumps switched to a different flow rate if there were some changes in viscosity, requiring frequent interventions by us.
In the production design department, the work was different yet again, because we received different recipes that might or might not have worked. The laboratory develops new recipes in 1kg quantities and we needed to scale these to maybe 50 or 100kg. We operators then help in scaling up because as operators, we had to know the production design process well, understanding heat exchanges, pumps and so on. The processes were all built by the same company, but some were brand new while others were 50 years old. Working on these new products was the most challenging task. Some of the equipment – because of their age – was also difficult to operator.
One of the mixers was really bitchy: when increasing the temperature by adding steam in a double-walled tank, the mixer may detect a too high temperature and then block completely. You then have to wait half an hour until the temperature has decreased again, open the control box and acknowledge the error.
We cannot change anything in the automation system because that is taken care of by an external company. My supervisor is more experienced and can change some control parameters, but new control structures are done externally. This automation company is called every 1-2 months.
When I started, I hated the production design department because I found the processes too difficult to manage and intimidating. Now I enjoy it, you have to understand the process, the pipes, the cleaning processes. And find the batch processes boring, just acknowledging the procedure. I also like that I am being appreciated and valued by my colleagues and the product designers because I can operate these sometimes difficult processes. I like when the process engineers come to me and ask for help because they don’t know about the process themselves.
The operators for the batch process are not taken that seriously, they are sometimes former bakers who have changed their careers and they don’t need to know the process well at all.
I really like when a pump breaks down so I can open it up and learn something. In the continuous line the mechatronics department is responsible for that, but in the production design I can do it myself.
I don’t think full automation is possible and we will always need an operator. There are too many manual interventions because there are too many different types of raw materials coming in different sizes and packaging. Sometimes we get small glass jars, sometimes large cardboard boxes or granulate. Occasionally, there is not enough of a raw material from one supplier and the raw material from the other supplier has a complete different texture, even though it’s the same composition.
The continuous production could in theory be fully automated but it is located in an old building and there is just not enough space for further automation.
I would like to be the person who has new ideas and can change things. I would like to be a process engineer because I think I have more ideas than the ones I have met. This is also because I know the process so well. I have ideas about saving water in the production. I would also like to work on new products that use less of the cancerous raw ingredients that we sometimes have to use.
Working with my colleague was nice but it took a while to get used to. When you as a young woman come into a team of older men this can be challenging. I started in 2018 just after finishing school and I experienced personality types that I hadn’t encountered before. This was a shock, I was a wallflower before. The experience has made me tougher. After getting to know the team better I even had fun but you need a good amount of humor. Some of the commentary is brash or saucy and I have learnt to ignore that. Now I feel supported and when I have to lift heavy items I am offered help.