A large, multinational bakery in the UK was having difficulty with the flexible sleeve connecting a weigh hopper and dough mixer. Inaccuracy in fitting meant load cells were affected and each time an hour of lost production was spent adjusting the connector to ensure accurate tare weight. Installing BFM flexible fittings has saved them over £40,000 in lost production.
The Challenge:
The traditional hose-clip fastening of the flexible connector feeding from the weigh hopper to the dough mixer was very fiddly to install. The potential for the connector to be fitted too tightly meant it interfered with the load cells and the lost time to refit it to ensure weight accuracy was extremely time costly in
lost production.
There was also significant dust leakage which was a potential COSHH compliance issue and required ongoing additional cleaning costs.
The Solution:
By installing a BFM fitting, the snap-fit, self-locating sleeve ensures consistent flexibility to prevent interference with load cells. The traditional sleeves were being replaced every
3 months with over 3 hours’ downtime per annum.
Since installing the BFM fitting, they have had 18 months with no downtime. The 100% dust-tight seal of the BFM fitting also means that the factory environment is much cleaner and the cleaning bills have also been greatly reduced.
DOWNTIME: Sleeve replacement time reduced
substantially – no downtime in 18 months.
HYGIENE: 100% dust-tight seal means no more
product leakage, less cleaning and better overall
factory hygiene.
INSTALLATION: Snap-fit, no potential to fit
incorrectly so no long, fiddly installations with
jubilee clips and screws.
HEALTH & SAFETY: New dust free environment
means it’s better for staff and provides greater
COSHH compliance.
“BFM is such a simple idea which translates into real benefit in our plant. It is impossible to fit BFM wrong and there is no build-up, so weighing problems are a thing of the past, saving us a small fortune. They are also 100% dust tight which reduces our cleaning bills.” – Maintenance Manager