Good manufacturing practices (GMPs) in the food industry are in place to ensure that food products are manufactured in a safe and controlled environment according to stringent quality standards. Using manufacturing software helps to maintain—even exceed—GMPs in the food industry by adequately addressing GMP compliance.
Using manufacturing software for GMP compliance helps in many ways, such as organizing the manufacturing facility’s operations and enabling the proper execution of a GMP program. Such a system can bolster employee awareness, especially since GMPs are based on certain standards and regulations.
Automated GMP manufacturing software can especially help expedite processes related to product safety, quality assurance, control, and risk management. This is because manual systems tend to be much slower due to certain factors, like the use of pen and paper, human error, outdated data, and miscommunication.
GMP manufacturing software has specific features that can help achieve streamlined, quality manufacturing procedures. Among the top advantages of using manufacturing software are security and efficiency, but flexibility is yet another pro. This is because GMP solutions also work well with existing tools and can further optimize internal procedures.
These digital tools are also often easy to use, as they are designed to support quick onboarding and may even come with additional employee training for an easier transition between old and new systems.
GMP compliance can only be guaranteed if employees are fully aware of the standards and are properly trained for them. Let’s take a look at some of the specific ways that manufacturing software can help with GMP compliance:
Accurate product traceability
Product traceability is very important in food product quality management, and electronic logs can make this process much more accurate and easy. Manufacturing software can automatically note necessary product information and may even include machine and worker data for better transparency.
Advanced analytics
Manufacturing facilities produce large amounts of data, such as electronic batch records from various product line operations. Without proper software, this data remains unstructured and, therefore, useless. Manufacturing software can help analyze this data by sifting through it and providing comprehensive insights and reporting tools to yield accurate information about the operation’s quality state.
Media-rich SOPs
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), even for the simplest of manufacturing processes, can easily span several pages in a printed manual, opening up multiple points of failure in case some information is missed. Digital, media-rich SOPs make learning and instruction more interactive and engaging, providing employees with a clearer view of how to do things. Digital SOPs are also easier to refer back to when the need for troubleshooting arises.
Interactive training
Manufacturing procedures can be incredibly complex, meaning that employees need to be doubly careful during operations. Proper and thorough training is incredibly vital, so that employees can adequately minimize (or altogether avoid) mistakes that may undermine overall product quality. Additionally, newer features like virtual and computer vision-based technologies also aid in training workers as they perform actual tasks, giving them a more hands-on experience.