Downtime costs are significant for food packaging and manufacturing plants. Sudden equipment failures cost time and effort to repair but may also create compliance challenges.
The result? Reducing downtime in the food and beverage industry is critical both to deliver ROI and ensure safety regulations are met.
Why downtime in food and beverage manufacturing matters
Profit margins are razor-thin for food and beverage manufacturers. According to data from the Food Industry Association (FMI), the average profit margin for these companies is just 1.6%. This means that even an hour of unexpected downtime can lead to a significant monetary loss.
Food and beverage companies are also subject to strict compliance regulations developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For example, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines require companies to identify critical control points and hazards, create monitoring procedures, and take corrective actions. Failure to ensure compliance with any regulatory standards could lead to sanctions, such as production stoppages, until issues are resolved.
No matter the source of downtime events, the impacts on food and beverage processors are substantial. In addition to monetary loss, companies may suffer damage to their reputation, especially if they can’t meet expected production quotas or ensure consistent food quality.
To reduce the risk of food and beverage plant downtime and enhance regulatory compliance, companies need to create maintenance programs that integrate industry best practices with trusted support partners. Here’s how.
Key actions to reduce downtime in food packaging plants
Knowledge isn’t effective without action. While understanding what’s expected of food processing plants is the first step in reducing downtime risk, companies need to identify areas for improvement and take steps to implement these improvements if they want to minimize potential failure.
To help streamline this process, we’ve created a maintenance checklist broken down by functional category.
Preventive and predictive maintenance
- Establish a preventive maintenance (PM) calendar based on equipment specs.
- Implement sensor-based condition monitoring, including vibration, temperature, and ultrasonic.
- Use thermography to detect electrical or thermal anomalies.
- Regularly analyze predictive maintenance (PdM) data to schedule interventions before failures occur.
- Monitor clean-in-place (CIP) systems to ensure consistent performance and cleanliness.
Equipment & operations
- Perform daily pre-shift inspections on critical equipment.
- Calibrate scales, sensors, and temperature gauges regularly.
- Replace worn parts with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) grade components.
- Use food-safe lubricants and proper PPE during all maintenance.
- Ensure spare parts inventory is always stocked for critical machines.
Training & team readiness
- Train operators on proper startup/shutdown procedures.
- Cross-train technicians for faster issue resolution.
- Maintain clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) and job aids for every workstation.
- Schedule refresher training on food safety and machine care quarterly.
Sanitation & safety
- Coordinate maintenance around sanitation schedules to prevent overlap.
- Clean all maintenance tools and carts before entry into processing zones.
- Check seals and gaskets for cracks or wear during cleaning cycles.
- Document all maintenance/sanitation work for audit traceability.
Continuous improvement & monitoring
- Track downtime causes via CMMS or digital work order systems.
- Review OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) monthly.
- Conduct weekly reliability meetings across maintenance, QA, and ops teams.
- Audit maintenance logs and revise procedures as needed.
- Engage a third-party maintenance partner for diagnostics and expert support.
It’s worth noting that reducing downtime is an ongoing process. Companies should regularly revisit this checklist to ensure equipment remains compliant and maintenance in food processing industry operations remains effective.
What maintenance support is available for food and beverage manufacturing?
Outsourced industrial maintenance services may include, but is not limited to, preventative maintenance, predictive maintenance, corrective maintenance, and emergency support.
Preventive maintenance typically occurs on a schedule and is designed to solve potential problems as early as possible. Predictive maintenance uses machine analytics to anticipate issues and resolve them as soon as possible. Corrective maintenance solves emerging issues, while emergency support provides service on demand if equipment fails.
Engaging with experienced maintenance support offers multiple benefits for food and beverage manufacturers, including:
- Skilled technicians — Skilled technicians who know food-grade machinery operations, sanitation protocols, and safety standards.
- 24/7 coverage — Outsourced services can offer 24/7 support and emergency maintenance services to ensure continuous operations and enhance overall performance.
- Multimachine expertise — Experienced providers support multiple machines, including conveyors, slicers, mixers, filling machines, refrigerators, and more.
Best practices for food manufacturing plant maintenance
While every food and beverage manufacturer has their compliance challenges—for example, a company that bottles carbonated drinks will have different regulatory requirements than a business that packages food with known allergens, such as shellfish or peanuts—several best practices can benefit any organization. These include:
- Regular inspection and lubrication
- Clear zone separation
- Documentation and traceability
- Ongoing staff education
- Scheduled maintenance aligned with production downtimes
What is the role of predictive maintenance in food safety
A predictive maintenance program helps reduce the risk of downtime by using data to identify potential issues.
Here’s how it works. First, install sensors and other technologies to track and report machine performance. This data is then compared with baseline operational data and combined with historical machine downtime to provide operational insights and trends.
Consider a refrigeration unit used to keep ingredients cool. If its baseline temperature, according to manufacturer specifications, is 37 degrees Fahrenheit, but its current temperature is 40 degrees and this temperature has been slowly trending up over the past three weeks, this suggests the need for predictive maintenance. While repairing the problem may require several hours of downtime, it is more cost-effective than waiting for the machine to fail.
Some common technologies used to carry out food and beverage predictive maintenance include vibration analysis, thermography solutions, ultrasonic testing, and sensor-based monitoring.
Managing reliability programs in food and beverage manufacturing
Effective maintenance programs underpin long-term reliability. But reliability monitoring and management don’t happen by accident. Instead, it requires the creation of a company-wide reliability program. These programs have five key components:
1. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) controls — RCM focuses on keeping critical assets up and running. For a beverage manufacturer, this might include bottling and filling machines. By prioritizing the repair and maintenance of these technologies and ensuring that processes are tailored to meet FDA/USDA requirements, RCM strategies help reduce the risk of downtime.
2. Data tracking through CMMS or APM platforms — Solutions such as computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) and asset performance management (APM) software can help companies track key data, including asset health and work order history.
3. Cross-functional collaboration — Quality management control, production, and maintenance teams should all work in tandem to ensure machines are proactively maintained and align with performance expectations.
4. KPI tracking — Companies should track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as mean time to repair (MTTR), mean time between failures (MTBF), audit readiness, and planned downtime.
5. Continuous improvement — Manufacturers should create a culture of continuous improvement that uses sensor data, staff feedback, and data analysis to improve operations.
Who provides maintenance services for food processing equipment?
As regulations have evolved and technology has become integral to food manufacturers thanks to the rise of interconnected tools, sensors, and databases, the third-party maintenance market has expanded.
The result is a host of choices for manufacturers. The challenge? Choosing the wrong partner can have significant impacts on both downtime and compliance. Key characteristics of trusted providers include:
- Knowledge of food industry standards
- Comprehensive technician training
- In-depth safety protocols
- Uptime guarantees
- Availability of emergency response services
- Additional services, such as consumer packaged goods engineering solutions
ATS offers customized solutions, embedded teams, mobile support, predictive diagnostics, and scalable plans. The data speaks for itself: In partnership with ATS, one snack manufacturer reduced their unplanned downtime by 63%.
Making downtime a thing of the past in food plants
Unscheduled downtime reduction means increased productivity and more revenue for food and beverage manufacturers. It also reduces the risk of non-compliance with FDA or USDA standards that could derail operations until corrective actions are taken.
Improvement starts with an assessment. Use our checklist to determine where downtime is most likely in your production line and what you can do to reduce the risk. Then, create an RCM-focused strategy that leverages reliable maintenance partners to proactively address maintenance requirements and keep food operations compliant.
Ready to make downtime a thing of the past? Contact ATS for your customized downtime tracking and reduction strategy today. Let’s talk.
References
Sarasin, L. G. (2025, March 20). What is the state of the food industry? How does FMI know? Food Marketing Institute. https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2025/03/20/what-is-the-state-of-the-food-industry–how-does-fmi-know
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (1997). HACCP principles & application guidelines. https://www.fda.gov/food/hazard-analysis-critical-control-point-haccp/haccp-principles-application-guidelines
