Manufacturing Renews Commitment to Safety and Training

In 2005 Fleischmann’s Yeast unveiled a vision that stressed a commitment to “rising to the challenge.” Manufacturing took that vision and outlined clear goals in the areas of quality, safety/environmental, service and efficiency. In 2006 all four manufacturing facilities celebrated a number of successes that will continue to be championed throughout the new year.

Food Safety Audit Reveals Excellence

In late 2006, all three yeast plants and the bakery ingredients manufacturing facility received a rating of Excellent, from ASI Food Consultants, located in St. Louis, Missouri. ASI looked at GMPs, or good manufacturing practices and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) verification as well as reviewed plant security measures. Detailed areas of the audit included scores on cleanliness, quality systems, personnel practices, documentation and operations.

“We celebrated our excellent grade with a party for all shifts, and the vice president of manufacturing served steak to all three shifts – including the midnight shift,” said James Parker, Memphis plant manager. “We try to impact a culture of safety by impacting individuals – even if that means that the vice president of manufacturing has to stay up grilling steaks all night to thank each and every employee.”

Creating a Culture of Safety

“Safety is more than a slogan at Calgary. It is a conviction that takes a team effort, and even the province of Alberta recognizes our efforts. Calgary continues to receive recognition from the government as a result of our safety record,” said Ralph Quinlan, Calgary plant manager.

Safety starts with culture, according to both James and Ralph, and management embraces this by communicating a clear vision and plan on how to achieve that vision. Building a culture of safety includes on-going training. All employees take part in behavior based safety training. Prevention also sets the tone. On-site quality improvement managers perform monthly inspections and all employees offer insights into continuous improvement. The culture of safety extends beyond the typical. For example, all Memphis employees receive safety tips with their payroll checks each month, and Calgary celebrated a recent safety milestone when Robert Hall, the vice president of manufacturing, presented first aid kits to all employees.

Caring about Food Safety and People

All four manufacturing facilities strive to produce consistent products by achieving the following goals:

• Quality: Make products that serve customer needs
• Product always within specification
• Free of defect
• Safety/Environmental: Build a culture of continuous improvement
• Implement safety and environment awareness programs
• Enhance workplace safety
• Dedicate diligence toward regulatory compliance
• Service: Ensure products are ready for shipment on-time
• Improve production planning
• Maximize equipment uptime
• Efficiency: Strive for better operations
• Leverage opportunities
• Optimize processes and procedures
• Pursue and share best practices

Fleischmann’s Yeast operates a total of four manufacturing plants in the United States and Canada. Dry, compressed and cream yeast are manufactured at the Montreal, Quebec location. Both Calgary, Alberta and Memphis, Tennessee plants produce compressed and cream yeasts. In Greenville, Texas the AB Mauri line of bakery ingredients with products such as baking powders are manufactured.