Miller Magazine Issue: 154 October 2022

62 COVER STORY MILLER / OCTOBER 2022 The mill must have a planned inspection and prioritized preventive maintenance pro- gram in place and all the relevant consumable spares available at all times. Planned maintenance when applied correctly will prevent breakdowns and lost time. Lost time is an unrecoverable cost to the company and loss of revenue. How to increase mill efficiency Ronald D. Sebastian Operations Management Advisor Milling Consultant Infestation prevention prior to storage of grain Infestation results in losses of raw materials due to the effect of the insects in the grain in storage. Insects can consume up to 5% of the total grain in storage. The inclusion of a phostoxin pellet or tablet dispenser in the grain flow just prior to storing in the silos, can combat infestation and prolong the storage time for the grain. The movement of the insects in the stored grain can also result in the generation of friction, which can then re- sult in spontaneous combustion in the silo. Pre-cleaning of the grain will improve storage capacity and prevent choking of dosing equipment, spouting during dis- charge. Removal of as much dust as possible enhances the grain life span especially if the natural moisture content ex- ceeds the normal requirements The process of monitoring, measuring and recording flour extraction is necessary on a regular basis (daily, weekly, month- ly or quarterly, at the least) to monitor efficiency and to take corrective action where needed. With extraction values, flour millers can ensure optimum financial performance commensu- rate with the product quality necessary to satisfy all customers. Extraction is also one indication, among several, of product consistency. Extraction is defined as, the targeted acceptable quantity of high-quality flour, desired by customers, to be obtained from wheat. There are three methods of calculating extraction, viz. On raw wheat brought to the mill against total of all prod- ucts obtained. On cleaned dry wheat conditioned then milled, against total products obtained. On the total quantity of wheat, passed through the b1 weigher, against total products obtained. For proper monitoring, the miller has to ensure that the mea- suring and dosing equipment is properly maintained and accu- rately functioning. Equipment used includes mechanical or elec- tronic batch weighers, gravimetric, constant weight, loss in weight (transflowtrons) or load cells mounted under bins, mechanical scales, flow balancers, variflow measurers (in some cases). In the screens room, the miller or screen room operator must ensure that all or as much of the impurities are removed from the grain. This is to ensure that, the wheat, in the conditioning process, will not be affected by the “impurities”, absorbing the moisture that is intended for the grain, to obtain optimum milling condition. Failure to remove these, can and will result in, out of spec- ification products. Products out of speck result in returns and rework. Returns costs are non-recoverable (a dead loss to the company). Millers often overlook the screen room and allow the operators to make adjustments that are not effective. Regular inspection and cleaning of magnets before high- speed equipment and the 1st break rolls must be done and