Continuous Improvement is Hot Track at NWFPA 2016 Expo

The Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA) is bringing together top speakers and company leaders in the food and beverage industry for the 102nd annual NW Food & Beverage Manufacturers Expo and Conference January 11 to 13, 2016, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. A hot track at this year’s conference is “Continuous Improvement,” where attendees will learn about the latest tools and techniques to improve food production, workforce effectiveness, overall equipment efficiency, and audit preparation in the 21st century.

On Monday, January 11, speakers Richard Tester and Shaun Mortensen of Amy’s Kitchen will discuss how knowing the score of overall equipment efficiency (OEE) is now the primary shop floor metric in the food and beverage industry. Their presentation, “Applying OEE to Deliver Cost Reductions in Food Plants” will provide tips on how to avoid pitfalls and improve the bottom line.

Also on Monday, speakers Jon Clement of Redzone and John Damon of OFD Foods, Inc. will present “Production System Approach to Continuous Improvement,” focusing on how to go back to basics with a systematic approach that encourages workforce engagement.

The continuous improvement track resumes on Tuesday with topics including the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Continuous Improvement” by Lawrence Green and Scott Salisbury of Sunshine Dairy and “Audit Ready: Quality Assured!” by Rob Archer and Doug Kutella of Pacific Foods.

The annual expo is the largest regional food and beverage conference in North America, attracting 440 exhibit booths, 20-plus educational sessions and more than 3,000 attendees. Keynote speakers include Jeff Manning, the creator of the "Got Milk?" campaign, and Frank Yiannis, vice president of Food Safety for Walmart. Other conference tracks include government affairs; business; energy efficiency and sustainability; training; and food safety and policy.

Register online at bit.ly/2016NWFPAExpo. For more information on breakout sessions, training classes and conference lodging go to www.nwfpa.org or email expo@nwfpa.org.