Oven maintenance refers to all the procedures and activities carried out to preserve the initial operating conditions mechanical, thermal, and electrical of an oven and and its parts. Oven maintenance is a key component of the whole plant maintenance program. Members of staff in purchasing, maintenance, quality, and operations departments should pay special attention to the oven.
With energy prices at their highest levels in a decade, maintaining a furnace’s efficiency is more important than ever. With high energy prices, furnaces need to focus on furnace maintenance to burn less and save more.
However, sometimes this is an idea that is easier said than done. This is because furnaces are not able to hire maintenance staff and furnace engineers as in previous years. As a result, even basic tasks such as maintaining the burners, the heart of a kiln, are often overlooked.
Experts give simple tips such as rotating the strip burners regularly in the maintenance workshop instead of trying to do it all at once. Keep a few extra burners on hand so that the maintenance department can continuously clean the burners and keep them tuned as part of strict preventive maintenance.
Another tip is to check the furnace installation, which can be damaged by improper maintenance or become less effective if the layers get water. In addition to retaining heat, a well-insulated furnace can improve working conditions by reducing heat loss entering the furnace, especially during the hot summer months.
Oven maintenance refers to all the procedures and activities carried out to preserve the initial operating conditions mechanical, thermal, and electrical of an oven and and its parts.
Oven maintenance activities should focus on the: “Scheduled inspection of the oven’s overall status. Replacement of loose/flaking, worn, rusty, damaged, or broken components (nuts, screws, bolts, screw threads, taper pins/fasteners). Regular lubrication of moving parts and/or metal-to metal contacts. Repair and welding of equipment subject to stress and load.”
Oven maintenance is essential to guarantee its ideal conditions of operation and conservation. A properly maintained oven: “Offers a longer service life to the baker. Guarantees maximum equipment availability. Works efficiently in terms of fuel consumption to directly bake the products. Generates minimum heat losses. Ensures steady state conditions during baking, hence producing consistent quality. Prevents breakdowns, idling, and rework. Minimizes explosion risks in the case of direct gas-fired ovens. Reduces downtime and prevents total plant shutdowns that directly affect production, order deliveries, and sales.”
Oven maintenance is a key component of the whole plant maintenance program. Members of staff in purchasing, maintenance, quality, and operations departments should pay special attention to the oven because it: “Imparts final and definite characteristics to the products. Is the equipment with the longest cycle time in the production line. Is the processing unit that consumes the majority of the energy (fuel and electricity) used by the plant. Is the machine with the highest acquisition costs lease/rental prices, depreciation and amortisation costs, value of asset, commissioning, and setup charges. Greatly affects the total manufacturing costs of a bakery, according to its energy efficiency”
BREAD PRODUCTION MAY COME TO A STANDSTILL
Broken or malfunctioning ovens can bring bread-making plants to a standstill. Medium-sized and retail bakeries usually operate under the we fix it approach, in which the maintenance department performs all maintenance activities and interventions. These activities are firefighting maintenance that occurs when one of the ovens, mixers, or proofers in the processing line breaks down.
In the traditional bakery, the production department works under the we operate the oven and run it until it breaks mentality. Oven operators generally do not perform any maintenance activities. Instead, the operators contact the maintenance department when the oven breaks down. In addition, the operators are inactive during the maintenance activities.
When the production line is operating smoothly, a down or broken piece of equipment impacts all preceding steps mixing of ingredients, dough make-up operations, and proofing, thus increasing the risk of product contamination and deterioration.
Bakers should therefore favour a proactive approach to the maintenance of their ovens. This should include measures such as a series of planned inspections, interventions and repairs to prevent equipment failure, known as preventive maintenance. In addition, corrective maintenance, i.e. planned interventions or work to restore faulty or broken equipment to good working order, should be carried out quickly.
In order to execute and sustain oven maintenance activities, bakeries require management guidelines, operating procedures, safety instructions, oven maintenance manuals from the manufacturer, trained and educated personnel, documentation, and recordkeeping.
Different types of ovens require special attention. A preventive oven maintenance subprogram, including adherence to the manufacturers’ recommendations, should be established and followed. This program should set a minimum maintenance schedule that includes inspection and work interventions. An adequate supply of spare parts should be maintained, and inoperable equipment should be cleaned, repaired, or replaced, as required.