Low Impact Manufacturing

This study analyzes the energy requirements of an Oreo factory with a production capacity of 3000 cookies per minute. It explores the major energy consuming factors through a Sankay diagrams for the factory and assesses the viability of incorporating renewable energy technologies into the major activities of the factory. The report concludes by offering certain alternatives the company can consider to reduce its energy consumption.

Running head: LOW IMPACT MANUFACTURING
Low Impact Manufacturing
Name
Institution

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Executive Summary
As the global concerns for the amount and type of energy being consumed continue to
increase, the biscuit and cookies industry is widely affected because of its high reliance on
energy in the mixing, baking, creaming and packaging processes (Yassin & Arslandere, 2011).
In this study, an analysis is conducted on the energy requirements of an Oreo factory with a
production capacity of 3000 cookies per minute. A test was also conducted to explore the major
energy consuming factors through a Sankay diagrams for the factory. A renewable energy tests
suitability test was also conducted to assess the viability of incorporating renewable energy
technologies into the major activities of the factory and thus reduce its energy consumption and
improve its efficiency. The report was also concluded by offering certain alternatives the
company can consider to reduce its energy consumption for now. In so doing, the report has been
able to show the importance of considering the energy efficiency concerns in order to keep the
profit margins of the industry up in the face of mitigation policies to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions that cause global negative climate change impacts.

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Energy Assessment in the Oreo Biscuit Manufacturing Factory
Introduction
In the modern day where there are global environmental concerns due to the high
consumption of fossil fuels that generate greenhouse gases, the energy consumption aspects of
manufacturing have become an increasingly important decision making factor to consider. This
has caused many countries across the globe to implement policies aimed at ensuring that the
mass of greenhouse gas emissions disposed to the environment while burning fossil fuels is kept
at a very minimum. The policies are also aimed to ensure that the highest producers of these
emissions compensate the smallest polluters for the adverse climate change effects that continue
to impact the world (Yassin & Arslandere, 2011). The regulations which have been implemented
in different parts of the world have made energy needs for manufacturing companies to cost
exorbitant prices that affect their profit margins, causing these manufacturers to consider
alternate sources of energy like renewable energy Since the projected population increase
indicates that the food industry will continue to remain lucrative for the next decade, energy
needs of the UK food industry are projected to become higher (Langley, 2017). The biscuit
industry specifically is hardly impacted by the strict mitigation policies due to its high energy
requirements in the different stages of manufacturing involved. This study looks into the Oreo
Biscuit Manufacturing industry and its energy needs, in order to assess the feasibility of reducing
the energy needs of the industry and that of the industry switching to a sustainable dependence
on renewable energy.
Energy Needs of the Oreo Biscuit Industry
There is a great need to reduce the energy consumption of the Oreo Biscuit Industry as
the industry uses a lot of energy in its mixing, baking, monitoring, and packaging of the biscuits.
The most energy intensive stages of manufacturing include the mixing the flour, sugar, water,
cocoa, and all the other ingredients that go into the baking of this product. The mixer used
energy to measure the ingredients and to mix them up into a dough (Siddiqui, 2009). The dough
is then molded into the desired biscuit shapes before as well as in pressing the iconic branding
and marks of the biscuit on to the cookie dough. The cookies are then baked in an industrial oven
then cooled before the premixed crème filling is used to make the signature filling on the plain
side of the baked cookie. The crème is also mixed in its own mixer then conveyed to a special
machine that is involved in the filling process. In an industry situation, about 3000 cookies every
minute and the total time used up is about 90 minutes from the start to the finish if the process.
Most Energy Intensive Manufacturing Processes in the Oreo Industry
1. Mixing stage
During the process of mixing ingredients, the ingredients have to be precisely measured and the
energy requirements of this process depend on both the load conditions of the mixer and its type.

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Since mixing seeks to dissolve some of the ingredients making the dough and hydrating the rest
to form gluten during the compression and shear action of the mixer the machine will consume a
lot of power in an effort to achieve the best consistency of the dough (Brightwell, 2011). A
measuring device is also attached to the mixer to ensure that the quality of dough produced is
consistent
2. Molders
The molders are used to ensure that the shape and design of the end product is always constant in
terms of the size, thickness, and the branding details of the product. Molders are primarily
forming machines that ensure that the shape, size, and weight of the end product is consistent.
The machine uses a sheeter that presses the dough to roll it out to desired thickness and then cut
the cookie dough to the required design and shape and thickness while the rest of the dough
batch is reused till the maximum number of cookies is made from the batch. The federate of the
machine is set as this is production on a factory level depending in the movement speed of the
conveyor bringing the cookie dough to the sheeting machine (Paton, et al., 2013). A laser
measurement machine is used to ensure that all the parameters of shape and size are kept
constant in the forming machine. Metal detectors in the Oreo Biscuit Industry are also attached
to this stage for the purpose of quality control using optical detectors or normal cameras that
have a good contribution to the energy requirements of this stage.
3. Baking
Many technologies have evolved to improve the thermal efficiencies of industrial ovens s this
stage is the highest energy consumer in the field of biscuit and cookie making. During the baking
stage, the water added to the dough is dehydrated in an oven after the structure and taste qualities
of the dough have been established in the mixing, kneading, and cookie cutting processes. The
baking process also allows the cookies to develop a desirable color to make it more flavorful and
appealing to the eyes of those who will consume the product (Aranda-Uson, et al., 2012). This
explains the need for industrial bakeries to have long industrial ovens that allow the oven
environment to be zoned in order to optimize these two main functions of baking. To further
enhance efficiency in manufacturing the speed of the processes is brought down to the shortest
amount possible through the use of conveyor belts that carried the cut uncooked cookies into the
oven to a waiting set of fans that cools the cookies strait from the oven in readiness for the cream
filling. In this industry, an indirect fired based oven is use where the cookies are baked using hot
air that is preheated before going into the oven to bake the Oreo cookies. To control the
temperatures in the oven dampers have been installed towards the exhaust end of the oven to
ensure that the moisture removed from the cookies is used to either cool or heat the air along the
length of the oven in a bid to control the temperatures in the oven. The energy efficiency of the
ovens is determined by the two factors namely:

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 Heat flux which dictates the amount of heat being transferred to the cookie dough in the
oven and thus determines the level of baking the cookie will be subjected to and how it
cook crisp and crumble
 Humidity control which affects the setting of the cookie and the temperatures at the first
part of the oven where the goal is to optimize the dehydration of the cookie (Aranda-
Uson, et al., 2012).
4. Mixing the Crème and Filling
As the cookies leave the oven, laser monitors are used to ensure the characteristics of the cookies
such as its moisture content, colour, weight and flavor are significantly consistent with the
signature cookie of the industry before the crème filling is added. Samples are taken to allow a
taster to ensure that the quality and flavor of the biscuit is consistent while the rest of them are
taken through a laser monitor that ensures that all cookies coming out of the oven are perfect
(Yassin & Arslandere, 2011). The biscuits are then conveyed to the crème filler which has a
hopper from the crème filling mixer. In this mixer, sugar and milk are mixed using powerful
mixers to create a crème consistency that is poured to the filler which squeezes a measured
amount of cream at the center of the cookie and uses another cookie picked by a robotic hand to
squeeze another cookie and sandwich the cream filling. The laser eye and the robotic arm also
have energy requirements that contribute to the energy requirements of the cream filling stage
thus increasing its weight in the overall energy consumption of the process.
5. Packaging
In this stage, sensors are installed to measure the parameters of the product and ensure the same
quantity of biscuits or sandwich cookies goes into each packaging. The biscuits are then dropped
into a waiting package and then sealed by the same machine and then the individual packets
conveyed to a machine that puts the biscuits into boxes. In the packaging stage, forklifts that are
powered by the same energy in the facility are used to transfer the boxes to storage before
shipping them to distributors across the globe (Brightwell, 2011). The energy used in the above
processes would be quantified in terms of million watt-hours as most of the power that is used in
the Oreo industry is electric power which is a cost that the industry pays out monthly.
Sankey Diagrams for the Oreo Industry

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Suitability of renewable energy for Oreo Industry
Renewable energy refers to the sources of energy derived from natural resources that can be
easily replenished within normal timeframe of a human generation, such as wind, the sun,
geothermal heat and even the use of ocean tides (Lung, Masanet, & McKane, 2016). When
considering the suitability of renewable energy technologies, both the viability of the project and
its sustainability ought to be guaranteed as renewable energy technologies are only truly energy
efficient if they are 100% self-dependent. However, simply reducing the over-reliance on fossil
fuels and other forms of non-renewable energy is a step in the positive direction towards
improving energy efficiency. In the contemporary world where the entire globe is threatened by
the impacts of climate change due to the over-reliance on non-renewable energy sources,
incorporating aspects of renewable energy technologies in energy reliant industries also plays a
positive contribution in mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change (Manley, 2011). The
suitability of renewable energy in the food industry and specifically in the Oreo industry is
feasible as these technologies can be incorporated into different stages of the manufacturing
process to improve the energy efficiency of the biscuit-making company. Renewable energy
specifically is best suited for the Oreo industry as it will make the industry sustainable and have
better energy efficiency. For instance the company can tap into the local rivers in the areas where
its bakeries are located to generate hydroelectric power that can be used to cater for all the
electricity needs of the company to make it electrically self sufficient. Wind turbines when
installed in the correct place can be used to supplement the electricity needs of the factory thus
making is more self sufficient. Finally, wood can be used provide burning logs which provide
heating energy for the ovens.
Ways of Reducing Energy Consumption

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Other ways that the Oreo firm can reduce their energy consumption is through the recycling of
the excess energy that is dumped to the environment as waste heat. A waste heat recovery system
can be installed towards the exhaust end of the oven to ensure that the heat is reused in the oven
and thus make the factory more energy efficient (Lung, Masanet, & McKane, 2016). Another
way that the company can improve its energy consumption and energy efficiency is by the use of
more modern technologies and machinery which have been designed with the goal of energy
efficiency in mind. This will go a long way in ensuring that the production process in itself is
optimized to the minimum possible level of energy consumption. Using these two methods the
Oreo company can improve their energy efficiency and even make it more cost effective as a lot
of resources go into ensuring that all these machinery are operating and that the sandwich
cookies are being produced (Pask, et al, 2014). This will also positively contribute to the goal of
reducing green house gas emissions and thus mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change
felt across the globe.
Conclusion
Industries in different fields seek to identify new alternatives for reducing the amount of non-
renewable energy sources used due to the negative impacts of climate change affecting the world
(Yassin & Arslandere, 2011). The food industry has very high heating energy requirements
calling for its need to analyze different options like the incorporation of renewable energy
technologies to reduce energy needs of the industry. Considering the important stages in the
Oreo Biscuit production industry, a Sankay diagram was drawn to show how the energy
requirements in the floor of the factory. The diagram shows that the baking process is the highest
consumer as it requires energy to be used to dehydrate the cookie dough as coolers are used to
cool the biscuit before the cream filling is applied to make a sandwich. Renewable energy
technologies that can be used include the use of wood fire the ovens and the creation of a
hydropower station from adjacent rivers and wind energy resources (Lung, Masanet, & McKane,
2016). In the given situation, energy can be reduced by considering recycling the waste heat
from the ovens and upgrading the technologies to more energy efficient and cost effective.
References
Aranda-Usón, A., Ferreira, G., Mainar-Toledo, M. D., Scarpellini, S., & Sastresa, E. L. (2012).
Energy consumption analysis of Spanish food and drink, textile, chemical and non-metallic
mineral products sectors. Energy, 42(1), 477-485.
Brightwell, R. (2011). Sustainability in the biscuit industry. In Manley’s Technology of Biscuits,
Crackers and Cookies (pp. 93-103). Woodhead Publishing.
Langley, K. (2017). Industrial energy efficiency in the United Kingdom up to the year
2010. Applied energy, 26(1), 47-65.

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Lung, R. B., Masanet, E., & McKane, A. (2016). The role of emerging technologies in
improving energy efficiency: Examples from the food processing industry Energy Efficiency in
the Food Industry 22(6), 417-426.
Manley, D. (2011). Biscuit, cracker and cookie recipes for the food industry. Elsevier.
Pask, F., Sadhukhan, J., Lake, P., McKenna, S., Perez, E. B., & Yang, A. (2014). Systematic
approach to industrial oven optimisation for energy saving. Applied Thermal Engineering, 71(1),
72-77.
Paton, J., Khatir, Z., Thompson, H., Kapur, N., & Toropov, V. (2013). Thermal energy
management in the bread baking industry using a system modelling approach. Applied Thermal
Engineering, 53(2), 340-347.
Ramirez, C. A., Blok, K., Neelis, M., & Patel, M. (2016). Adding apples and oranges: The
monitoring of energy efficiency in the Dutch food industry. Energy Policy, 34(14), 1720-1735.
Siddiqui, S. (2009). Taking you through the biscuit industry. Market Forces, 4(1), 19-41.
Yassin, Ö. C. A. L., & Arslandere, M. (2011). The Concept Of Sustainable Production And An
Overview Of A Company That Produces Biscuit In Turkey, Sustainability in Biscuit Production
15(2), 16-21.

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Appendices
Factory Model of Oreo Company (Manley, 2011)
Tools and methods to consider for energy consumption analysis and efficiency improvement for
biscuit and cookie companies
(Pask, et al., 2014)

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Factory management plan to Guarantee Improved Energy Efficiency For biscuit and cookie
companies
(Lung, Masanet, McKAne, 2016)

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Energy Strategy of the Oreo Industry
(Manley, 2011)

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Combined Heat and Power Needs of the Oreo Industry for every operational day
(Manley, 2011)
Energy needs of an energy factory in percentage (Manley, 2011)