Kerry Group Case Study

The Context

Kerry Group is an international giant in the Food & Beverage industry, supplying a broad range of well-known branded foods to the Irish, UK and global markets. Headquartered in Ireland, the company has seven manufacturing sites located around the country.

The client had been working with several calibration vendors but recognised that, by consolidating its providers, greater reliability and added value could be achieved. Following a rigorous tender process, Bonner was awarded the contract. Our submission involved a bespoke plan to bring about improvements in the calibration and maintenance procedures across all Kerry Group’s sites.

The Response

Our team began by conducting thorough site inspections and analysing all existing documentation, including instrument lists and schedules. This exercise informed the creation of a tailored Bonner Instrumentation Programme, designed in accordance with the client’s needs. The programme takes account of all regulatory standards and ensures that any risks associated with in-house practices are mitigated.

Working closely with Kerry Group’s maintenance team, we devised a calibration schedule that aligns with the company’s internal timetable for each of its sites and prevents any disturbance in production. Responsive in style, the schedule incorporates short-term availability for any out-of-hours issues. Our in-depth knowledge of the plants’ operations ensures that we understand the variations in manufacturing processes across all Kerry Group’s facilities and the unique requirements of every location based on the product manufactured there.

As our team is on site regularly, we offer in-person instrumentation advice to our client’s engineering team and assist them across a range of distinct projects. We also consult on future improvements that can be made to production processes through the use of innovative control and automation solutions, such as PLCs, HMIs and monitoring software.

In addition, we procure and supply instrumentation products for Kerry Group directly and have developed a dedicated B2B portal to support this offering. The portal allows the client to access an edited order list that displays relevant products only, along with detailed pricing and any company-specific discounted rates.

The Results

The introduction of our programme has been a resounding success for Kerry Group. By reducing the number of calibration contractors required on site by 75%, we have simplified the company’s calibration and maintenance procedures, systemised its scheduling, enhanced on-site safety and delivered impressive cost-savings. The programme has established a group-wide standard for calibration and maintenance methods, and a definitive, up-to-date instrument list now exists for each individual site.

Group reporting is facilitated through our online portal, providing the client with a bird’s eye view of instrument performance, along with adjustment and failure rates. All calibration certificates and service documentation are processed through our calibration management software, ProCalV5. Ready within 24 hours of completion, Kerry Group is guaranteed the traceability and reliability of data that is essential to maintain regulatory compliance in today’s demanding Food & Beverage industry.