mmiuttlly. A l\illy nutomatic procedure for pcvillnf; nncl cV,^vcininc in the 

 moot recent innovation in the inclnatry and is probably the- mout ol;:;nifi- 

 Giint advance In toclmlque made. Aaide from c-^'cably rcduciri'j; uicinpover 

 requirements, it has lent mox-Q flexibility to production planning;. 

 Fnrtlionnore, it allows the pack'jrn to use email shrimp that fox'inerly 

 could not px'ofitably be paeJcad. 



First Research Corporation rexjorta that functions connected 

 with the unloadin:;, peeling, dovelnin;::, blanching, tiradlnn, and closiiic 

 of cane have been luechani-.'ied in jnuny oatablicluncnta, and that conveyors, 

 fluraeo^ and puiajs for trunoportinfr the product between operationo have 

 been introduced. In throe typical plantn surveyed, hand operation;', ctlll 

 accotmted for ovtir 0*3 percent of total man-hours required for packiiif:. 

 Such tlincj-conuumin;;; operations as eortin^ and innpectinc after bloucliing 

 lis veil aa pacldnf^ and weighing before can closure are still pei-fonucd 

 on n manual bar;ia, 



?li"^LJiliy^^!i* — *^'oiiviion faults observed in the layout of the 

 planti3 surveyed by First Recearch Corporation were the remoteness of 

 wai'ehousinc space from the final processing operation, and the consider- 

 able distance between receiving and inspection area and the area where 

 Initial processing took place, resulting in excessive transporting of 

 product. Allowing for the use of most up-to-date machinery and endeavor- 

 ing to eliminate whatever crossover or back-tracking of product between 

 operations encountered in the plants visited, the analysts of First 

 Research Corporation drew up a model layout plan for a shrimp cannery 

 •^^Jhich may be of help to the plant intending to streamline its px-ocedures 

 (see figures V - 63 and V - 6k for the flow of operations in a typical 

 plant and in a hypothetical plant using the synthesized layout and 

 procedures reconmiended by First Research Corporation.) 



Plant capacity . --T\-/o of the three Louisiana plants surveyed had 

 an average daily production (based on a one shift - ten hour operation) 

 in ternis of raw he ads -on shrimp of 40,000 pounds, one an average of 

 60,000 pounds. Tliese production rates were estimated to correspond to 

 70 to 90 percent of total capacity at standard or 100 percent efficiency. 

 Since tlie plants in the past have usually closed tiri.ce jfearly for a total 

 of approxiiuately two months' non-productive tL'iie, there are approiciinately 

 200 to 220 vorlting days during tlie year. Total annual production in 

 terras of raw naterial used, consequently, was upwards of eight million 

 pounds for two plants, and twelve million pounds for one plant. Api^lying 

 an average yield rate of 2? percent (27 pounds of finished, for each 100 

 pounds of ra\7 product) to these figures, theoretical production in tenns 

 of finished product was over two million pounds in one instance and over 

 tiiree million pounds in the other in the plants surveyed by First Research 

 Coirporation. 19/ 



^q/ Raw shrir.ip quantities ordinarily are listed in barrels of 210 pounds, 

 "Whereas canned product quantities more often than not are given in standard 

 ea.r>os of fifteen pounds. Tlie quantities cited above were converted to 

 pounds for ease of comparison. 



286 



