Flora Food Group Achieves 30% Faster Commissioning of a New Factory
Renowned for its wide array of plant-based food offerings, Flora Food Group (formerly Upfield) operates 14 state-of-the-art production facilities worldwide with a dedicated workforce of 4,900 individuals.
Company Profile
Food Manufacturing
~600 across 7 plants
Canada
4,700+ globally; 135 at the Canadian plant
Flora Food Group's Impact with Poka
Faster onboarding with
digital training tracker
Issues logged and resolved in the
first month using Factory Feed
Faster commissioning, reducing
reliance on OEM engineers
Work instructions created by frontline
operators in year one
Saved by avoiding external
documentation costs
Critical safety incidents during
the first year of production
To Launch a Digital Factory
For Flora Food Group, opening a brand-new facility meant starting from scratch. Unlike other plant launches that benefit from transferring seasoned employees and existing processes, this site had no manuals, no control documents, and no legacy knowledge to lean on. The company also made the strategic decision to hire locally — but 95% of those hires were brand-new to the industry, many of them fresh graduates with limited exposure to manufacturing environments.
And the clock was ticking: the facility had just 30 days to begin large-scale production.
“Poka didn’t just support commissioning — it transformed how we learn, train, and solve problems.” — Muhammad Arif Khan, Continuous Improvement & Operations Manager, Flora Food Group
This lack of experience quickly became a hurdle. New hires needed to be trained not only on food production processes, but also on the basics of workplace safety — a critical concern in an industry where hazards like slips, leaks, and machine risks are common. Communication was scattered, production deviations were high, and the team faced the added pressure of a tight 30-day timeline to begin large-scale production.
The stakes were high: without a way to accelerate onboarding, capture knowledge, and standardize processes, the new facility risked delays, inefficiencies, and safety incidents right from day one.
Flora Partners with Poka for Their Digital Factory
Flora partnered with Poka to make digital the foundation of their plant launch. Their deployment strategy focused on four priorities:
With Factory Feed™, operators could report and resolve issues instantly. Using TPM methodology, Flora categorized problems clearly between operations and maintenance. In the first month alone, workers posted and resolved more than 50 issues.
Flora introduced a digital training tracker that cut onboarding time by 30%. Each module combined visual content, diagrams, and short quizzes with in-person touchpoints. New hires were not just faster to onboard — they retained more knowledge and developed a stronger safety mindset.
During commissioning, OEM engineers from Italy and New Zealand worked side by side with Flora’s new team. Instead of passively observing, operators recorded the procedures on tablets and transformed them into standardized digital work instructions. Within the first year, frontline employees had authored more than 250 instructions — avoiding $300,000 in contractor costs and ensuring knowledge stayed in-house.
QR codes were placed directly on machines, giving operators instant access to forms and the ability to provide real-time feedback. Monthly meetings further captured shop-floor insights, ensuring that process improvements were driven by those closest to the work.
Poka didn’t just support commissioning — it transformed how we learn, train, and solve problems.
Muhammad Arif Khan
Continuous Improvement & Operations Manager
An Empowered, Connected Workforce at Flora Food Group
The impact of Poka at Flora Food Group went far beyond efficiency gains. By empowering frontline operators with digital tools, the company not only accelerated commissioning and onboarding but also fostered a culture of accountability, safety, and sustainability.
Commissioning was completed 30% faster, and the team did not require OEM service for the last three months of the ramp-up — a testament to how quickly frontline operators captured and standardized OEM know-how into digital work instructions.
Onboarding times fell by 30%, giving a largely novice workforce the confidence and safety foundation needed to run reliably from day one. Flora also reported zero critical safety incidents in the first year, supported by standardized work, visual checks, and rapid hazard reporting in Factory Feed™.
Beyond speed and safety, the change reshaped culture. Operators authored 250+ digital work instructions in year one and avoided $300,000 in external documentation costs while building lasting in-house expertise. With 50,000+ digital forms annually, Flora eliminated paper processes, saved time, and advanced its sustainability goals — all while creating a closed-loop system where QR-code access and shift meetings keep improvements flowing from the shop floor up.
Final Thoughts for Manufacturers
By launching its new Canadian facility with Poka, Flora Food Group proved that digital transformation in manufacturing is not just about technology — it’s about empowering people. With a young, inexperienced workforce and an aggressive production deadline, Flora turned potential risks into opportunities by equipping employees with tools to learn, solve problems, and continuously improve.
The results speak for themselves: faster commissioning, streamlined onboarding, zero safety incidents, and significant cost savings — all while advancing the company’s commitment to sustainability.
For Flora, Poka has become more than a platform. It is now the backbone of how knowledge is captured, shared, and applied across the shop floor — ensuring that every new facility starts not with a blank slate, but with a digital foundation for success.
Book a demo to discover how Poka can transform your operations.