I was sent by Lesotho Flour Mills (LFM) to attend the Best-In-Class Quality Assurance training in Senegal Dakar at Les Grands Moulins de Dakar (GMD) which is ranked highly when it comes to Quality Assurance and Operations. Seaboard is shifting from where each of its facilities would conduct its operations in its own style to a best practice focused way of doing things within the group. The purpose of the trip was to learn how GMD conducts its business.
Flour output capacity for GMD is 1300MT per day which is trailed by LFM’s 300MT! As a consequence of this GMD machinery is vast as compared to us, for instance their mill has sixteen plansifters while we have two. Due to the wide range of flour types they produce, they have raw material silos and gristing silos. The transfer of wheat out of the silos is done in adherence to the First-In-First Out (FIFO) principle. One of the many reasons why the mill is best in class. Our silos here are subject to “caving in” which will consequentially leads to quality issues especially as the silos reach the ‘grinding out’ stage.

The mill is clean and very big with advanced machinery and modern technology. Their efficiency is consequently a great story to tell. They use sample boards for assessing the various flour streams in the mill. Mr. Abraham Venter remarked that the use of sample boards is the best practise. For automated packaging, they use an old ItalPack, which is simpler to operate and maintain. They have a far less staff compliment than LFM due to the deployed technology and machinery. If all that was observed were to be written, this newsletter would have to be in volumes. Suffice it to say, GMD has left a tremendous impression of a world class milling operation that boasts great facilities that position it very well for high profitability and value to its shareholders.
The training will benefit LFM in many ways as it entailed Quality Management, Good Practices for experimental milling, Laboratory methods, best practices in baking and Operational Efficiency amongst others. LFM can emulate GMD where it is practically possible to do so because by both being mills their similarities far outweigh their differences.

I enjoyed the peaceful Dakar and its Senegalese cuisine which I found to be wonderfully delicious, being my first time in life to have a dish of different types of food of which I did not know even a single item, vegetables I had never seen and a dark coloured fish. Senegalese are very patriotic. Since their national football team was participating in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup everybody was behind the Lions of Taranga as their team is affectionately known.
I express my profound gratitude to LFM top management for the unwavering confidence and support bestowed upon me. To God be the glory! Below are faces to remember

By Dingaan E. Mann
Quality Assurance Manager
Lesotho Flour Mills LTD