A manufacturing execution system (MES) recently supplied by Rockwell Automation to a leading food producer has illustrated how small, incremental MES investments can offer substantial benefits by boosting efficiency and reducing expenses.
Most existing process plants are automated at the plant floor level. Small incremental investments in information technology at the manufacturing execution system layer that build upon these plant floor automation systems can yield quick paybacks. Support for these IT additions can be very straightforward if the MES solution matches and extends the current process automation system.
Canbra Foods is Canada's largest fully-integrated oilseed crushing, refining, processing and packaging company. Its major products include cooking and salad oil, margarine, shortening and a full line of proteins. The company relies heavily on Rockwell Automation technology to control, automate and monitor production.
The production process begins with canola seed cleaning and crushing. The resulting oil is run through a refining process involving a crystalliser machine, where it is made into a finished product for packaging. In the refining phase, the oil is blended with a custom milk to create margarine products. Canbra's original milk preparation process was mostly a manual operation, beginning with the addition of 33-pound bags of salt and 44-pound bags of whey powder into a pre-mixer. This labour intensive process created production bottlenecks, spillage and documentation challenges. In addition, the pre-mixer occasionally received inaccurate amounts of ingredients. Canbra sought an automated material handling system and batch management software.
"Rockwell Automation supplies all of the manufacturing software used in this facility," says Rick Kurio, control systems coordinator, Canbra Foods. "Therefore, when we considered implementing a batch management solution, Rockwell Software RSBizWare Batch was a natural choice. In addition, RSBizWare Batch would allow us to use Rockwell Automation's Integrated Architecture and employ batch mobility and standardisation concepts through ISA S88 standards. This was important because we were also seeking a common ground for our engineers to program, troubleshoot and maintain the system."
The automated solution combines RSBizWare Batch with a Flexicon Corporation bulk handling system that conveys, loads, unloads, weighs, feeds and processes bulk solid material.
RSBizWare Batch controls all of the operations of the bulk handling system through Allen-Bradley PLCs. For example, when an operator picks a recipe from RSBizWare Batch that calls for 200 pounds of salt and 300 pounds of whey powder, the controller receives two setpoints.
RSBizWare Batch then directs the bulk-addition system to operate two 4,6 metre high bulk-bag dischargers to dump the whey powder and salt into two 226-litre stainless steel hoppers. From each hopper, material is transported to one of two mixing tanks via a flexible screw conveyor.
"We chose RSBizWare Batch to write the recipes for the milk preparation process and to control the clean-in-place (CIP) process for each tank," says Kurio. "RSBizWare Batch follows the ISA S88 model, providing us with a cut-and-paste approach to easily develop and reconfigure recipes."
All RSBizWare Batch recipes are incorporated into two Rockwell Software RSView 32 human-machine interface software servers located in the plant control room. Three operator stations use RSView to provide Canbra with a window into the process at any stage of production. Two other operator stations reside on the milk preparation process and the crystalliser machine.
Automating the milk preparation process with RSBizWare Batch helped minimise production bottlenecks, increase efficiency, provide a safer work environment and save money. "We have been delighted with the results to date," says Kurio. "Since automating the process using RSBizWare Batch, we have been able to save $45 000 per year just by purchasing ingredients in bulk instead of in 40-pound (~18 kg) bags."
The RSBizWare Batch and Flexicon bulk handling systems also eliminated manual ingredient addition, reducing cycle time by roughly half an hour per batch. In addition, using the ISA S88 batch standard, RSBizWare Batch collects data on each batch and compiles it into batch records. This allows Canbra to identify process trends and deviations, as well as efficiently track ingreddients for food safety audits Kurio adds that Canbra has been able to achieve additional savings through increased batch accuracy. "Worker safety has also improved since they no longer have to handle heavy bags of material."
The success of the Rockwell Automation solutions has prompted Canbra to explore integrating its oil blending system with the milk blending system to further streamline the production process.
"In the next three to five years we will obtain even greater savings and efficiencies," notes Kurio. "By incorporating the oil preparation phase into the RSBizWare Batch system, we'll have a seamless process for producing our margarine products. We will look to Rockwell Automation to help us get there."
For more information contact Rudolf Van Wyk, software capability manager, Rockwell Automation, 011 654 9700, [email protected]
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