Integrated Automation and Control Technology

In the highly demanding global food and beverage marketplace, manufacturers are continually striving to meet new consumer demands and stricter industry standards without sacrificing quality. In an industry that has grown from a collection of regional manufacturers serving their own domestic markets into an industry dominated by companies with manufacturing plants on every continent, the competition between global companies and regional brands remains fierce. Although regional players can compete by offering their own brand-name products, they now typically focus on niche markets that can’t be well-served by the larger conglomerates.

This changing environment is placing a stronger focus on production than ever before. To be successful in the food and beverage industry requires companies to continually improve manufacturing operations and use this critical function as a strategic asset in the business. However, they can’t do it alone; new automation and information technology is key. By choosing the right partner, manufacturers can gain a competitive advantage through increased control of the factory floor and improved integration of manufacturing information with the rest of the enterprise.

Fulfilling a Constantly Changing Consumer Demand

We live in a mass-customized society – one where consumers want it their way, with the quality and cost levels that they’ve come to expect from mass-produced goods. This is causing great pressure on food and beverage manufacturers, who have the difficult task of meeting the ongoing evolution of consumer demand. Today’s consumers run the gamut – from those who want healthier choices to others who want more convenient packaging and unique flavors. In response, manufacturers are creating new items and extending existing brand lines hoping to create the next “hot” product. And when they do, they expect it to stay “hot” for a much shorter period of time. No more “secret formulas” that are locked in a vault for 100 years with no changes.

This increased volume and diversity of products is causing plants to design their lines based on shorter production runs with more changeovers. Meeting these demands requires operational flexibility. Plants must be able to easily add new products to the mix, change recipes on the fly and quickly implement new operational procedures. In addition, they must execute these change-overs while meeting high sanitation and environmental requirements. All of this has to be done smoothly to reduce time-to-market and limit the impact on operations.

While speed and flexibility are crucial, plants must also take the steps needed to ensure the highest quality possible. The key to maintaining brand equity, which is paramount in this industry, is product consistency —not only batch-to-batch, but facility-to-facility. A cookie or soft drink must taste the same whether it was produced in Singapore or London. To meet these consistency requirements, companies need advanced automation and information technology. This technology will ensure that each batch and each operation is performed the same as the previous one, while simultaneously allowing operators to compensate for process changes that can impact the finished product.

Distribution is another key challenge. Many plants have evolved from make-to-stock operations to a demand-driven model where the completed product is shipped directly to the retail outlets. No longer do products sit in a distribution center. Each order passing through the plant is for a specific customer, and has a defined delivery date. This means plants must manage operations to ensure that production orders are scheduled and executed on time and delivery requirements are consistently met.

All of these challenges put plant managers in a difficult and often stressful situation. These managers are not only evaluated on how well they meet throughput, quality and delivery goals, they also are expected to minimize production costs. To do so, they must maximize their return on plant assets and optimized equipment availability.

Meeting the Challenge

Today many food and beverage manufacturers rely on new automation and information technology to maintain product consistency and improve manufacturing flexibility and agility. However, that alone isn’t enough. Today’s truly successful manufacturers understand the value in integrating the factory from beginning to end, bridging islands of automation and carrying information throughout the plant. This integration is essential – not only for improving product consistency and manufacturing flexibility, but also for meeting requirements such as tracking and tracing, security and efficient production.

Traditionally, process-oriented applications (such as batch management) and discrete applications (such as packaging) have worked separately, with little or no need for information-sharing. However, with new requirements for tracking a product all the way through the production process, control systems must share data and turn that information into usable documentation.

Rockwell Automation in the Food and Beverage Industry

The solution lies in an integrated information and control architecture line offered by Rockwell Automation, which provides a foundation that enables flexible and agile manufacturing, while simplifying the exchange of real-time data between plant floor processes and information systems. Unlike traditional architectures, the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture reduces the total cost of ownership by using a single automation infrastructure for the entire range of manufacturing applications — large or small, from process to discrete. This enables food and beverage manufacturers to implement solutions in a single environment to reduce development time and cost, respond more quickly to customer or market demands, reduce maintenance costs and downtime, and easily gain access to plant and production information from business systems for better management decision-making.

Integrated Architecture, which includes the Logix Control Platform and FactoryTalk integrated production and performance software suite, allows manufacturers to install a single automation layer across the plant. This layer supports the needs of the batch operations (mixing, blending, mashing, fermenting, etc.); continuous operations (baking, cooking, forming and pasteurization); as well as discrete control in the packaging area, including machine control and motion. The platform has been developed based on the key standards in the automation industry including ISA S88, S95, and S99, plus the work of the packaging standards group like PackML.

Integrated Architecture not only provides an information-enabled automation platform, but also provides the connectivity and control for all operations, including field instrumentation, pumps and conveying systems, steam and heating operations, valve control and process monitoring. It also provides a single interface for programming changes and helps bridge the gap between the enterprise level and the plant floor by unleashing the relevant real-time information and exposing it to the people and systems that need it.

For food and beverage manufacturers, this means they can take production data and use that information to improve processes throughout the company. For example, if one facility is experiencing high yield and low waste, the business can compare what that plant is doing on the factory floor and apply those practices to underperforming facilities.
Built on top of this hardware and software foundation are application tools developed specifically for food and beverage production. These include process descriptions, configuration tools, documentation and libraries of codes and modules needed to implement these applications.

Rockwell Automation has helped hundreds of food and beverage manufacturers gain a competitive advantage through better control of the factory floor and better integration of manufacturing information with the rest of the enterprise. As a comprehensive global service and support organization, Rockwell Automation consultants work with plant personnel to identify issues, perform economic evaluations and provide recommendations and project plans. Engineers from Rockwell Automation can take full turn-key responsibility for the design, implementation and startup of automation and information projects. Support experts provide global assistance to support new and existing applications and products. Customized maintenance programs help plants implement the best maintenance procedures to minimize downtime and reduce costs.

While the food and beverage industry is facing some of the most challenging market conditions ever, it also has ample opportunities to capture market share, build brand equity and boost the bottom line. Automation and control technology allows manufacturers to improve manufacturing flexibility, enhance product quality and control costs. Those companies that capitalize on this technology and expertise will be the ones that forge a sustainable competitive advantage in the years to come.

Contact details:

Phone: 414.382.2000
Email: cmrastle@ra.rockwell.com
URL: www.rockwellautomation.com