Baking & Snack - December 2021 - 70

DIVIDERS
changeover is done by the machine itself: the new weight
setting, the flour sprinklers, the dividing pressure, selection
of the right measuring piston, moulding speed and
belt tension. All is done automatically on the SoftStar CT. "
When operators do need to get involved, smart
equipment can even check their work and catch errors,
Mr. Zelaya explained. But controls and automation go
beyond streamlining changeovers.
" Industry 4.0 control capabilities enable automation
with exacting accuracy to quality and portion
standards, " Mr. Zeyala said. " They can virtually eliminate
waste, increase maintenance efficiencies and,
with advanced monitoring, provide predictive mainAutomation
removes human interference at the divider
Today's technology has the value-add of reducing a production
line's reliance on labor, which in these days is in short
supply.
" Due to the ongoing labor shortage, our clients are
looking at ways to reduce labor and simplify the manual
help needed, " said Mark Rosenberg, chief executive officer,
Gemini Bakery Equipment.
For example, he said, automated board and pan handling
is a high priority for bakers, and servo-controlled handling
can run faster and more accurately while also removing the
opportunity for operator error. Some of the need for automation
comes from the inability to find people willing to do
the work, and the technology is there to support that shift.
" As our workforce diminishes, then the need to automate
becomes greater, " said Anthony Mora, electrical controls
engineer, AMF Bakery Systems. " You don't need as many
people to run these machines as you did 20 years ago. "
But automation is not so much about reducing jobs as it
is about giving people ways to move away from repetitive
work and toward those positions that provide more opportunity
for growth.
" Bakers want their people to be doing higher value tasks
and let the machinery do the more mundane tasks, " said
John McIsaac, vice president of strategic business development,
Reiser. " On high-speed bread and bun lines, it means
fewer people to run the lines, remote access for maintenance
and troubleshooting, and integration into downstream
and upstream equipment. "
As the baking industry sees more experienced operators
retire and a green food manufacturing workforce come onboard,
automation is providing a tool for bakeries to bridge
the workforce skills gap.
" Our aim when using servos and automation is to reduce
the required knowledge that operators must have and the
number of operators, " said Patricia Kennedy, president, WP
Bakery Group USA.
70 Baking & Snack December 2021 / www.bakingbusiness.com
THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE
ACCURATE WEIGHTS AND
REDUCED STRESS ON THE
DOUGH SIMULTANEOUSLY
CAN HAVE SOME
UNFORESEEN RESULTS.
tenance information for critical bakery functions. "
That's because these controls capture a wealth of data
that can help bakers track production efficiencies, improve
planning and keep tabs on maintenance. The data
can reveal when equipment is due for maintenance before
it fails, preventing unwanted downtime and boosting
yield and throughput.
" The data you can retrieve from servos and frequency
controllers, together with all the sensors that are in
modern production equipment, enable two important
possibilities, " Ms. Kennedy explained. " One is predictive
maintenance, and the other is that problem solving gets
so easy with all the available data. "
The other upside to automation is the ability for equipment
to coordinate upstream and downstream. Reiser
equipped its Vemag HPR dividers with Rockwell controls,
for example, which allow the dividers to communicate
with downstream equipment controlled by Rockwell.
" In the case of dual moulders, we set our machine to
automatically stop sending dough to a moulder that is
down, " Mr. McIsaac said. " We can even pick up speed on
the working side to keep production levels high. We can integrate
with intermediate proofers on high-speed bun lines.
Shutting down fast when there is an issue downstream
saves not only product but also operator aggravation. "
An entire world of system integration can improve
efficiency. Automation and controls are
operational
changing the game of production, and at the divider this
means more accuracy at faster rates and with more attention
to quality than ever before.
" All of this would never have been possible if we
would have stayed to chains that tend to stretch, chain
wheels that wear out and complex gear boxes, " Ms.
Kennedy said.
By implementing these technologies, bakers can
improve not only product quality and hit targets, but
also production efficiencies and even operational planning
like maintenance and sanitation that help bakeries
optimize their labor force. An automated, servo-driven
divider pays dividends up and down the production
line.
*
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Baking & Snack - December 2021

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