PET Food Processing - December 2018 - 65

"We all want to be that person that has the
data, has the knowledge, and can execute
quickly because the context is correct."
Travis Stoll, Shick Esteve

and adjusts to changes in production parameters ensures
better process and product consistency. "Look for a machine
that offers real control of all individual parameters, such
as full control of the temperature profile on the extruder.
Control of an extruder can include automatic start-up
and shut-down sequences set for each recipe and product.
Start-up sequences can consume a lot of raw materials and
generate waste." Control of the conditional parameters optimizes the process and becomes operator independent.
Maller says that with Clextral's automated process control
system on its extruders, processors have achieved up to
20% in energy savings.
A practical tip is to include an additional spare input/
output (I/O). "Once you start automating and you measure the results, you will want to do more," Ensch says.
"If you don't have extra I/O it can be a big deal sometimes to add one. Some companies will choose not to
add that I/O up front because there is a cost to it but the
cost of adding it later and not being prepared can be 10
times the up-front cost. It can be as simple as adding a
horn or a flashing red light, but there seems to always be
something that companies want to add."

control systems that visualize live data for operators can
save a company millions of dollars. One example of that
is a recent client who identified overfill as a problem.
When we investigated the overfill issue, we found that
the average overfill was 6.5%. This is a $4 million annual
problem for this mid-sized customer. By visualizing
real-time data, this company can expect to see a 50%
reduction in overfill."
A comprehensive view of costs and potential gains
associated with proposed automation is possible with
digital twin technology. Digital twin refers to a digital
replica of physical assets, processes, people, places, systems and devices. "With a digital twin of a factory and
the desired output, any scenario can be evaluated resulting in realistic insights into the impact on production,
costs and the required level of automation to achieve the
desired results," Dubbers says. "Processors are surprised
by the potential bottlenecks that can be found and the
level of insight that a factory automation supplier can
provide with the available data in a production plant.
This effort can identify in advance what the best balance
is in the degree of automation and the desired flexibility
to make a factory future-proof."

Cashing in
Newman says there is a middle ground between the
dream of total plant automation and process visibility and
the reality. "There is the ideal of fully connected systems
where everything integrates - PLCs, HMIs, QA data,
MES and ERP platforms - to provide complete performance monitoring, machine learning, predictive analytics, and process control. Then there is the reality for
most manufacturers who have equipment they need to
get more life out of and entrenched software systems that
aren't going away anytime soon. Most manufacturers do
better by starting with a targeted project that can deliver
value quickly and a roadmap of how that will integrate
into a larger solution. For a fraction of the cost of buying
new equipment, a small- to mid-sized company can connect legacy equipment and become an IIoT facility with
visibility into their processes - anywhere, anytime."
The effect of better visibility to the bottom line can
be substantial. "The top two issues resulting in a loss
of profitability in pet food manufacturing are overfilling and overdrying of product," Newman says. "Process

Wired for data
Automation platforms are limited by the information
collected and analyzed. "The more sensors at critical
points, the smarter your system can be," Stoll says.
Process controls have come a long way in the past 10
years and processors are now able to amass facts and
feedback across nearly every area of the production
environment. Combining that shared data, working with
an external solution provider that offers deeper insights
with data analytics, gives the processor access to very
powerful information. "Consider leveraging a solution
provider that has a focus on process efficiency and can
support you and your operators in real-time decision
making so you can be focused on what you do best:
making pet food," McKeithan suggests.
"Transforming information to knowledge and into
better decisions is the behavioral challenge." Dubbers explains. "The system must provide clear and well-presented
information and support the development of knowledge
that is tuned to the needs at the user level."
PFP

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PET Food Processing - December 2018

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