Schneider Electric’s food and beverage solutions are increasing the efficiency and sustainability of the industry, and the company’s dairy solutions allow users to seize new market and profit opportunities, thanks to zero waste and 100% traceable production. This is achieved through Schneider’s EcoStruxure Hybrid DCS, formerly known as PlantStruxure PES, which helps customers manage their dairy processes in an easy, smart and energy-efficient way. The new platform improves the production monitoring and control system, while making provisions for the company’s future expansion.
Dynamic and competitive, the current dairy market reflects an increased demand for safe and nutritious products. Innovation and flexibility are critical when growth hinges on the ability to meet consumer requirements, while striving for zero waste.
South African case study
Schneider Electric has excellent case studies from dairies as far and wide as the UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and South Africa. Woodlands Dairy, one of the largest manufacturers in South Africa in dairy farming plant, food and beverage, bought a second-hand powder plant from Denmark. However the control system was outdated and not suitable for the modifications required to adapt the process to the company’s specifications. Top of the agenda was a single platform that could integrate all the disparate plants on site and preserve past investments in expensive assets and legacy systems, while making provision for future expansion.
Schneider Electric’s ArchestrA Systemp Platform consisting of the Application Server, InTouch HMI, Historian and Historian Clients trending and reporting tool was selected, as Woodlands Dairy had previous experience with these products. Other reasons included:
• Universal data connectivity that could cope with Woodlands Dairy’s variety of PLCs.
• Object orientated technology software that was more maintainable than its alternative and also promoted standardisation.
• A distributed system
• Easy to create reports and easy retrieval of historical data.
• Full redundancy.
• Scalability.
• The level of support available in South Africa from Schneider Electric.
The total implementation took about six months, half of which was spent on the new powder plant, which was commissioned first. While the powder plant was a greenfields project, the processing plant upgrade and expansion was done live during weekly shutdowns, and the standards developed for the powder plant were rolled out for these projects.
Other process areas were also upgraded and these included a new Clean in Place (CIP) station, a new cream pasteuriser/butter plant, an upgrade to the milk pasteuriser, new pasteurised milk silo and milk lines, new pasteurised cream silo and a new milk reception area with its own CIP station.
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