Across the entire food industry, production lines have become more complex, with more and more components integrated into the same network to increase output. An effective control system is key, as it ensures that the production line remains simple to use and that movement between each area of the production line is seamless.
As a result, data collection technology has become more and more sophisticated over the years, enabling companies to achieve very precise control parameters. The more detail the system delivers, the easier it is for processors to fine tune their systems and the more control they will get over their processes.
The frozen food industry has been perfecting and improving its control systems now for many years. One of the main drivers behind this trend is waste management. The potential losses in the event of poor environmental controls are huge, in particular in the frozen food industry. Ensuring that food is maintained at the right temperatures is critical for food safety and limitation of waste. With more and more regulations focusing on preventive control, producers are increasingly under pressure to adopt mechanisms that prevent contamination and ensure that all their products are safe from the moment they leave the production line. By enhancing their controls and automation capabilities, manufacturers gain full visibility over the entire production line to meet regulatory requirements and achieve efficient and safe processing and packaging of frozen foods.
Market challenges
According to producers contacted for this article, there are several challenges they and their clients face, with regards to implementing data monitoring and control systems.
One of them is that complex and highly customized equipment needs to be controlled with a simple interface, proper operator safety, and equipment protection. Retrofit installation is always performed after the sales process is complete and all details may not be accounted for until it needs to be fitted. Given this typical scenario, installing engineers need to have the necessary tools and settings available to successfully install the equipment in a short period as time progressively becomes more critical in the market. This challenge is avoided when the controller is installed on new equipment produced, as it is fully configured and tested before leaving the factory.
“Our target market is food and industry in which frozen food is directly associated with. Another target market is with chemical and gas industry applications. In principle, we strive to offer solutions for all refrigeration needs from 100 kW onwards”, says a representative from GEA Freezing. “The GEA Omni™ offers superior data collection and analysis compared to other OEM refrigeration and gas compressor controllers. As a standard it trends all input and output signals at one minute intervals while also saving all data at five second intervals for a ten minute rolling window for optimal data analysis. The user interface also offers at a glance all frequent warnings and shutdowns for quick reference and when problems have occurred over a defined time period.”, GEA says.
Another challenging aspect is using outdated equipment or installing new ones incorrectly. “Many frozen food plants are still using control equipment that is outdated or badly configured, which is affecting their ability to monitor their production as the required data is not available. Control systems are rarely commissioned with a full set of finely tuned control loops as not all processes or recipe types can been tested during initial production trials. As a result, many variables are simply left to chance and will cause unexpected problems at later stages. Although the system may be running the correct plant equipment at the correct time in the production sequence, fine tuning might not have been applied to some control loops to accurately tighten down these processes,” says Chris Jones, group sales manager – controls, tna.
Lastly, there are still many companies that prefer to manually check the data, instead of investing in modern technological advances. “Many companies still check and document temperature measurements by hand. Apart from opening up the potential for human error, this goes against the principles of lean operating procedures and is cost intensive. But thanks to current technology, wireless systems for temperature management make it easy to create individual monitoring solutions that are both economical and simple to use in any situation. One example is T&D’s RTR 500 product line for temperature control. The RTR 500 series offers small and robust temperature monitoring devices that can be fixed virtually anywhere: from freezer cabinets and the different zones inside cold storage rooms to processing areas. With networked systems like the RTR 500 W base station and the RTR 502 remote unit, monitoring and documentation of temperature measurements can be conveniently administered via cloud computing.”, says a representative from Japanese specialists T&D Corporation.
What will the future look like?
Producers say they are optimistic about the coming years, as more companies understand the importance of implementing high-tech solutions for their factories and are willing to invest in new and state-of-the-art monitoring and control systems. Automation and control systems have become a very important tool for food manufacturers looking for a greater level of control over their production processes. Food safety and quality are paramount to ensure customer satisfaction and remain profitable. Fully integrated control systems can provide complete visibility over the entire line and help keep track of stock, sell-by-dates and end product quality. In addition, food processors can monitor and record information about their processes enabling them to rectify any issues, and have the documentation available to meet new record keeping requirements. Not only does this speed up production, but it also creates a greater level of transparency and accountability within the manufacturing process.
“Our standalone tna supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA), for example, is well suited for this purpose as it can extract data from the existing programmable logic controller (PLC) system. Once collected, any relevant information is then logged in a central database to enable the creation of configurable reports that are specific to the plant in question. As this system is a standalone piece of equipment and does not form part of the actual control system of the plant, it does not disrupt or interfere with the existing production control and operation,” says Chris Jones, group sales manager – controls, tna.
In the field of deep frozen foods in particular, cost efficiency and a seamless workflow play an important role when it comes to maintaining the cold chain, and this will continue to be the case. Investment in data logger systems that monitor frozen foods during the production process is a minor step that produces major advantages.
“The market for frozen foods is characterized by huge diversity and a broad range of demands. From processing and transportation to storage, sales and preparation, each station of the cycle has special monitoring and safeguarding requirements. So the first priority for data monitoring equipment is flexibility. Only an individually tailored solution can be an effective solution in terms of safety as well as from an economic point of view. T&D Corporation responds to these needs by presenting what is effectively a “construction kit”. Whether a company wants to monitor goods that are on the move or spread over very large areas, or whether they need to control processing phases or simply maintain the integrity of a line of refrigerators, T&D offers various options,” say T&D representatives.
GEA also believes that the market will evolve in the direction of a greater focus on automation, which is why emphasis must be put on sophisticated, yet intuitive control systems. “We believe this market will continually evolve this year and into 2015 moving towards modular units and turn-key systems along with more sophisticated and integrated control systems. Automation is becoming more important as it is the users’ interface to the equipment it operates. Given more focus on this area will bring more user-friendly controllers with more efficient operation to save customers’ time and energy costs”, ends GEA.