|
Spirits Rise with DrinkSoft Installed at Irish Distillers, Dublin
Tel Aviv, January 2001 - PRODAC Systems Ltd. and Canongate Technology Ltd. have completed their first installation of DrinkSoft at a distilling plant at Irish Distillers' in the fair city of Dublin. Irish Distillers Ltd is the producer of such prestigious spirit brands as Jameson, Paddy, Powers and Bushmill's, with plants not only in Dublin, but also at Cork in the South and Bushmills in Northern Ireland. IDL selected DrinkSoft, the leading MES system for soft drink and beer packaging, for a pilot project to optimise its bottling operations. The plant expects to derive significant benefit from using DrinkSoft to increase throughput and to reduce both machine downtime and product losses. Initially installed on a single line, it is anticipated that once the benefits of the system are realised it will be "rolled out" onto the remaining IDL lines.
Optimisation on the bottling lines is becoming increasingly important in today's competitive market. In order for Irish Distillers to produce a wide variety of whiskeys and other spirits in various packages, both for the domestic market and for export, they must execute a complex production programme with several setup and changeover processes. The large investments in machinery, in high quality glass packaging and in the aged and crafted spirits themselves compel IDL to optimally utilise these valuable resources. In addition, as the market demands increasingly higher levels of flexibility, immediacy of response and open access to information, IDL requires fuller control of all aspects of its plant operations. DrinkSoft was installed to meet these demands.
The DrinkSoft project followed a systems analysis exercise during 1999, which identified all the requirements for installing the system at the plant. After the design specification was approved, the automation and integration work was started with completion during February 2000.
The installation of the system by Canongate Technology was rapid and smooth. In order to collect meaningful information into the database, Canongate programmed some additional automatic signals in machine PLCs and connected the machine controls via Profibus. The Profibus was in turn connected to a Fast Ethernet LAN on which were installed the Oracle Server and the DrinkSoft server and client applications. In turn, signal testing and user training followed. The entire process required less than fifteen working days on-site and minimal interruption of bottling operations.
The system is now live and producing valuable data for the plant operators and management, allowing them to pinpoint any line problems fast and accurately as well as giving them the ability to report on production performance over any time period and / or production run.
DrinkSoft provides the plant with comprehensive, easy access to accurate real time production status information, whereupon focus is placed clearly upon problems and opportunities, improving timely decision-making. Periodical analysis of the historical database using DrinkSoft's unique graphic tools, trend graphs and reports facilitates improved long-term planning and production procedures. Maximising efficiency, reducing downtime and better exploitation of existing production capacity to meet growing demand without adding shifts of course saves the plant expenditure on labour, overtime or new equipment. Preventing losses of product and packaging also contributes to reduced costs.
- end - |
