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DrinkSoft Optimizes Operations for Leading UK Beer Bottle
Tel Aviv, November, 1999 - PRODAC Systems Ltd. announced today that their beverage production management software DrinkSoft has received an valuable vote of confidence in the form of a repeat purchase by a prominent UK bottler. This bottler, who undertook the massive challenge of constructing on its existing site two fully-equipped high speed packaging lines and commissioning them in record time, asked the main contractor to install the DrinkSoft system along with the new lines.
After precisely setting their initial specifications, the bottler chose PRODAC DrinkSoft™ beverage production management software from brewing industry experts Canongate Technology to manage the packaging lines. Using DrinkSoft™ the packaging team maximized throughput from Line 1 and as a result included the system from the outset when commissioning Line 2. In demand-driven market conditions in which this bottler sells every package they can produce, optimizing manufacturing resources is key.
Because they recognized the magnitude of their investment in highest quality equipment, materials and expert personnel, the company’s management sought to fully utilise these resources. In their specifications the bottler set objectives to minimise machine downtime and material losses and to maximise efficiency and beer yields. During a lengthy selection process they evaluated several monitoring and plant information systems. DrinkSoft™, a “best of breed” package developed specifically for beverage bottling operations and used by many of the world’s leading soft drink bottlers worldwide, was found to meet their requirements without the lengthy and expensive customisation and configuration processes entailed in using a generic tool or a bespoke solution. Canongate’s in-depth knowledge of the beer industry and broad project experience were instrumental in designing a complete turnkey solution that would meet the specifications in minimal time.
Another factor entering into their decision was the fact that DrinkSoft™ installation costs are relatively minimal; the preconfigured applications are rapidly installed, the HW requirements are a few PCs and the engineering work involves at most some 100 I/O signals per line. Other features that contributed to the selection of DrinkSoft™ are the system’s reliable and robust data acquisition model and its open architecture that allows for database access, network compatibility and the ability to interface with other corporate IT business systems.
The software is maintained by PRODAC Systems, the developers of the software headquartered in Israel, a software engineering firm dedicated to maintaining and upgrading DrinkSoft and similar vertically focused plant information systems. In addition to selling its software solutions, PRODAC offers consulting and training services for beverage production optimization. The exclusive distributors of DrinkSoft™ in the UK, Canongate Technology, well-reputed system integrators with years of experience, broad expertise and knowledge of the brewing and beverage packaging industries, offered significant added value to the project. They took responsibility for coordinating all parties and delivered the project on time and within budget.
DrinkSoft™ went live on Line 1 in early 1998. Although the line had already begun production, the implementation was accomplished in less than six months and caused little to no interference with the ongoing bottling operations. The success of the system lies largely in the commitment of line personnel and managers alike to incorporate the use of the system into their daily working procedures for monitoring and analysing production processes.
In early 1999 the bottler reached the decision to include the DrinkSoft™ system as an integral part of the second packaging line. They decided to install the system simultaneously with the commissioning of Line 2 in order to take advantage of the DrinkSoft™ tools when carrying out the performance trials of the line during the critical period of line balancing. Close cooperation between the machine contractors, Canongate and PRODAC ensured that the necessary machine data was available to the system from the outset, thus making available accurate counts and non-production reasons needed for accurate throughput and efficiency calculations. Canongate engineers coordinated the project and participated in the line commissioning to ensure that the signals were accurate and that the system operated smoothly.
Commenting on the role of DrinkSoft™ in the commissioning of Line 2, the Packaging Manager said: “PRODAC DrinkSoft™ … played a critical role in commissioning the line and prioritising maintenance efforts. It was a useful cross reference tool when we carried out the performance test which passed with a plant performance of 92% and a machine efficiency of 97%.”
PRODAC’s DrinkSoft is a modular PC-based manufacturing execution system (MES), a plant information system designed specifically for beverage packaging operations that provides innovative graphic analysis tools to monitor and improve production performance. By using DrinkSoft™ to identify the circumstances around and causes for machine downtime and material losses, line operators have been able to pinpoint problems early on and have significantly improved production efficiency. Praising DrinkSoft™ as a useful management tool with excellent graphics/trending packages, the UK bottler’s Packaging Manager indicated that the downtime reporting and analysis functions are DrinkSoft’s™ main benefit.
Counts, faults and analog quality data from automatic sensors connected to the line machinery are transmitted from the L2 PLC network via a Windows NT LAN to the Oracle database server. DrinkSoft™ combines the automatic inputs with menu-driven data entered by the shift teams and processes the real-time data with preconfigured product and planning details to generate a comprehensive view of production, status and quality. The processed information is available for display in the form of user-friendly monitor screens, graphs and reports. The unique Graphic Queries tool gives a bird’s eye-view of production, allowing for point and click drilling-down to see successively more detailed information.
The system collects throughput, stoppages, faults, raw material yields and quality control parameters, identifying production problems and opportunities in real time as well as indicating historical trends. The basic production and downtime monitoring and reporting modules are supplemented by an integrated production planning and scheduling module, a raw materials data entry module, a bright beer tank connection monitor, a plant utilities module and by an on-line quality control module. The latter is of particular interest as the quality parameter samples are displayed in correlation with relevant production information to give a deeper understanding of their significance. For example, thanks to the on-line DrinkSoft™ QC tools, the bottler was able to eliminate certain offsite lab tests which would have caused subsequent losses and re-packing costs. Key QC parameters from all areas of the packaging line are automatically fed into the DrinkSoftTM system, trended and correlated against other key production parameters over varying time spans. For example, key pasteuriser temperatures and PU accumulations are plotted and correlated against shift, product run together with all instances of line downtime – all on the same graph.
Described by another shift team leader as an excellent tool that definitely improves line performance, the benefits to the bottler from DrinkSoft™ are measurable. In addition to the advantages gained from improved efficiencies within the plant, they have been able to use the information collected within DrinkSoft™ externally, for example to improve service from suppliers. Machine suppliers shown DrinkSoft™ evidence of downtime events accepted responsibility for service calls; crown suppliers replaced improperly sized crowns when DrinkSoft™ reports showed an increase in rejects on product runs using those crowns. These benefits are complemented by the intangible advantages of using a system that creates a standard, open, paperless bank of information to which all users can refer.
In addition to the current project, Canongate Technology has installed the DrinkSoftTM system at another UK brewery bottling plant as well as at a packaging facility in Sweden, one of the largest soft drinks plant in Northern Europe. Both plants have reported significant efficiency improvements, achieving a return on investment within the first year. Currently Canongate Technology are implementing the system at a large spirits bottling operation in Dublin, Ireland. With experience and expertise in PLC automation work particularly in the food and beverage industries, Canongate are the leading systems integrator for PRODAC solutions, with the most extensive experience in turnkey DrinkSoft projects worldwide. Canongate’s services can include complete turnkey control packages using a variety of PLC and PC based systems involving process engineering, process control & automation and data analysis & presentation.
Dave Nuttall, PRODAC manager and pre-sales engineer at Canongate, has been selling DrinkSoft to the British beverage industry for the past three years. “Many British drinks manufacturers have shown keen interest in the PRODAC DrinkSoft™ system, but due to Y2K, legacy database and HW infrastructure issues, other plants have been slower to recognize the system’s value. Today enterprise integration “from shop floor to top floor” and manufacturing optimization have become top priorities, while platform, network and database requirements have become non-issues. DrinkSoft’s vertical industry comprehensive functionality and expertise gives it a powerful advantage over its generic competitors. In this market environment we are already seeing a strong interest from new prospects and expect DrinkSoft™ sales in the UK to escalate.” |
