Feature Food & Beverage
More production, less consumption I
As Mark Staples, food and beverage segment manager for industry at Schneider Electric explains, effective energy management is no longer an option - it is a strategic business necessity
ncreased competitive pressures, tighter margins and rising energy costs are forcing manufacturers to alter their methods of operation.
However, sophisticated power moni- toring tools have emerged to provide new ways of managing energy con- sumption and quality - providing the information that companies need to be able to take action to reduce energy usage.
Food and beverage manufacturers will face a significant challenge of pro- ducing enough food to meet the world’s growing need, as the global population is expected to swell to around eight billion by 2020. And this at a time when UK manufacturers have also been tasked with reducing their energy consumption by 20%. Mounting pressure to become more sustainable means that many manufac- turers are now seeking solutions that will enable them to lower energy usage but maintain flexible production stan- dards - all the while meeting health and safety guidelines.
Easing the pressure Within the industry, the term ‘Overall Equipment Effectiveness’ or OEE, is a recognised key measurement of effi- ciency and is based on three main fac- tors - performance, availability and quality. With the increasing focus on reducing energy consumption, Schneider Electric believe that there is an argument to now include energy within the equation - resulting in what could be termed Overall Equipment Effectiveness plus Energy Management (OEE+E). In today’s tough economic climate, end users now expect control systems to go beyond functional and regulatory performance. They have now become a tool to manage the plant while reduc- ing energy and overhead costs, cutting carbon emissions and providing quick and precise information that moulds both production and business strate- gies. Additionally, increasingly com- plex software, such as Schneider Electric’s Ampla Express, can now be introduced to a plant, enabling end users to collate all of their energy related data onto a single platform, offering them an easier way to analyse energy consumption.
As a way of improving efficiencies, manufacturers should consider automating processes that currently
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Below: automation allows for better repeatability, so particularly for the food industry, both the recipe and the actual production process can be automated and controlled
Summary
operate manually. By doing so, it is possible to reduce human error and make significant cost savings for the company - a vital consideration in today’s challenging market. Further to this, automation allows for better repeatability, so particularly for the food industry, both the recipe and the actual production process can be automated and controlled, ensuring that all products look and taste the same every time, therefore helping to reduce food waste as raw ingredients become scarcer.
Over the past decade, the adoption of Ethernet-based control networks and commercial off the shelf hard- ware, components and operating sys- tems have improved the way the systems in place communicate. This provides end users with the flexibil- ity, choice and predictability neces- sary to achieve a truly energy efficient manufacturing plant. By upgrading to a fully integrated solution, incorpo- rating both the energy management and automation system with the oper- ation management applications, it is possible to make vast improvements to a site’s OEE+E.
For a food manufacturer to lower running costs while reducing energy consumption, they must employ a flexible automation system that is capable of reacting to changing energy costs. The price of energy can vary significantly at different times of the day, as well as geographically. While manufacturers may be using a process automation system to manage energy consumption, if they are using too much energy at the wrong times of the day, both costs and emissions will remain high. In response to market demand for a collaborative system, Schneider Electric introduced PlantStruxure - a process automation system which includes a range of production management soft- ware solutions. Once implemented, a solution such as PlantStruxure can help to keep unexpected down-time to a minimum, lower production costs and help to ensure that energy reduction tar- gets are met.
This effectively reduces waste and helps companies comply with the heavy environmental regulations which govern today’s food and beverage indus- try. Businesses that operate an open and collaborative production environment that embraces standards can enjoy sig- nificant energy efficiency benefits. It is time for manufacturers to look to a top- down approach to achieving a high OEE+E rating, to ensure that their sys- tems are flexible, sustainable, energy efficient and withstand the test of time.
Schneider Electric
www.schneider-electric.com T: 0870 608 8 608
Enter 212 APRIL 2013 Automation
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