Unilever has installed a manufacturing execution system at its Gloucester ice cream factory, cutting its raw material stockholding and significantly improving mixing operations.
The Trac-IT software from Marco uploads live data from the shopfloor to Unilever's enterprise resource planning system in real time, boosting control, visibility and efficiency. Phase one has focused on processing incoming raw materials and the mixing plant.
Drivers receive swipe cards programmed with data relating to their delivery. On arrival at a new driver-operated weighbridge, they swipe the cards through a reader and enter the delivery note number. If this complies with data in Trac-IT, weighing can occur.
Cameras record the vehicle's position to ensure the readout is correct. After unloading, the empty vehicles are weighed again and the net delivery weights transferred via Trac-IT to Unilever's system.
During recipe make-up, when work orders are raised by the new system, the bill for manually assembling sub mixes (colours, flavours, etc) is sent to a Trac-IT terminal. This helps operators ensure ingredient weights are within preset parameters.
"Trac-IT has given us total control, total reportability, fewer mistakes and one where every action is logged," said Unilever Gloucester SAP administrator Neil Drew. "This has enabled us to reduce our raw material stock holding levels."