Automation isn't always the right answer to raising productivity in Britain's food and drink manufacturing sector. Ill-advised investments can prove costly white elephants – especially if they are not planned correctly. People still sometimes provide a better solution.
But when properly implemented, automation can provide just the production boost that is required, improving consistency of products, reducing giveaway and cutting costs.
Although initial investment costs shouldn't be the only consideration, the fact that more and more automation suppliers are providing more for less should make the prospects of investing more appealing. When you add to this the engineering support and remote monitoring of kit they offer to food companies lacking the necessary in-house expertise, it's probably worth manufacturers investigating what's available.
But there has to be a solid business case for any investment in automation, with user expectations – including the return on investment – clearly defined at the outset.
"In general we are trying to make our clients' production processes more efficient," says Mark Jackson, who heads up automation giant Siemens' food and beverage business in the UK. Siemens is currently working with companies in the UK beverages and dairy sectors. As well as clients such as Diageo, it is also closely involved with projects for SABMiller and Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE). However, Jackson notes that while brand owners are investing, "the own-label manufacturers are a lot more cautious".
He adds that for the big players such as CCE, standardisation in automation to reduce cost of ownership is a big driver. "Lots of companies have a myriad of technologies and they are looking to streamline and have a holistic approach to automation from one vendor."
But for many smaller manufacturers, automated production lines must provide a high degree of flexibility. Equipment has to be capable of being quickly changed to make different products, made in different formats and with different packaging – all with minimal down-time.
What's more, users are looking for higher overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), a measure of availability, performance and quality. Kit is expected graphically to show OEE trends and be capable of downloading productivity reports in various formats at the press of a button.
It is a feature of the Ishida Data Capture System (IDCSII), which is used to collect and manipulate data from the company's checkweighers. "Information is knowledge," says sales development manager Mitesh Parmar. He describes IDCS II as "the policeman of the production line". It can be linked to high level enterprise resource planning (ERP) or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.
Those attending this month's Total Processing & Packaging Exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham (June 4–6) might be forgiven for thinking automation is all about robots, given the large number of exhibitors showing their latest offerings – everything from entry level pick and place devices to fully re-programmable six-axis robots.
ABB, for example, will showcase key new features of its IRB 360 FlexPicker and unveil a modular concept, which offers high speed precision pick and placement. Elsewhere, Kawasaki Robotics will exhibit a compact, high throughput palletising system, which makes use of its RD80N robot.
Meanwhile, food processing equipment specialist Marel, which lays claim to pioneering an intelligent portion loading technology, has introduced a new high performance IPL Robot, which the company claims can be configured to virtually any application in the protein sector. Single, fresh or frozen portions or sliced groups – like bacon, cooked deli meats, fish and cheese – can be picked from the in-feed conveyor and placed straight into thermoformed trays.
But, of course, automation covers much more than the latest robot or automated production cell put in by a systems integrator.
Although it has just launched its own range of MELFA F-Series robots designed for use in the food industry, Mitsubishi Electric will next month (July 10) hold a one-day conference on the subject of 'Continuous improvement in food & beverage production', sponsored by Food Manufacture, which will take a much broader look at automation in the sector.
The way people interact with automated production cells; how kit is supported and the role of system software and communication hierarchies, including that between shopfloor devices and programmable logic control (PLC) systems and higher level SCADA, manufacturing execution systems (MES) and ERP systems, are all equally important. Fully integrated systems can help to improve production scheduling and monitoring of the efficiency of operations on the shopfloor to ensure timely and efficient sales and operations planning and scheduling.
A recent study by electronics market research consultancy IMS Research (now part of IHS) estimates that fieldbus digital communications protocols, which accounted for 75% of new industrial automation component network connections in 2011, are set to be displaced by Ethernet systems.
The study The World Market for Industrial Ethernet and Fieldbus Technologies – 2013 Edition reports that new network connections using fieldbus protocols are still some way ahead that of Ethernet, but that growth of Ethernet connections is expected to be considerably higher by 2016. More industrial automation component vendors are offering Ethernet provision as standard on their devices, it says
According to IHS analyst Tom Moore, simplifying the network can reduce company overheads through an integrated system, which is difficult to achieve with fieldbus technologies.
"Ethernet adoption across a plant or factory provides a better environment for sharing information and a single division with responsibility for the overall network. The benefits of which are likely to be less downtime and lower overall cost," he says.
Energy management
With energy costs spiralling upwards, energy management has become another key concern for manufacturers, recognised by suppliers such as Siemens and Schneider Electric.
Schneider Electric recently introduced its SmartStruxure package designed to simplify the business of optimising energy management throughout the lifecycle of a facility.
SmartStruxure is mixture of hardware and software that is combined with engineering, installation and services to ensure facilities are energy-efficient and effectively managed. It is powered by Schneider's StruxureWare buildings operation software, which provides integrated monitoring, control and management. Schneider also supplies a package for process automation called PlantStruxure.
Mark Staples, UK food and beverage segment manager, sums up the approach being adopted by Schneider Electric: "In an ideal world, everything talks to each other; all connected devices using Ethernet devices. It's an easy way of getting access to different areas of the plant and different technologies."
Over the past year Schneider has made the food and drink sector a particular focus of its activities in the UK, targeting companies in dairy, bakery, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and meat. It has systems installed with drinks giant Diageo, ingredients company Cargill and Ryvita, for example, has used Schneider's MES systems for several years, says Staples.
"We need to understand what customers are trying to do. Do they need an MES system, or is it something we could do with a SCADA system perhaps? That's what we are trying to do in the UK with a focus on food and beverage," he says.
For the past 12 months, Schneider has been working on a fully integrated system at Arla's super dairy in Aylesbury. "We think we've got a great story to tell with Arla, not just with industrial control and automation, but in other areas of the plant as well to ensure they stay optimised and efficient," says Staples.
Meanwhile, a new free report from automation equipment specialist Festo challenges what it says are simplistic claims for energy efficiency in automation processes. The report is designed to help manufacturers better understand and identify methods, tools and the alternative advantages of pneumatic and electric drive technologies for improving energy efficiency in automation processes.
"The research shows that the requirements of the application entirely determine the right technology mix for energy efficiency," says Festo product manager Steve Sands. "There are no quick-fix solutions for increasing energy efficiency, as it must be viewed in an overall context."
The future for automation in the UK's food and drink sector is well summed up by Siemens' Jackson, who says: "There is a challenge in terms of convincing manufacturers to invest in automation technology. But how else are we going to attain levels of world class manufacture?
"We have got to engage with the right people in organisations and be really pragmatic about where the opportunities are."