PCS implementation can boost dairy competitiveness – Siemens

04-Dec-2012 - Last updated on 04-Dec-2012 at 14:03 GMT

Dairy processors can better address the challenge of remaining competitive in the long term through the installation of a process control system (PCS), German technology giant Siemens has claimed.

According to the company, dairy products manufacturers cannot be hampered by ageing, inflexible processing systems if they hope to keep up with changing consumer habits.

Automated processing systems, such as Siemens’ SIMATIC PCS 7, monitor manufacturing environments and electronically control processing flow – enabling dairy processors to respond swiftly to these changing market requirements.

Speaking with DairyReporter.com, Siemens’ Rüdiger Seliger claimed that as well as improving productivity, these systems can ensure the highest possible product quality and consistency.

“Our overall aim is to increase the productivity of our customers in the food and beverage industry, ensure highest possible product quality and consistency, especially if a company is operating several plants and production lines,” said Seliger, the firm’s manager of food and beverage marketing and communications.

Consistent product quality

According to Siemens, implementing this type of technology can help to reduce costs and ensure a consistently high level of product quality. It could also help dairy processors comply with strict regulations, and improve flexibility – particularly in regards to faster product changeover.

“With the SIMATIC PCS 7 and the dairy-specific software concept, Siemens supports his customers in the dairy industry to carry out all the standard functions of dairy operations efficiently and throughout the complete process,” Seliger added.

“Specific modules ensure a high level of reliability and ease of use/usability for the operator.”

Monitoring and tracking

Siemens’ SIMATIC PCS 7 consists of several modules, including a process line manager, an archive manager, and a tank manager.

The process line manager can be used to manually or automatically control the progress of specific jobs, while the archive manager records each individual material movement with the systems.

“When a transfer begins, all relevant information about the source – starting time, quantity reference value or destination – is stored in the user archive. At the end, the finishing time, quantity required and status are also stored. The process visualisation allows monitoring and tracking of the corresponding material movements at all times,” said Seliger.