Case study | September 2020

automation.omron.com

Omron helps food manufacturer ensure consistent quality and increase production by 35% with plant upgrade

Case study – Mayonnaise Plant Upgrade

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Overview

A manufacturer of mayonnaise and related products required significant upgrades to its plant in order to meet requirements for quality, safety and efficiency. The manufacturer chose Omron as the automation partner to support the development of a world-class manufacturing operation. The two companies worked to create and implement a multi-phase upgrade plan to transform the plant from a predominantly manual operation to an automated one, with the goal of improving safety, product quality and efficiency while eliminating operator errors and minimizing product waste.

Omron helped the manufacturer add new equipment, relocate existing equipment, renew several control panels, automate multiple processes and implement plant networking and equipment monitoring, among other things. Thanks to Omron’s fully integrated technologies that simplify solution architecture by enabling synchronous control of all machine devices, the customer was able to reduce production errors and increase production output by 35%.

This solution provides the following benefits:

• Enables the manufacturer to produce items carrying multiple brands

• Minimizes operator errors by replacing several manual tasks with automation

• Brings production capacity up to the desired level

• Provides an intuitive interface for process management

• Improves product quality and consistency

Improving product quality and consistency with automation

When production involves a significant number of manual tasks, it is much harder to avoid errors and maintain a consistently high level of quality. Certain aspects of production tend to vary from operator to operator.

One of the key goals of this project is to replace error-prone manual tasks with automated processes that will keep ingredient procedures, agitator speeds, mixer timing and other production steps consistent.

A major producer of mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces, marinades and related products began to expand its sales in the United States, one of its divisions located in California was being considered as a primary location to manufacture the company’s branded products. In order to meet the quality control requirements and enable the necessary production capacity, the manufacturer needed to expand and improve upon its current production process.

Omron and the manufacturer devised a three-year plant upgrade plan with the goal of developing a world-class manufacturing operation. As the designated automation partner, Omron is currently in the process of managing and coordinating all activities at the plant. Before the upgrade efforts began, the production lines had very little to no automation, and the reliance on manual processes was sometimes leading to inconsistencies in product quality. Omron worked with the customer to incorporate more automation while ensuring continuous production throughout the upgrade.

Background

Case study – Mayonnaise Plant Upgrade

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Many manual tasks at the plant needed to be automated, including the manual opening and closing of valves to direct the flow of raw materials and finished products. On some of these air valves, operators would need to remove and reconnect pneumatic hoses, an activity that posed serious safety risks. Omron also worked to ensure that

Challenge

Omron worked with the customer to design the control system, mechanical platform and piping configuration for a new automated mixer platform that improves product flow.

the machines met all the requirements for safety and that they had working sensors, switches and emergency stop buttons to protect operators. It was imperative that production remain uninterrupted throughout the duration of the project, so Omron needed to schedule upgrades to ensure continuous production.

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Technology spotlight: NJ Series controllerOmron’s NJ Series controllers provide a powerful, robust and fully integrated automation platform for motion, logic, safety, HMI and more. They enable synchronous control of all machine devices and offer advanced functionality to help simplify solution architecture, reduce programming and optimize productivity.

The plant upgrade project is still ongoing at this point, but Omron has completed several key stages. These include the automation of several mixer machines, the automation of the Raw Material Distribution System, the refurbishment of a filler machine, and the addition of two new automated mixer platforms. Future improvements will include the automation of several other mixers, the addition of new mixers, and the expansion of the Raw Material Distribution System.

All of the existing mixer tank controls were retrofitted with an NJ Series controller and an NA Series HMI to enable recipe control and networking with the local server. This provides the option for process management software integration in the future. All of the manual valves have been replaced by electronically controlled automated valves, and additional flow control meters were added to machines to accurately measure the volume of bulk raw materials.

The Raw Material Distribution Control Panel and multiple remote I/O sub-control panels were added to control the flow of raw material to the mixer machines. These control panels were fabricated by Omron’s authorized control panel partner and installed at various locations within the facility. The Raw Material Distribution Control Panel was designed using the NJ Controller and NA HMI, and NX-IO remote modules were used for the I/O. The system’s controller is also responsible for opening and closing the automated valves, eliminating the need for operators to manually remove and reconnect the air hoses.

Omron’s engineers developed new programs for the controller and HMI for the mixer machines. The Mixer Controller interfaces with the Raw Material Distribution System’s control panel to receive the necessary raw materials, including water, vinegar and five different types of oil. The Mixer Controller sends requests for raw material to the distribution system’s controller and waits for a “delivery

Solution

Case study – Mayonnaise Plant Upgrade

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completed” signal. The Mixer Controller also controls the automated valves around the mixer platform for the delivery of completed product to the packaging line.

A recipe system was designed on the HMI enabling it to walk the operator through the various recipes. The initial recipes were stored in the NJ Controller, and these will eventually be stored on the local server when the new process management software is installed. The recipe function on the HMI ensures consistent product quality by controlling raw material volume, mixing speeds, mixing time, wait times and other key factors.

Solution (continued)

The Raw Material Distribution Control Panel and multiple remote I/O sub-control panels were added to control the flow of raw material to the mixer machines. These control panels were fabricated by Omron’s authorized control panel partner and installed at various locations within the facility. The Raw Material Distribution Control Panel was designed using the NJ Controller and NA HMI, and NX-IO remote modules were used for the I/O. The system’s controller is also responsible for opening and closing the automated valves, eliminating the need for operators to manually remove and reconnect the air hoses.

In the process of installation, a new anchor mixer platform includes two mixer tanks to eliminate the wait time for finished product to be transferred to the packaging line.

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Results

Since the beginning of the upgrade project, the manufacturer has seen a 35% increase in production output. This increase is thanks to a reduction in production errors and the elimination of manual setup for valves and pump settings. The current bottleneck is the inability to run multiple mixers simultaneously, since the Oil Delivery System was designed for only one mixer line. Upgrading the Oil Delivery System is the next project on the schedule, and the system is expected to deliver oil 40% faster upon completion of this project.

Feedback from the plant floor operators and maintenance personnel has been overwhelmingly positive, and machine operators are grateful that they no longer have to manually set up the hand

valves and pneumatic hoses. The step-by-step flow of the HMI program makes it easy for operators to follow a set recipe exactly as it was developed by the R&D and QC groups. Thanks to its intuitive interface, operator error has been dramatically reduced.

Omron’s ability to provide a fully integrated solution and its commitment to exceptional customer service helped the customer acquire the desired level of automation without needing to interrupt production. The automated control of valves, motors, and pumps as well as the automated process control based on stored recipes has resulted in faster production cycle times, consistent product quality, less downtime and less waste.

Omron designed the piping configuration for the delivery of raw materials to the mixer, with pipes for water, vinegar and seven types of oil.

In the design of the new mixer platform piping, the flow control meters and electronic valves direct raw material to the mixer tanks.

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