Bread and Muffin Bakery Control System

Industry: Food – Baked Goods
Application: S88 Batching System

Overview

A leading manufacturer of baked goods contracted EZSoft to implement a Component Based Control System (CBCS) to monitor and control critical plant processes in the new plant including ingredient handling and batching control.

The new system controls (2) production lines associated with muffins and one (1) line associated with bread products. Both the muffin and bread areas share the common bulk storage silos for flour. The bread and muffin lines each have a minor ingredients system consisting of up to twenty (20) minor bin hoppers for storage and delivery of minor ingredients. Each area also has its own liquids storage and delivery system.

The Ingredient Handling/Batch Control System coordinates the delivery of multiple ingredients (flour, minors, liquids and hand-adds) from the different sources to multiple mixers in a specific order as determined by the production schedule for specific recipes. The new system consists of 15 individual units, 242 phases and over 2000 field I/O points.

Highlights

Unlike traditional Distributed Control System (DCS) solutions, Component Based Control Systems (CBCS) utilize “best of breed” components and applications that provide a powerful and cost effective solution for automated systems. For this project, EZSoft’s ProductionSuite™ was used to provide managers and supervisors with the tools needed for production scheduling, recipe management, inventory management, lot tracking and reporting. ProductionSuite™ components are web-based which provides the plant with a powerful deployment tool over the plant’s intranet.

Additionally, the ProductionSuite™components are tightly integrated with the manufacturing control layer which uses Allen Bradley’s ControlLogix programmable logic controllers. ControlLogix PLC’s are used for the Ingredient Handling/Batch Control System and are used extensively throughout the rest of the plant. The ControlLogix programmable logic controllers are programmed using EZSoft’s ControlBuilder® for real time control. ControlBuilder® provides the real time control layer that is compliant with ISA 88 standards and is tightly integrated with ProductionSuite™.

By using an innovative system and competitive software development tools, expanding upon well-established standards and providing a more efficient means of recipe monitoring and reporting, EZSoft, Inc. provided the new plant a system for ingredient handling and batching that supports production demands. Because the system strictly adheres to the ISA 88 batch standard, recipe additions and changes are made with minimal effort.

Technologies Used:

• EZSoft ProductionSuite™ including:
– Schedule Manager
– Recipe Manager
– Inventory Manager
– Report Manager

• EZSoft ControlSuite™ including:
– Batch Manager
– Phase Manager
– Device Manager
– Alarm Manager
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 w/ Reporting Services for data storage and reporting.
• Rockwell Software FT TransactionManager for data acquisition from the PLC.
• Rockwell Software FTViewSE for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition.
• Allen Bradley PanelView Plus Operator Interface terminals.
• Allen Bradley ControlLogix programmable logic controllers for real time control.