The controls technology toolbox is full; now it's a matter of deploying the automation firepower in food and beverage plants.
Thin-client control architecture in which programs and data are stored on central servers off the production floor instead of on PCs throughout the shop is the most significant progression between 1991 when Pepperidge Farm built a plant in Denver, Pa., and 2003, when production began at a $72 million facility in Bloomfield, Conn., reflects Dave Watson, director of engineering. Instead of backing up 75 PCs throughout the plant and worrying about the consequences of a motherboard crash, servers in remote locations maintain the system. Relatively inexpensive HMI terminals on the floor have become throwaway items that are easily replaced when malfunctions occur.