Because of increasing consumer interest in a more diverse product selection, healthy foods, and more convenient meal preparation, food manufacturers in dairy, meat, baked goods and produce are supplying a widening array of new SKUs in both chilled and frozen formats. This places an ever increasing demand on cold storage, and with older facilities, it’s not very easy to automate them.
Seven suppliers from mechanical engineering, industrial automation and software announced the foundation of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance at the Hannover Messe 2019 trade fair. With this cooperation, the companies want to overcome proprietary solutions and give a boost to the digital transformation of the European industry.
The digitalization journey for food and beverage processors relies on careful consideration of numerous factors to be a success. Among them are sensors to collect data, applications to manage that data, and cloud-based systems to help oversee the entire process.
If you're not embarking on the digital transformation journey, you'll be flying blind without the instrumentation and computing capabilities to keep you focused on producing quality, food-safe product and staying ahead of your competition.
Enter EPIC—a controller capable of handling analog and discrete I/O with direct connection to sensors and actuators, running real-time tasks on board and connecting safely to cloud-based and on-premises applications.
To be able to monitor production readings without manual intervention not only improves product quality, but also can stop processes before damage to the final product.
According to research by the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, almost a third of food processing operations already use robotics in their facilities. What’s more, half of those surveyed said they will increase their level of automation in the next three to five years. However, not every food manufacturer is an automation convert.
Smart phones can be an asset on the plant floor, letting operators look at current plant data and make intelligent decisions. But, should personal devices be checked at the door, and are they a potential risk for cyberattacks?