Sponsored Article
Convergence of people, processes and systems in food and beverage
Author : Martin Walder, VP of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric
19 March 2020
There is a growing human obsession with connectivity. At any moment, day or night, we expect to be able to connect to the web to control our lighting, heating, music and even see our energy consumption. As the Internet of Things becomes more engrained, we all expect deeper insights to improve our daily lives. The same is true in the food and beverage environment.
The industry can benefit tremendously from the increased insights under the umbrella of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Ultimately, IIoT can help businesses realise the potential of bringing together multiple sources of data, disparate systems and processes.
However, doing so involves a new level of collaboration between IT teams and operations staff in charge of running the plants and monitoring the physical devices such as valves and pumps.
No longer can businesses thrive with independent IT and OT strategies – the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) that is based on digital transformation depends on the convergence of IT and operations. Bringing the two worlds together and using some of the latest digital techniques has the potential to improve your food and beverage capability exponentially.
The benefits of convergence
Convergence works on a number of levels; people-orientated and process-orientated. But when the right people and the right systems are in alignment, the whole business benefits.
The convergence of networks and systems depends on communication protocols that are compatible with one another. Without this, data stays isolated and sharing with key stakeholders to support strategic decision-making in real-time is impossible.
However, when IT and OT networks and systems are integrated, and smart sensors installed, downtime and energy consumption are reduced, manufacturing flexibility improved, and operator safety and preventative maintenance increased.
On the ground, food and beverage manufacturers need a system with the ability to connect inventory to smart sensors across the supply chain, making it easier than ever to bring goods to market faster, with lower production costs. Digital-driven plants, with seamless record-keeping and real-time monitoring, are now necessary to ease regulatory compliance and mitigate environmental impacts.
Today's hardware features embedded intelligence to monitor the external condition and predict equipment failures long before they cause disruption. This can help to operators and maintenance by dynamically pinpointing support documentation. In the same way, other factory floor devices directly connect to the cloud and have web protocols and cyber security built-in.
Beyond hardware integration, leading technology delivers system and software integration that is the next step in merging factory floor operations with the enterprise and wider supply chain.
Instant insight
By merging IT and OT, engineers will gain access to the additional insights they now need. It will practically take real-time process control information and make it available at the business level, so rapid decisions can be made.
Integrating IT systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) with OT systems like Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) will help solve key business issues all plants face in terms of production efficiency, process reliability and safety. With heightened visibility and better insight of enterprise operations, new ways of collaboration between previously isolated groups can be established and full potential can be achieved.
Enhancing the business process of the future
Only when organisations, dedicate significant investment into integrating IT with previous non-networking architectures like SCADA systems, will they encounter the ability to take real-time process control information and make it available for rapid business decision making.
Ultimately, aligning systems, processes and people will contribute to more informed decisions, productivity, sustainability and greater efficiency. This will be the key to ensuring maximum benefit can be gained from within a business and ensuring a business's longevity. Despite the challenges it may present the convergence, with clear planning and communication, we at Schneider Electric believe that businesses can realise huge gains from these changing technology systems.
To learn more about F&B2 and power up your food and beverage production, download our eBook HERE.
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