Clean-in-place (CIP) systems are a vital part of daily production in the food and beverage industry. They allow manufacturers to clean internal piping, tanks, and machines from one batch to the next to meet government regulations and ensure product quality and safety. However, CIP operations also represent a significant portion of a facility’s total utility costs and often involve manual process adjustments and manual data recording.
The article How to digitally transform your CIP operation explores the potential of digital solutions in CIP (Clean-in-Place) systems.
“For these manufacturers and others like them who use CIP systems, this cleaning process can represent up to 30% of a facility’s total utility costs.”
Emerson, has designed a new digital solution that combines sensor-equipped devices and software to capture and analyze critical process data. This new solution will offer manufacturers fresh options for optimizing utilities and enable automated reporting.
“Many inefficiencies can exist within a cleaning process in manual or sub-optimized CIP system.”
To understand the impact of this new digital solution, consider a manual or sub-optimized CIP system in a brewery or dairy. Despite the simplicity of the configuration, many inefficiencies can exist within the cleaning process.
For example, the operator overseeing the CIP system often does not know how much media is being consumed during each cleaning cycle, resulting in untracked waste. Additionally, the cleaning cycle may run for a preset amount of time deemed sufficient for cleaning, but if no sensors or metrics are in place, then waste is likely to occur during the cycle.
Emerson’s digital solution addresses these inefficiencies by gathering critical process data through sensors and instruments and combining them with newly developed software that collects and analyzes the data and presents it in report form. With access to real-time process information, manufacturers can automate and optimize wash cycle settings, including cycle duration and media use, for optimal efficiency and maximum productivity. They also have the option to take the data and analytics further into enterprise-wide systems.
As part of its initial testing, Emerson developed an analytics package for beverage manufacturing with Lakeside Process Controls, which demonstrated a 30% to 45% reduction in water consumption and a 20% reduction in operator time spent at the CIP station. This significant reduction in operator time alone represents savings of $20K to $40K annually, and it can help to alleviate the all-too-common stress of a stretched workforce within the industry.
“Digitalization of CIP systems eliminates pencil-and-paper record keeping and replaces it with software capable of instantly converting process data into organized reports.”
Reports can be generated for satisfying government regulation and compliance requirements, planning system maintenance, scheduling downtime, and ordering media supplies.
“The CIP software is able to generate a “golden batch” score that represents the ideal benchmarks of a cycle running at optimal efficiency.”
CIP systems in food and beverage operations are ideal for the many benefits offered by digital transformation. By combining sensor-equipped devices and software, Emerson has designed a new digital solution that will offer manufacturers fresh options for optimizing utilities and enabling automated reporting. This new solution addresses inefficiencies in the cleaning process and can result in significant cost savings for manufacturers.
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Learn more about Clean In Place (CIP) Utilities and Automated Reporting Analytics package delivered via PACEdge™ and Movicon™ platforms on an industrial edge control device.
