September: Traceability in food processing

Who: Kai Rohrer from the electrical design team makes KRONEN machines SMART and therefore ensures smooth production processes in networked processing lines. As a member of the project team for the large-scale order of the fresh produce manufacturer Vitacress from England, he was responsible for setting up the data exchange between the individual machines and the measuring points in the production process.

Like: “For this order, the networking of the machines in the four production lines was a particularly extensive task that involved the integration of both our KRONEN processing solutions and machines from several partner companies. Measurements are carried out continuously in several locations, with weighing devices used to measure the input and output at the beginning and end of each line so that conclusions can be drawn regarding the quality of the raw produce. What’s more, the order number can be used to ensure full traceability of the processing.”

Further data such as the water-to-product ratio help Vitacress to keep the quality of the end products at a constantly high level. The water and power consumption are also measured to obtain reference figures that can be used to implement measures to improve energy efficiency in the production process. 

“When we put the lines into operation at the customer’s facility, it was clear that despite the complex infrastructure, it is very easy to understand how to use the lines. A large monitor displays all important information on operating the line to the staff, for example by showing images of the products currently being processed or offering a visual display of the line status. With these solutions, we met the customer’s requirement of user-friendly operation of the processing lines.”