Making more efficient use of existing resources

IT packages can provide tools for production support that enable potentials for optimisation along the entire process chain to be identified prior to rectification.

The ongoing cross-sectoral economic crisis is compelling companies to institute economies - and to rethink their planned expenditure on new investments. For some, the struggle to survive on the market has already begun, while others have postponed their new investment projects and are trying to manage for as long as possible with their existing equipment.

For most food and beverage companies the scope for extensive new investment is limited, so the aim must be to utilise the available resources more efficiently and to upgrade their effectiveness. To do this, objective performance measurements for the production operation are essential, since weak points and loss sources in the operations must first be identified in the as-is situation.

Krones’ IT tools can assist users to pinpoint weaknesses and also support the decision-making required to boost the efficiency of the production process involved.

With its sectoral expertise based on many years of experience in process technology, filling and packaging technology and intralogistics, Krones has implemented and integrated approximately 750 IT modules for optimising production systems in recent years, using a field-proven best-practice approach.

Performance analysis

The performance results of the production operations are evaluated by comparing the actual figures achieved by the production process with the expected results. The performance measurement module determines what is called the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

This calculation incorporates the measurement and evaluation of the total effectiveness losses exhibited by the production lines as quantified by sector-specific key statistics, and is then used for minimising the machinery/process-related losses. The figures determined in the OEE calculation constitute the basis for cross-plant comparisons of production facilities, broken down by products, lines and machines. In addition, the causes of malfunctions and standstills are accurately detected and line downtimes displayed in a downtime analysis module (DTA).

Production planning

By providing intelligent plausibility checks and visualisation options, the production planning module assists the user’s planning staff in handling their entire remit, thus ensuring a simpler, more flexible planning process. Krones’ IT package focuses on making optimum use of the production resources available, like lines, materials and staffing required, taking due account of all sectorally specific restrictions, so as to generate viably feasible plans.

This provides the user with a simplified, time-saving production planning process, enabling bottlenecks to be detected immediately and costs to be saved by efficient utilisation of the resources to hand. In addition, there is an option for comparing and evaluating planning variants.

Order control

Through interfaces to the machines, the higher-level order control module manages the line’s production orders. The filling orders inside the line are coordinated depending on the current order and its parts list, and all the important counter readings are monitored. In addition, the requisite quantities of consumables are automatically and promptly requested. Using this module creates economies of both time and money. The cost savings are due to the production process being accurately tailored to the precise capacities of the bottles and tanks involved. Time-savings are also achieved with the changeover and cleaning routines, thus ensuring high levels of line availability, quality and overall efficiency.

Care and maintenance

The care and maintenance tool from Krones supports the maintenance staff, enabling them to work more effectively and affordably, and to avoid or minimise unscheduled line standstills by means of appropriate maintenance work. This is a plug-and-play system, ready for operation immediately after being installed. Condition-based monitoring, moreover, provides options for preventive maintenance. Suitable sensors ensure early warning of material fatigue, enabling the worn parts to be replaced in good time.

In the present-day situation, particularly, it’s worthwhile for companies to invest in information technology, to as to boost the efficiency of their value creation chain, enabling them to plan their future operations with lower fixed costs in the production process.