Extensive analysis of the requirements for the new caramel
production process by Cerestar and Cheshire based Process and
Automation company
Aston Dane plc, determined that a proprietary
batch software solution would be the right choice for the new plant by
providing the essential manufacturing flexibility needed. The market
for caramel is vast and varied, it therefore requires many
manufacturing methods. The plant would need to deliver over two
thousand different products using in excess of 500 process
configurations! Each process arrangement needed to be configurable
within hours in order to satisfy the various customer requirements for
the introduction of their new products in a timely manner to a fast
moving and competitive market.
"2000 products
and over 500 process configurations!"
Foxboro I/A™ Batch
/DCS
Cerestar has one of the ten largest Foxboro I/A systems in the
world. The choice of Foxboro's I/A Batch solution was therefore a
logical one. In the twelve years that the system has been growing,
Cerestar have utilised almost every type of available Foxboro hardware
and a great deal of expertise and confidence has been built up around
the system.
Existing batch plants at Cerestar however had systems constructed
utilising large amounts of "bespoke" software. This had resulted in a
great many disparate software styles and approaches leading to
difficulties in the software maintenance and development. The Foxboro
I/A Batch solution ensured that common and consistent methods were
used throughout the development which had to satisfy the various
process configurations and product types.
S88 Standard
As with other Batch software solutions now becoming available in
the market place, the I/A Batch solution is based around the
international S88 model. Aston Dane have developed a great deal of
experience in recent years in the application of the S88 model across
a range of manufacturing industries. From chemicals and
pharmaceuticals to food processing, considerable production efficiency
benefits can derive from the
S88 approach. The ability of the I/A Batch offering to allow this
approach was a major determining factor in the decision making
process.
Enterprise Integration
The concept for the new Caramel plant was to provide a high level
of automation using site standard technology whilst integrating the
new plant into the existing systems network infrastructure. Cerestar’s
Planning and Logistic department had to be able to plan and schedule
batches to meet customer’s orders. The batch manufacturing system was
to be integrated into existing enterprise networks. In addition,
customer support departments needed to be able to query the
manufacturing process in order to resolve customer issues.
The existing Caramel plant had been in operation for many years and
was primarily a manual batch production facility with the emphasis on
local operator and manual handling. Cerestar recognised that in order
to maximise the productivity of the plant that an automated
solution must be sought. Together Aston Dane and Foxboro I/A Batch
were able to provide the ideal solution.
