RFID technology makes the milk transportation process more transparent and easier to control
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After a severe summer thunderstorm, the defects in the existing milk transportation system and truck delivery system were exposed, so the founder of Hansa Milch AG decided to invest in a new industrial wireless local area network (WLAN) and radio frequency identification (RFID) Recording system. The integrated truck information flow from arrival to dispatch ensures maximum process transparency and minimizes possible problems.
Speaking of it, this seems to be some kind of providence. As early as 2011, the German company Arla Foods started looking for an alternative to the old-fashioned truck recording system for the milk transportation system and sales network. This project was launched due to a big summer storm.
The milk factory, which produces 600 million kilograms of milk per year, was struck by lightning, leading to errors in key components and exposing weaknesses in data exchange among gatekeepers, weighing stations, transportation lines, process control systems, and cleaning facilities. The data exchange system at the time was based on Magnetic card.
In a short period of time, a team of experts from Hansa Milch of Upahl drafted the requirements and target statement for the development and implementation of a new integrated truck recording system. The new system requires as few structural adjustments as possible and retains as many existing components as possible.
solution
The core of the new scanning process is the RFID card system, which is based on the infrastructure of an industrial wireless local area network. Siemens cooperated with the technical management of the dairy plant and experts from the German vehicle metering manufacturer Pfister Waagen Bilanciai to implement the system.
Coordinated by the central control system Simatic S7 controller, the new system supports the complete data exchange between the truck driver and the process control system, which is monitored and managed from the arrival of the truck to its departure.
Once the truck driver logs into the system with his RFID card at the entrance, the system will record transportation-related data, such as the quality of raw milk, the type and quantity of products, etc., and the batch information will immediately (different from before) appear in the In the SattLine process control system of the milk factory. Andreas Fischer, maintenance director of Arla Foods in Upahl, Germany, said, “In the past, we had to enter data not only at the entrance, but also in the process control system. Now we have a standardized data storage system. This not only saves time, but also It reduces possible errors and gives plant operators an opportunity to adjust the quantity of milk of a certain quality as early as possible.”
Fewer errors
After the truck is weighed on the calibrated vehicle scale, the process control system directs the driver to a certain route according to the type of delivery. Once the results of the rapid inhibitor test come out and the driver enters the correct transportation line via RFID, the process control system allows the truck to be unloaded.
In order to ensure that everything in the compartment is evacuated, the process control system compares the weighing results with the induction flow measurement (IDM) data obtained from the production area. If the two values can match, the truck can continue to enter the cleaning-in-place (CIP) program.
In this way, the new RFID card system ensures the consistency of data throughout the process (the truck comes and goes), and provides valuable support in batch traceability and process transparency. Fischer concluded, “Through this solution, we can guarantee that organic products and conventional products will not be mixed together. It also helps us meet the requirements of the US biological standard NOP (National Organic Program) and is certified in IFS (International Food Standard). Services are provided in the process.
Effective communication
By introducing new solutions, the communication between truck drivers and the factory has become more systematic and efficient. And the sources of errors are greatly reduced, such as manually entered data or verbal descriptions. The factory not only benefits greatly from the production process and product safety, but also can provide a reliable source of products at any time, thanks to the integrated electronic signature authentication function.
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