Page 27 - Packaging News Nov-Dec 2019

November-December 2019
www.packagingnews.com.au BEVERAGE PACKAGING
AUTOMATION
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“In around 2007, the Siemens Op- Centre SIMATIC IT LIMS (laborato- ry information management system) was introduced as a quality manage- ment system, replacing Excel based tools to manage laboratory data.
“In 2011, the MES (manufacturing execution system) was deployed for the filling and packaging part of the plant, then in 2014 it was deployed to the brewing and process sections. This gave Coopers a recipe manage- ment system and helped with pro- duction management,” she says.
Siemens PCS7 operates the brew- house and, together with the LIMS system, Coopers has precise quality control and increased transparency of its processes, says Wong.
“The LIMS links laboratory test information with batch production data so they can ensure product sent to packaging meets their strict qual- ity requirements.
“The various filling and packag- ing lines interact with the MES, which helps with complete trans- parency of data and gives a clear indication of the performance of the lines. This in turn helps with contin- uous improvement initiatives.
“For example, in most cases the empty bottles are delivered right to the depalletiser, which increases efficiency over being staged in a warehouse holding area before being moved to the depalletiser,” she says.
Wong says that by providing sig- nificant increases in efficiency and the repeatability of delivering a high-quality product, automation can help greatly in managing the costs of production.
“The MES is also linked to the AGVs (automatic guided vehicles) to alert that a full pallet of product is ready to be collected by the AGV and moved to a storage location,” she says.
OUTSTANDING BENEFITS
Nick Sterenberg says it is clear that automation has delivered a range of substantial benefits for Coopers – in particular, human productivity has increased and costs have gone down.
“Humans just can’t do some aspects of automation, and we have gone from systems as good as a
person to systems better than a per- son. However, even with automa- tion, there is a need for good quality people to get the data in, analyse it, and initiate any necessary action.
“With the huge pace of change, there have also been some chal- lenges along the way, which mainly related to the need for people to adopt new ways of doing things; however, this has largely subsided and people are now more accus- tomed to change.”
Sterenberg points out that follow- ing the mechanisation and automa- tion phases of Coopers’ journey, the company is now moving into a digi- talisation phase as part of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0).
He believes that like automation, this can be a stepped process, and companies do not have to try every- thing at once. He emphasises the scalability of Industry 4.0, saying it is not just for big companies.
“Rather than a ten-year plan, we have a regular improvement process that identifies any issues and oppor- tunities for improvement.
“The focus is on doing the do-able and taking small steps to ensure that new initiatives are bedded in effec- tively,” he says. ■
MAIN: Coopers relies on advanced automated bottling lines.
TOP TO BOTTOM: “The focus is on doing the do-able”: Nick Sterenberg, Coopers.
Precise quality control: Leonie Wong, Siemens.
Coopers cartons rolling off the line in Adelaide.
The multi- million-dollar Coopers factory at Regency Park, Adelaide.