ICONICS Case Studies Customer Success Story: United Biscuits

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	Customer Success Story: United Biscuits ICONICS

Customer Success Story: United Biscuits

ICONICS

Technology Category	Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Middleware, SDKs & Libraries
Applicable Industries	Food & Beverage
Applicable Functions	Discrete Manufacturing Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Manufacturing System Automation Process Control & Optimization
Services	System Integration Training
Challenge	United Biscuits, specifically their McVitie’s brand, was looking to automate their biscuit baking process. The challenge was to translate the intelligence of more than 30 years of experience into an automatic, high-performance process control system that was user-friendly and could be retrofitted on the existing equipment. The control of the oven, which produces thousands of biscuits per hour, was previously governed by an operator with many years of experience. The knowledge of this operator was documented and formulated into a set of rules for adjusting the oven control based on the quality of the biscuits exiting the oven. Read More
About Customer	United Biscuits (UB) is a leading international manufacturer of biscuits, with a strong presence in the United Kingdom and Europe. The company is known for its commitment to quality and innovation. One of its brands, McVitie’s, operates a plant in Tollcross, Glasgow, where they produce a variety of biscuits. The plant features a multizone oven that produces thousands of biscuits per hour. Before the implementation of automation, the control of this oven was governed by an operator with many years of experience. The operator's knowledge and skill were crucial in producing high-quality biscuits. Read More
Solution	The solution involved the deployment of ICONICS GENESIS32™ software. ICONICS engineers, working alongside McVitie’s technical staff, developed a software system to execute the rules and automatically make the control adjustments within the oven. The data acquisition module, DataWorX™32, acquires and manipulates data, which are then accessed by the HMI, GraphWorX™32, and a rules-based module. The rules-based module built into GENESIS32 then applies the rules developed from more than 30 years experience of the operators and outputs the instructions, via the scripting module ScriptWorX™32, to the PLC, which controls the burners and temperatures in the oven zones. GraphWorX32 also performs the other more traditional SCADA functions of graphical display of data and process elements. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Middleware, SDKs & Libraries

Applicable Industries

Food & Beverage

Applicable Functions

Discrete Manufacturing

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Manufacturing System Automation

Process Control & Optimization

Services

System Integration

Training

Challenge

United Biscuits, specifically their McVitie’s brand, was looking to automate their biscuit baking process. The challenge was to translate the intelligence of more than 30 years of experience into an automatic, high-performance process control system that was user-friendly and could be retrofitted on the existing equipment. The control of the oven, which produces thousands of biscuits per hour, was previously governed by an operator with many years of experience. The knowledge of this operator was documented and formulated into a set of rules for adjusting the oven control based on the quality of the biscuits exiting the oven.

About Customer

United Biscuits (UB) is a leading international manufacturer of biscuits, with a strong presence in the United Kingdom and Europe. The company is known for its commitment to quality and innovation. One of its brands, McVitie’s, operates a plant in Tollcross, Glasgow, where they produce a variety of biscuits. The plant features a multizone oven that produces thousands of biscuits per hour. Before the implementation of automation, the control of this oven was governed by an operator with many years of experience. The operator's knowledge and skill were crucial in producing high-quality biscuits.

Solution

The solution involved the deployment of ICONICS GENESIS32™ software. ICONICS engineers, working alongside McVitie’s technical staff, developed a software system to execute the rules and automatically make the control adjustments within the oven. The data acquisition module, DataWorX™32, acquires and manipulates data, which are then accessed by the HMI, GraphWorX™32, and a rules-based module. The rules-based module built into GENESIS32 then applies the rules developed from more than 30 years experience of the operators and outputs the instructions, via the scripting module ScriptWorX™32, to the PLC, which controls the burners and temperatures in the oven zones. GraphWorX32 also performs the other more traditional SCADA functions of graphical display of data and process elements.

Impact #1	The system allows for the automatic adjustment of oven control for different products.
Impact #2	The system displays the rules being implemented at any particular time.
Impact #3	All rule modifications are password-protected, online through the operator’s terminal.

Impact #1

The system allows for the automatic adjustment of oven control for different products.

Impact #2

The system displays the rules being implemented at any particular time.

Impact #3

All rule modifications are password-protected, online through the operator’s terminal.

Benefit #1	Line efficiency has improved by 2.5%.

Benefit #1

Line efficiency has improved by 2.5%.

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Overview

Customer Success Story: United Biscuits

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit