Winner: Zi-Argus NSW
Project: Boags Brewery Modernisation and Expansion, Tasmania
Zi-Argus NSW’s project at the Lion Nathan Boags Brewery implemented an innovative solution for a complex and unusual process.
While much of the focus of the brewing process has been on standardising batch process control, alignment to the S88 standard and robust engineering practices have provided a vehicle for uniformly implementing similar solutions to different processes within the sites.
These include utilities and packaging production areas which are typically discrete and continuous processes.
Lion Nathan required a Standard Automation Philosophy to underpin ongoing significant capital investments for re-development and improvements to production facilities at its major sites, streamlining and simplifying the key business operational facets.
This development presented a key opportunity for standardisation, but it required a foundation automation policy to support standard implementation, in addition to a future strategy for common manufacturing processes. Zi-Argus NSW implemented these concepts at the Boags site for the Brewhouse, Filtration and Bright Beer production areas.
Ken Maxwell (L), Sales Director, Zi-Argus NSW receives the winner’s trophy from category sponsor Sean Cahill, Regional Sales Manager, Siemens.
Speaking to PACE after the win, Ken Maxwell, sales director of Zi-Argus NSW, said the flexibility of the upgrade was a key point. “Our project was redefining the control strategies for Lion Nathan’s breweries, and that was based on a new structured batch control system, which was developed as an international standard,” he explained.
“It was applied by the breweries to do what was traditionally done in a way that was bespoke for that application. So we went from a bespoke to an application which was based on an international standard. That gave us the ability to roll it out to many breweries.”
The project team used GE’s iBatch v5.1 and iFix v5.0 as the top end batching and visualisation systems and multiple PLCs as the workhorse to satisfy the backbone processing requirements. For all information and data storage requirements, Microsoft’s SQL Server 2005 was used.
By designing 50 batch process units within the system to control around 2000 I/O, the Zi-Argus NSW project team delivered the ideal solution for the new DE Candlestick filtration line. It extended existing Bright Beer storage tank farm, associated CIP systems and various transfer lines; online amidst an already busy manufacturing environment.
Appropriate unit boundary identification within the iBatch environment during the design stage allows for the allocation, reservation of shared transfer lines, CIP sets and gas and liquid manifolds during production execution. This minimised a new development requirement that would traditionally be done within the PLC.
The integration of the software products further within the Boags brewery (particularly Batch), has allowed Lion Nathan as a group to leverage off existing Microsoft SQL server, Proficy Historian and Plant Apps MES infrastructure.
This brings the Boags brewery strategically and operationally closer to its bigger brother companies Tooheys and Castlemaine who were the first plants to use the S88 structures developed by Zi-Argus NSW.
The judges commented: “This is a well designed and executed project. The design was able to place the process owners back in control of the process. The powerful concept of ‘one click’ manufacturing was successfully implemented in a brewery.”
Check out the Finalists in the Food & Beverage category.
The 2011 Zenith Food & Beverage Award is sponsored by Siemens.
For over 135 years, Siemens has been providing innovative technology-based solutions in the areas of water, energy, environment, healthcare, productivity, mobility, safety and security. Through these eight solution areas, Siemens is meeting the demands placed on businesses by the four global megatrends – climate change, demographic change, globalisation and urbanisation.