The modernization required conversion of the PLC 5s and upgrade of other legacy controls hardware and communication protocols. The new control system would include the latest ControlLogix platform with updated hardware devices along with completely redeveloped Programmable Logic Control (PLC) and Human-Machine Interface (HMI) functionality. 

Reasons for Control System Modernization

1. Previous generations of control systems were rugged and durable but lacked expandability due to size, space, and processing power constraints. For this reason, manufacturing facilities often find themselves at maximum capacity as they make their products and materials on outdated, end-of-life control systems.
2. Outdated systems can become cumbersome and prone to errors, variability, and breakdowns, leading to diminished productivity yield and quality. These manufacturers lack the benefits of innovative, updated manufacturing technology, which could significantly improve their processes. 
3. Modern systems have vastly improved capabilities, reliability, connectivity, and expandability in comparison to predecessors. Modernized systems allow manufacturers to integrate with more systems throughout the facility and take advantage of the newest technology to improve product quality and output. The ability to integrate more of the latest control devices and technological advances into the control system is vital to remaining competitive in the industry.

Increasing productivity and quality, reducing cost and waste

Planters Peanuts aimed to reduce costs and increase productivity by removing out-of-service lines without adding operators. That goal would require a seamless control philosophy to achieve nearly twice the operator efficiency. QSI set out to deliver on this while also reducing the overall stress on the operator. Increased visibility into the system would be key to increasing the efficiency of all operators. 

Another goal for Planters was improving quality and reducing waste. The control system design and programming would need to reduce variability from operator to operator and better automate the desired process to eliminate out-of-spec products that often resulted from outdated systems.

In addition, Planters sought to upgrade and modernize the full 7-line cooker system. If the project could improve quality and increase productivity without additional labor costs, then QSI could easily justify project funding.

Modernization Challenges

Due to a lack of documentation and descriptions in the program for each line, there was no way to reach an objective understanding of the process as it existed. The deficiencies in the programming had led to a wide variance of approach from operator to operator, as well as varied performance results. Not only did the facility lack a functional description of the current product line operations, but there were also varying perspectives about how Planters wanted those lines to operate. 

The existing system was automated, but still left many tasks as manual processes. The night crew would perform CIP (clean-in-place) without guidelines or a defined sequence to ensure proper cleaning. They experienced significant waste from out-of-spec products attributed to poor control of the different steps in the process. Specifically, they struggled with controlling cooking temperature and coating of oil and salt according to the recipes. 

Every day, the morning operator was forced to waste time before production waiting for oil to fill, a manual process. However, the oil fill system was not integrated with the cooker lines, requiring the cooker operator to request oil from the supervisor. This could take two or more hours during which they could not begin the cooking process, as all operators arrived and requested oil concurrently. 

Each of the lines operated with outdated HMIs on each cooker with poor graphics, an unorganized layout, and uninformative alarm notifications leading to poor visibility into the process. The HMI server would crash often, leaving HMI clients unusable and all lines shut down.

The Solution 

Design: QSI completely migrated Planters’s outdated PLC 5’s to the new Allen Bradley ControlLogix platform. Our team designed each line with a centralized PLC and remote I/O capabilities to integrate all existing devices. The smaller footprint of new controls hardware allowed the customer to use existing panel space to minimize wiring and panel costs. 

QSI strategically placed five remote workstations (PanelView Plus HMIs) between adjacent lines. The original HMI locations offered poor operator visibility and response time. QSI also installed a secondary centralized HMI (a master RSView SE application) in the cooker control room, providing visibility into all lines, without rendering HMIs on the floor inoperable if the control room HMI wasn’t running.

Project Management: QSI engineers spent considerable time on-site to understand and document the process as it existed, studying the habits of the top-performing operators, as well as what approaches didn’t work for the others. QSI engineers then presented their findings to the modernization team and facility manager to collaborate on the best control strategy to meet project goals. 

Development: 

QSI deployed the secondary centralized HMI to help supervisors assist with control and monitoring all seven lines, recipe management, scheduling, and routing finished products to tank storage. 

The entire process was reprogrammed, including raw nuts tote dumping, oil cooking, weigh feeding, cooling, salt coating, and tank storage. From a quality standpoint, QSI redesigned all of the system’s PID loops, including the burner temperature and the salt and oil coating, eliminating out-of-spec product waste. 

QSI programmed an automated CIP mode, allowing all machines to be cleaned in a consistent and timely manner. This cut down on the overall CIP time and eliminated any overlap with the morning supervisor waiting for lines to be cleaned. 

QSI also programmed an automated Auto-Fill mode, allowing supervisors to initiate a cooker oil fill after all CIP checks were cleared. The system interfaced with the oil transfer system and heated to a baseline temperature prior to production operators arriving, preventing the morning production delays and reducing stress on operators. 

A more sophisticated alarm strategy was programmed, ensuring all critical downstream alarms would stop the nuts at the weigh feeder. Previously, if there was a critical alarm or backup, it would continue to feed nuts causing long periods of downtime, with the wasted and burnt product.

The Results

Following the modernization implemented by QSI, the Planters Peanuts facility in Suffolk, Virginia experienced vastly increased productivity and efficiency due to the upgraded automation controls and redesign of the system. This allowed Planters Peanuts to decrease their operator overhead, utilizing a single operator to run two lines. 

The new modes of operation now allow the supervisor to get more out of CIP crews, prefill and schedule the cookers, and have everything ready upon the arrival of operators. 

By understanding the necessary steps and processes, QSI was able to design and program a system that improved product quality and consistency across all 7 cooker lines. Planters Peanuts drastically reduced waste while improving efficiency and productivity. 

Due to the implemented alarm strategy, Planters experience shorter periods of downtime and clean-up after device and equipment failures. 

Over the many years since project completion, they have consistently and significantly beaten previous production numbers and operators have expressed consistent positive feedback about their satisfaction with the system.

The post Hormel—Planters Peanuts: Cooker Lines Modernization Case Study appeared first on Quantum Solutions Inc..

Migrating systems can be a challenge for any manufacturer. Some companies find it difficult to work migration into their budgets, while many manufacturers can only offer a limited amount of downtime to allow for the migration or upgrade.

However, migrating system technologies can help mitigate future risks associated with the system.

Arc Advisory Group reported on the Global DCS Migration Market Outlook:

Very often, manufacturers are producing their products and materials on outdated systems that are even nearing the end of life. Therefore, these manufacturers lack the range benefits of updated manufacturing technology.

Not only are outdated systems cumbersome, they also can cause some disadvantages to the manufacturing, packaging, and inventory processes that can be mitigated by implementing an updated technology.

Use of Obsolete PLC-5s

Continued use of obsolete systems, such as PLC-5s and other equipment, can be very costly to an organization. Obsolete systems result in higher spare part costs, such as maintaining a larger inventory for process system materials.

Obsolete systems cause manufacturers to be unable to reach their full production and packaging capacities, resulting in lower production and efficiency.

Limitations of Outdated Production and Packaging Systems

Another issue with utilizing outdated PLC-5s is the limitations associated with the system. As technology evolves, communication networks become limited, causing additional costs to work with or around the limitations.

Support with the systems becomes harder to find and more costly. Breakdowns and issues increase, and maintenance becomes cumbersome.

The Kraft Heinz PLC-5 Conversion

The Project Goal: PLC-5 to ControlLogix Migration

Quantum Solutions Inc. (QSI) was chosen to provide complete design, programming, implementation and commissioning to replace three outdated Allen-Bradley PLC-5 processors for The Kraft Heinz Company in Granite City, Illinois.

These outdated, nearing end of life PLC-5s were converted to the newer, upgraded Allen-Bradley 5570 ControlLogix processors. Two 4 stream in-line blending systems and a batching system were all to be converted.

Challenges in the PLC-5 Conversion

While converting an entire PLC system is never a simple task, there were a variety of challenges that Quantum Solutions needed to overcome and find solutions for in order to ensure project success in a timely manner.  For example, it was critical to project success and business operations that Quantum Solutions perform the upgrade and migration with a minimal window of downtime available.

Kraft Heinz was not able to provide much downtime due to the production requirements. It was important to minimize downtime so that Kraft Heinz did not see a large impact on production. QSI engineers were able to engineer an implementation plan that was capable of decreasing the amount of downtime needed for the conversion.

Another challenge associated with minimizing downtime was the utilization of existing wiring. In order to minimize the overall downtime and make the conversion more efficient, QSI had to utilize existing wiring while updating both the PLC and the outdated communication networks.

To maintain the goal of minimal downtime and outages during implementation and install, QSI designed and engineered a method to minimize the total amount of wiring changes necessary for the conversion.

The PLC-5 Conversion to ControlLogix & the Results

Quantum Solutions provided a complete conversion for the three outdated Allen-Bradley PLC-5s to the updated Allen-Bradley 5570 ControlLogix processors. Following the complete design, engineering, and programming, Quantum Solutions commissioned and implemented the new platform with only one-weekend outage for the company. Due to this, Kraft Heinz experienced minimized downtime in production for the facility.

With modernized Kraft Heinz’s control systems, they will be able to continually upgrade communication networks and device IO to the latest communication protocols as they change. Previous to the PLC-5 conversion to ControlLogix, Kraft Heinz was not able to complete these upgrades.

The plc-5 conversion gave Kraft Heinz the flexibility and visibility to easily set up for the newest Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) technologies in manufacturing.

Kraft Heinz was able to lower maintenance costs by eliminating the need to maintain a large inventory of spare parts for outdated systems. Kraft Heinz now has greater production visibility to quickly respond to demand and production changes. Kraft Heinz can now easily ensure regulatory compliance and minimize security risks with the visibility now available over their processes.

What Kraft Heinz is Saying About Us

“We have worked with QSI in this particular facility for more than 18 years, and through every transition, there has never been a doubt that we would keep that relationship despite all the other qualified system integrators we meet.  It’s amazing how everyone on the QSI team, both new and long-standing employees, are just a really good people–the kind you like to be around. The engineers are very experienced with both legacy systems and the latest technologies which allows them to find innovative ways to balance cost and value as our plant operations grow and change.  We trust and rely on the QSI team because they have always been straightforward in completing projects with a level of service that exceeds our expectations.”   Mark Coleman, The Kraft Heinz Company

Quantum Solutions can create an entire conversion plan for a PLC-5 migration for your company. Contact us today to get started migrating your legacy systems.

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