Dairy Processing - May/June 2023 - 61

is very helpful in being able to improve and prevent
downtimes that may be common across multiple platforms, "
Williams said.
Share2Act also allows a
corporate maintenance engineer
for a processor to monitor multiple
operations simultaneously.
Overall, Williams said the
coupling of artificial intelligence to
production is going to change
the way production equipment
is run and maintained as well
as how issues are predicted. He
Krones' Share2Act, a cloud-based collaborate platform,
connects people, machines and systems involved in the
production process.
chain solutions. Speed to market is another top consideration.
" Creating and mastering product specifications in a
single central system helps to speed time to market when
introducing new products, " Linxwiler said. " Partners can also
log in and collaborate, reducing handoffs, manual errors and
process inconsistencies across different teams. Having one
consistent, optimized process ensures that these benefits are
shared across all teams and that every process improvement
benefits the entire organization. "
DIGITIZATION WITHIN PLANTS
Process and Data Automation, an Erie, Pa.-based wholly
owned subsidiary of Krones Group, offers on-premises
line management software solutions that receive orders
from enterprise resource planning systems and pass
those orders down the line, and it also can interface with
warehouse management systems. Additionally, Eric Williams,
digitalization group manager, said the company offers
products commonly used with aseptic solutions that read realtime
production information from the line. These analytics
solutions enable producers to evaluate key production and
quality indicators to improve overall equipment effectiveness.
Krones' Share2Act solutions are a cloud-based collaborate
platform built for the purpose of connecting the people,
machines and systems involved in the production process.
As a result, Share2Act allows procedures to be streamlined
so downtime can be reduced. The platform creates a digital
image of shop-floor operations, and each production unit
receives its own timeline and a chronological listing of events.
Workers can then interact from anywhere to address issues
they experience in the plant and receive feedback from others
on how to resolve those issues.
" That level of visibility and interaction between groups
said the industry is getting to the point where it can predict
downtime and notify customers when there has been a
downtime along with the reason and solution to the problem.
" That's really what we are pushing towards to help
run more efficiently, to reduce the amount of unexpected
downtime and provide better throughput for them, "
Williams said.
CONNECTING TO THE FUTURE
Moving forward, better hardware on hauling trucks and
IoT technology will be essential to moving the supply chain
forward, Forsythe said. To this end, he said one of Milk
Moovement's clients recently invested in a large fleet of
trucks with sensors that monitor the temperature of the
milk throughout its journey through the supply chain, and
that client would soon like to test the quality of the milk on
trucks, as well.
Additionally, trucks are often making decisions on
which assembly line to bring milk to without knowing the
components of that milk. With value-added products on
the market including high-protein, low-lactose options, it's
becoming increasingly important to deliver the right milk to
the right assembly line, Forsythe said.
" We are finding getting data into a producer's hands or
even a plant's hands is one thing, but then helping them get
that data in their network's hands is even more important
because then everyone can really focus on the data and make
better decisions, " Forsythe said.
Kelly said artificial intelligence is also going to be critical
in forecasting milk production because such forecasts have
traditionally been based on guesses from the previous week's
production and the weather. More accurate forecasts will
enable processors to predict precise production capabilities.
Better tracking of energy consumption, carbon reduction,
water usage and emissions in the production and distribution
of products should be an area of focus for all brands, and
digital solutions help track that information, Linxwiler said.
DAIRYPROCESSING.COM | MAY-JUN 2023 61
Krones
http://www.DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
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