Packaging
Automation & Integration Event at Packforum
Wednesday 19. November 2008 - On 8-9 October 2008 the Sealed Air European permanent customer care center Packforum welcomed around 100 participants from all over Europe to the Automation & Integration Event.
Under the theme “Are You Taking Decisions in the Dark?” the event focused on food packaging automation & integration solutions and capabilities, services and associated benefits such as reduced operational costs and process improvements. The event was specifically designed to show participants how line integration works in food packaging, how it improves efficiency and increases productivity, and how it provides better information to help processors reach their business goals.
External speakers included Dave McKenna of Cargill Meat solutions, Henry Morris of Smithfield Foods, both from the U.S. and Rene Kjær of Marel Food Systems. “The positive feedback from participants who represented 26 companies from 21 countries confirmed that automation and integration is not only a very interesting topic but also a critical one for Sealed Air customers”, said Jean Sornay, Vice President Customer Equipment, Sealed Air. The new PakFormanceTM line in particular attracted a lot of attention.
The Value of Information in the Food Packaging Operation
“Simply stated, we live in the Information Age. Information represents an opportunity to those who capitalize on it, those who understand it and those who provide new value to their customers through the effective use of it”, said Joseph Fiondella, Director, Automation & Integration, EMEA/LA/AP, Sealed Air. “You cant improve process and business performance if you are not measuring it – which will allow you to control and improve it.”
For information to be used, it must first be collected. This is done with data collecting devices (such as weigh scales, touch screens, bar code readers, RFID readers, vision systems) and with the customers own network and its packaging systems. Once the information is collected, it can be printed and labelled, generate detailed product and process reports, serve to control packaging lines, drive external processes and conduct further analysis to drive optimization (i.e. material usage, throughput, product yield). In other words, any information collected can be reported and analyzed to drive further process improvement
manually or automatically. “Its just a matter of getting the right information in the right place, real time, to make the right business decisions”, added Fiondella.
Automation & Integration Drivers in the Fresh Food Industry
According to Dave McKenna, Senior Food Scientist at Cargill Meat Solutions in the U.S., “the main drivers for automation are labour, labour, labour
. and the implementation of a process driven approach”. Regarding labour – the almost exclusive driver – the shrinking labour pool, geographical locations and generational work ethics are all specific drivers. The drivers for integration are the need for a solid knowledge and understanding of processes, process optimization and the importance of building self?sustaining processes. “Does automation and integration lead to synergy or symbiosis? Lets keep in mind the complexities of self?sustaining processes as well as the dehumanization of decision?making”, added McKenna.
Benefits and Means of Visibility, Reporting & Analysis in Packaging Operations
As explained by John Koke, Director, Automation & Integration at Sealed Air North America operation, automation and Integration will bring an amazing set of benefits, more specifically improvement in the following:
1) equipment productivity and performance (machine up-time and machine optimization);
2) operator productivity (by providing visibility, reports and analysis);
3) production process control;
4) product traceability and data capture;
5) reduced overall packaging costs (optimized material, elimination of non-value, improved throughput, reduced maintenance and reduced inventory).
PakFormanceTM is Sealed Airs product offering to bring these Automation and Integration values to the packaging floor.
Yield Improvement by Operator Monitoring
In a real-world example using a case study, Rene Kjaer, International Sales Manager for Innova by Marel Food Systems in Iceland, showed participants why it makes great sense to invest in efficient production control systems. He presented the technology offered by Marel Food Systems which brings automation and integration value to some up and downstream processes with complete and intelligent product control. The case study based on one of the largest beef processors in Australia illustrated how to improve yield with operator monitoring using Innova. More specifically, integrated production systems provided key control panel data and line details on trimming which led to improved visibility and bottom line of food processing operations thanks to Innova – “the smart choice on complete and intelligent production control for the food processing industry”.
Developing Effective Supplier Alliances – A Customers Perspective
Henry Morris, Senior VP Operations & Engineering for Smithfield Food, spoke on behalf of the number one hog producer and pork processor in the U.S. which currently operates more than 1,000 packaging machines globally. For them, managing in “tough times” calls for focusing on adding value and removing all non value-creating activities. With a supplier performance measurement program, they challenge their suppliers to become fully-fledged partners by asking them to help reduce non value-creating activities and drive costs out of their operations. They run finely structured brainstorming workshops to identify all potential cost improvement opportunities. These supplier programs aim to define, understand and reduce the life-cycle cost of ownership, improve operational efficiency and project management, with a view of understanding and adopting new technology. “Developing such strategic alliances with suppliers has significantly contributed to relentless continuous improvement”, said Morris.
Automation & Integration Capabilities
To follow up on the many ideas raised in the above-mentioned conferences, hands-on workshops were organized to show participants that packaging line automation and integration is not just a dream and introduce them to the Sealed Air portfolio of solutions. This portfolio includes products (for what concerns Automation) and Services (for what concerns Integration). It covers various market segments (industrial and consumer units, cheese, meat, poultry, smoked & processed meats, etc) as well as various packaging processes and steps, from product loading to packaging, etc.
François-Xavier Méric, Global System Director Equipment EMEA at Sealed Air, showed participants the breadth and depth of this solutions portfolio, through examples picked up in various industries to highlight specific benefits of current automation integration capabilities.
Automation & Integration Delivered Solutions
“The level of automation and integration can be different and will always be adjusted to the needs of the customers”, said Wim Huijser, Service Director Equipment EMEA, Sealed Air. “In this second hands-on workshop, instead of showing a large number of implemented projects and lines, we will just give some examples of typical Automation & Integration installations”. One more way for participants to get a real feel for what this is all about. More specifically, the workshop focused on three examples. First, a rather simple solution that allowed reducing the number of operators by three, thanks to automation & integration. Second, a technically sophisticated integration of new, automatic components into an existing packaging line and how this resolved floor space issues. Lastly, a complex installation where all line components were planned and integrated into a new facility illustrated a real turnkey project.
Automation & Integration Vision
Automation & Integration is about integrating, monitoring, predicting and controlling. “Everything is possible”, explained Joel Caillier, Global Equipment Development Director at Sealed Air. “But how do you make it cost efficient, easy to design, use, maintain and modify in the face of a permanently changing market?” This is the aim of PakFormance, a new hardware and software platform created by Sealed Air, which allows the integration of equipment in a standard, flexible and cost efficient manner.
In PakFormance, each and every component of the packaging room can be connected to a computer line called “Line Supervisor”; data can be exchanged, thus enabling multiple functionalities. The components are connected through standard interface types, varying technically upon the level of sophistication of the components, or upon their roles in the operations and processes. The line and components can be accessed through remote.
PakFormance provides continuous visibility of packaging operations, allows the programming of packaging parameters, product per product, enables labour saving through automation of many processes, records key information relative to products, packaging operations, equipment and organization, enables traceability, delivers detailed analyses and reports allowing an optimization of operating costs and organization. To illustrate all of these functionalities, an example of a PakFormance packaging line was demonstrated during the event – one also equipped with product identification, as well as in line product sizing, weighing and labelling. Beyond this example, the concept and technology are of course applicable to any type of packaging system and any type of product.
The Value of Strategic Partnerships
This workshop, driven by Bertrand Gaillard, Global Systems Director, Cryovac Food Solutions, Sealed Air, aimed to explain how partnerships can simplify the implementation of integrated lines. The performance of integrated lines depends on many criteria, among them the number of processes integrated, the level of automation targeted, the level of quality control, the level of data management, the number of suppliers and the number of line components. Examples were given of robotic/automatic loading integration, slicing/loading/packing integration, as well as Aseptic lines integration – and how strategic partnerships were instrumental in allowing successful project completion.
Conclusions
“Automation and Integration” is not a fantasy, but a reality that was clearly demonstrated during the Packforum event through line demonstrations. Most participants understood the value of moving into it, realizing this new approach from Sealed Air Cryovac offers complete and integrated lines instead of stand-alone machines.
A wide range of novelties were displayed during the event, refreshing the Cryovac system offering on automation (Cryovac Ulma Flow-Vac FV35, Cryovac BLR2, Cryovac 8800, Marel Food Systems Robobatcher, fixed weight system for solid products working on Cryovac VPP, to name a few ). Customers who know Sealed Air well from an automation standpoint now see the new Integration angle with the PakFormanceTM BLR line and real demos which perfectly complemented the conference speeches on the value of information and reporting.
Overall, participants were updated on the latest Sealed Air capabilities in the automation and integration fields. They observed Sealed Airs ability to integrate the packaging process mechanically and electronically, thus positioning the global company as the automation and integration partner of the packaging process thanks to its internal development, leading edge offerings as well as unique partners network.