Astec Solutions, a Velotic partner, was called in to help Reckitt Benckiser improve the performance of their manufacturing control system. The facility mixes, blends, and packs an over-the-counter branded indigestion remedy into glass bottles, stick packs, and tablets in 6,000 liter batches. Unexpected system crashes cost 30-90 minutes for every batch and system restarts had to be performed in a strictly regimented way, or entire batches of product could be lost. The system, which was installed by a system integrator six years previously, used Velotic products in its architecture.
“After raw materials were mixed and blended they were transferred to storage tanks, before being sent to the packing lines,” said Chris Barlow, Technical Director, Astec Solutions. Up to seven filling lines can be connected to the storage tanks. “The system had not had a major update since installation. It was slow, unstable, suffered from periods of unscheduled downtime and was not producing reliable data. It was becoming a risk to the profitability of the site.” The regular breakdowns were dealt with by giving the initial integrator the authority to call in and restart the system - a ‘sticking plaster’ solution that had been in place for three years.
"Production had grown beyond the original solution, so demands were also a lot higher. The time was right to review and upgrade the whole solution. But it had to be achieved without shutting the factory down."
The first step was to speak to the operators and gain a clear understanding of how the problems manifested. The Astec team also ensured the clear identification of the client’s objectives and ideals. Unsurprisingly, avoiding breakdowns and minimizing downtime topped the list, as they most obviously affected operations, production and revenues.
“We looked at the system’s architecture and analyzed the log files in order to identify errors in the system,” he said. Astec had to work around the needs of a facility that was still in full production, so that process took around 10 days. Its first proposal was a slight change to the system’s physical architecture. The servers were located in a control room and were subject to knocks and kicks, as well as being exposed to dust originating from the production process itself. The recommendation was to relocate them to an on-site data center, safe from accidental damage and atmospheric pollution. The next task was the software architecture.
“The previous integrator had implemented some own bespoke software components, in order to integrate the solution,” said Barlow. “In effect, the architecture had been ‘bent to fit’ and it was not ultimately the best solution.”