The large number of different components, the acquisition of all material flows, consistent traceability and uniform interfacing - of different production sites in particular - are placing high demands on process automation. At the 2010 POWTECH / TechnoPharm trade fair, ProLeiT will present projects realized so far in order to demonstrate how future-proof solutions of this type can be implemented with the Plant iT V8 process control system.

Major components of Plant iT Version 8 include the basic system for plant control, the batch module for recipe processing and the Plant iT material module for process-oriented materials management. All Plant iT system modules provide a consistent and centralized engineering environment with a shared database and a uniform user interface for parameterization. Even complex sequences within the process can be conveniently specified, and programming is to a large extent replaced by the setting of parameters.

This approach also allows the definition of properties relevant for storage locations, materials and transactions within the system. Materials with an identical set of relevant properties are grouped into material classes and precisely described through the parameterization of these properties. Plant iT V8 thus provides ideal prerequisites for the fully automatic recording of all consumption values in the process control system.

At 2010 POWTECH, ProLeiT will exhibit various examples in order to familiarize visitors to its stand with sophisticated options for the successful implementation of innovative automation solutions and to demonstrate how several production sites can be managed through a combined ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning) based on a group concept.

Plant iT in Germany's most modern wholesale bakery

In January 2010, the Glockenbrot wholesale bakery commissioned an entirely new production plant with an annual output of 36,000 tons of flour on behalf of the REWE trade group in Bergkirchen. The Plant iT V8's advanced modular design is a major prerequisite for consistent automation - from incoming goods receipt and baking lines to delivery of the finished goods - and also for the precise customization of workflows and user interfaces to suit the requirements of Glockenbrot specialists. Since the Plant iT automation system is also installed at REWE's Frankfurt-based main production facility, all of the bakery's different areas at both production sites could be automated based on a uniform and consistent concept.

At Glockenbrot, Plant iT V8 now manages more than 300 different recipes and 200 raw materials. For each material, the materials management, recipe control and silo management recognize all important parameters, dosing organs and dosing paths. Only in this way can all the accounting records required for full traceability and other diagnostic routines be created and stored on the server.

The significant advantage of this ProLeiT solution is that not only an identical automation system can be implemented for all production sites, but that the ERP system provides the control center with an identical view of each individual production unit. The ProLeiT group concept enables Glockenbrot to connect its four production sites to the control center in an entirely identical manner. In addition to mirrored automation solutions at all production sites and consistent ERP interfacing, the ProLeiT group concept provides the major benefit of centralized 24-hour support for all sites.

BK Giulini implements a process control system for complex mixing jobs

The Plant iT V8 solution for recipe-controlled process automation realized on behalf of BK Giulini in Ladenburg will be another interesting exhibit at the POWTECH trade fair. Consistently process-oriented materials management organized as a centralized module provides the basis for highly flexible mixing process sequences and thus enables the company to rapidly adjust to varied material specifications. In addition, the material flow acquisition ensures comprehensive batch traceability.

With Plant iT material, the storage structure of all large and small components in stock at BK Giulini is organized with high precision down to the individual package. Each Plant iT V8 module independently communicates with Plant iT material, the higher-level materials management module, and enters records. This module thus combines the entire functionality of storage management, stock control, batch tracking along with statistical evaluations and provides consistent material feed rates for the mixing process. Plant iT material is therefore the perfect tool for 

• material and batch tracking,
• sequence and resource monitoring,
• quality assurance and
• process optimization.

In many different applications, the Plant iT V8 process control system provides the basis for a consistent data, information and communication structure which – open and hardware-independent – extends from the process level, including sensors, fixtures, motors and actuators, to the MES level, including production and machine data acquisition, a control center for bottling plants and even the higher-level ERP system.