4 minute read
AUTOMATION
ifm encourages sector to go digital in preparation for the future
Automation experts ifm will present a webinar on its moneo software and TCC temperature sensors which promise to improve efficiencies. Food and Beverage Industry News reports.
Automation technology specialists ifm, are aiming to teach the industry about their latest software suite, moneo, and temperature control sensor technology which is designed to streamline and mitigate risks across the production process.
Accuracies in food production are of supreme importance however, various brands of temperature sensors already in use can cause large issues if they experience a fault or have temperature drift, Glenn Thornton, product manager for ifm told Food and Beverage Industry News.
“Often, it can be difficult for current sensor technologies to notify a system that there are production issues which can introduce inefficiencies and produce a substandard end product,” said Thornton.
“It can also contaminate the food products which can create a public health issue and cause brand damage. Which happens more than
people know.”
This is exactly the scenario ifm’s TCC offerings were designed to address.
“Our TCC temperature technology actually checks itself,” said Thornton.
“This doesn’t mean you remove the calibration and verification procedures in place. The TCC temperature sensor monitors its own settings and health 24/7 between calibrations. This gives you peace of mind that you can trust your production runs at the optimum and safe level. This is also where the moneo software steps in.
“The moneo software suite can capture the information and display it on a really intuitive dashboard on more or less any device anywhere in the world.”s
Ifm national IoT business manager, Freddie Coertze, said the moneo software offered a better solution to automation and factory checks, with many plants still reliant on pen and paper.
“The reason moneo is the way to go is everybody wants to move away from doing paper check lists onto something more sophisticated,” said Coertze.
“You have to ask, what happens if during those checks they miss a number or lose that sheet of paper, there is potential for human error. That could be entered into a database, but it could take time for them to see the mistake.
“Moneo offers a real time update right there and then with no losses, no paperwork in the middle, it streamlines the process.”
Another critical aspect of the moneo software is its ease of use. Many software applications have unexpected cost blowouts once
An ifm seminar covers Moneo and the company’s TCC sensor offerings for the digitisation space.
purchased, however, ifm’s moneo is basically “ready to use” right from the start.
“The simplicity and ease of use of the ifm moneo software means that you can set up an application dashboard in a matter of minutes and anyone can do it,” said Coertze.
“But if you take the same solution with another brand of software, you only get the core and have to develop software applications and pay for a software engineer to develop these types of solutions.
Thornton reiterated the benefits of going digital in an increasingly digitised world.
“It means companies are protecting their entire business, we all know the future is coming and we also know people want to have smarter production,” said Thornton.
“The simplest form of this is the smart sensor technology coupled with an easy and intuitive software which gives a clear and clean dashboard, bringing the company into the digital era.”
A strong message throughout ifm, is, monitor what’s important so you can protect what’s important.
“Our software allows for the information to be seamlessly monitored and reported upstream immediately,” said Thornton.
“It protects product, brand reputation and even general image to the market. And of course, protecting the public from potential contamination. A small company could be destroyed by a mistake in the production process.”
In Coertze’s experience in dealing with business problems at customers premises, he has found that most are eager to digitise as quickly as possible and ifm makes sure the customer doesn’t spend money on the wrong solution.
“We have the big players in the sector who try to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of product to the client which creates a perception that your company has to make a huge up front investment,” said Coertze.
“However, we discuss the solutions in a meaningful way that makes sense to the customers production facility. We work on having a tailor made solution for the customers application.”
The key for ifm is making it clear to food and beverage businesses that it is best to start small and ‘grow as you know’.
Thornton said the move towards automation will benefit the entire industry, not just now, but well into the future.
“Australian manufacturing is under a lot of pressure from local and global competition. Future proofing with automation technology will provide stability and growth opportunities for those that adopt the new digital era,” he said.
“Building reliable and efficient production facilities will improve product quality, improve throughput enabling Australian industry to become more robust.” F
The Moneo software suite is touted as a one-stop-shop for a fully comprehensive system.
