Sidel, the French company specialising in machinery for liquid packaging, has announced a new service which it will be previewing at the forthcoming Emballage World Packaging Exhibition, held in Villepinte, France this November.
The EIT (Efficiency Improvement Tool), claims the company, can be used on individual machines or for an entire line. It is designed to facilitate start-ups, monitor production, and accelerate return on equipment investment. This service can be adapted for both new and existing lines.
According to Sidel, the EIT system features a number of productivity enhancements. Users can instantly view and compare production of several lines or plants using the system's Compare and Map modules. This means that costs normally associated with losses and waste can be reduced with the Waste Reduction tool, which features Wireless technology providing mobile access to information.
To gain an idea of just what sort of impact a seemingly small improvement in productivity can have on a production line, a productivity improvement of just one per cent on an average 40,000 bottle per hour bottling line can yield an extra 2.5 million more bottles per year. Two additional percentage points become 5 million bottles. These figures show how strategically important it is for packaging manufacturers to hold their machines to their highest promises of productivity. It was with these sort of margins in mind that Sidel developed the EIT system.
One of the primary considerations made by the Sidel development team was how to simplify bottling line monitoring? Such an installation is, by definition, complex, composed of many different and interdependent machines. The company's solution was to gather information from PLCs and sensors mounted on the line, machine by machine. The EIT records and compiles accurate, comprehensive data on all of the key running parameters such as mean down time, mean time to repair, availability and speed.
The resulting system, Sidel claims, helps detect problems and malfunctions, monitoring production line status in real time - locally or remotely - and generates custom activity reports. Data analysis exposes quality and control issues, and even spots deviations from operating procedures. Furthermore it is said to offer a fast and effective means of transmitting information from one team to another. The system is also compatible with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools.
According to Sidel the EIT system offers three primary advantages to existing production management systems. Firstly management can supervise and compare the performance of several lines or plants at the same time. Secondly waste is reduced, resulting in improved efficiency. And finally, operations personnel benefit from greater mobility, allowing them to walk around the plant with a hand-held control device.
With the Compare and Map functions the operators have a range of management tools at hand. These features allow managers to view screens containing comprehensive data on the performance of a line, several lines, or even several plants, and to compare the data. This instantly accessible information can be consulted remotely, from the office, or even at home. In addition to revealing weaknesses in the production tool, these modules provide information to help make future investment choices.
The EIT Waste Reduction tool helps users identify losses and waste generated by each machine in the production line. Users can target main sources and areas of losses, as well as obtaining accurate information about why this is occurring. This application can be used to compare performance, detect losses generated either over time or by machine, and to estimate the associated costs.
Wireless technology combined with a pocket PC makes it possible to consult data while on-site at the line. The pocket PC furnishes, in real time, all of the information gathered, machine by machine, for all line equipment. The PC can also display operating history for every station on the line. This tool allows operations personnel to be as close as possible to the equipment as they pinpoint malfunctions to identify, diagnose, and resolve all technical problems.
The EIT system can be viewed at the Emballage World Packaging Exhibition, 18-22 November at the Villepinte Expo Centre, Paris, France. The Sidel exhibition stand can be found in hall 5A, stand F71.