“As a site manager, I sometimes see the symptoms of a problem without understanding what’s behind it. The Tetra Pak solution provides full visibility into our cleaning in place, which makes problems much easier to diagnose.”
Site manager, fermented milk producer in Brazil
Customer challenge – expensive cleaning processes
The site manager of a Brazilian producer of fermented milk products noticed that an unusually large proportion of her monthly budget was going on water, energy and chemicals for the cleaning in place system. In addition, the amount of effluent had increased, all of which added to the site’s operating costs and indicated that something was up.
Our solution – a unique, customised digital solution
Automation and digitalisation experts from Tetra Pak Brazil discussed the problem with the site manager in order to fully understand the issues. There then followed a period of on-site exploration and interviews with operating staff to establish the root cause.
Some initial changes were made in the system to correct minor malfunctions on the cleaning lines. However, it turned out that most of the problems were being caused by operators who simply didn’t know how their actions affected resource consumption, and hence costs. They needed more and better information to understand where waste was occurring and how to prevent it.
Based on their findings, the Tetra Pak team was able to develop a digital cleaning in place dashboard called CIP Optimization that would give full visibility into the customers’ cleaning operations. The backend was based on the Tetra Pak® PlantMaster database, with the data organised in the same structured way. However, the frontend required a customised solution that would not only collect data but also transform it into actionable insights for the benefit of management.
Implementation
Our team worked closely with the customer for approximately one month installing and validating the new cleaning in place dashboard and ensuring that staff knew how to use it properly. There then followed a period of hyper-care, during which the Tetra Pak team was on hand to support at short notice.
“But of course, the story doesn’t end there,” says Livia Marra, Solution Design Manager, “As a business partner, we are always on hand to provide support. We follow up continuously, making adjustments and corrections to the system, as and when they are needed.”
Result – reduction in operational costs and in equipment downtime
Research shows that most companies spend 60% more than they need to on cleaning pin place, yet only 18% of food and beverage producers take the time to analyse and improve performance. Our Brazilian customer (one of the smart 18%!) is now reaping the rewards of her efforts with a 30% reduction in operational costs and a corresponding reduction in equipment downtime.
With the right data at their fingertips, it’s easy for the producer to see if the cleaning cycles are running as they should. They can immediately spot if a cleaning cycle is taking too long, using too much water or energy, or if there’s a bottle neck somewhere in the system.
Moreover, operators can check the dashboard to see how their actions impact production. It helps them understand not only what is happening but why. And this, in turn, means they can plan their day’s work better, and carry out each task correctly to avoid waste.
“Cleaning in place optimization enables a performance driven culture across the whole company from CEO to managers, supervisors and operators.”
Site manager, fermented milk producer in Brazil
The Tetra Pak digital cleaning in place dashboard takes the raw data, correlates it and transforms it into actionable insights, so that cleaning operations can be continuously optimised.
Looking ahead
The payback time for this cleaning in place dashboard is only 6 - 12months, making it a very attractive solution for other companies. In fact, it is soon going to be implemented at a second plant; a dairy cheese & powder producer, also based in Brazil.
“There are so many advantages for customers, we really want them to know about this solution!” says Livia Marra, Solution Design Manager at Tetra Pak. “By making the performance of cleaning processes visible, they not only get a reduction in effluent, chemicals, water and energy consumption; they also empower operators to solve problems faster and more confidently.”
