Flexible CIP User-Configurable Solutions

Food and beverage manufacturers recognize that having proper clean-in-place (CIP) methods for closed systems is not only a regulatory requirement, but it also makes good business sense by ensuring consumer food safety and product quality.

What doesn’t make sense are the current practices many manufacturers undergo in order to make changes to their CIP recipes, sequences, and procedures. Often this requires issuing request for proposals, securing approvals, involving sanitation or chemical experts, and waiting weeks for an optimization expert or otherwise other engineering resource to conduct an onsite visit and perform a straightforward change.

Time is money, as every manufacturer knows. Clearly something better, faster, cheaper, smarter, and simpler is needed.

Click to enlarge. (image courtesy of ESE.)

Enter newer, configurable CIP systems that empower manufacturers by bringing optimization and system design together in one automation solution. Typically, optimization and programming are two functions approached separately. When combined into a single solution, however, the automation gives manufacturers full control over adjusting and monitoring their CIP systems without incurring the expense and inefficiencies that come with calling in outside programming or engineering assistance for each and every modification.

With the latest control and monitoring automation, manufacturers can themselves tweak and modify their CIP systems to create greater efficiencies, use fewer chemicals and less water, and decrease cleaning downtime. They can do it all, without having to call in external resources to incorporate their prescribed changes into the automated system.

Today’s best configurable CIP solutions allow ­operators to adjust time, ­temperature, and flow at will.

Today’s best configurable CIP solutions allow operators to adjust time, temperature, and flow at will. Such solutions also record all process parameters, collect information and recipe change history, and provide critical data to manufacturers, allowing them to generate insightful reports that help them remain compliant and competitive.

Configurability

The purpose of a CIP system is to transfer water and cleaning solutions from separate holding tanks to perform cleaning throughout process equipment following the end of a production batch. Typically designed as a three- or four-tank system, cleaning is performed and controlled by a series of vessels, pumps, and instruments that are divided into independent CIP circuits. Each CIP circuit will have its own unique sequence of operations and cycle times.

There are several factors that ensure controlled sanitation and CIP effectiveness. Fundamentally, it depends on time, temperature, flow velocity, and solution concentration, as well as the path of the flow, which is typically the most difficult to configure. A robust configurable CIP solution is one that offers an intuitive interface and gives manufacturers the ability to configure and control each of these cleaning variables as they recognize opportunities for optimization. Add in electronic recordkeeping and historical records, and quality assurance is further enhanced with detailed performance data and trending information.

When seeking a CIP solution, consider the ease and flexibility of being able to configure the following areas.

Time, temp, and flow. Allows the operator to control when the step sequences will advance. A step can be held for a certain amount of time, for a specific temperature, a specific conductivity (chemical concentration), or until the operator manually advances the step.

Valve pulsing. Allows the operator to control when a valve is pulsed on and off during a wash. For example, an operator could choose a start time and an end time so as to configure a valve to pulse for 10 seconds every minute. Start and end times can be configured to accommodate the overlapping or staggering of several valves.

During wash. Provides visibility by highlighting the current path of the circuit as it is currently configured.