Minimize Risk in Food Automation Systems

To keep your risk to an absolute minimum, it’s essential to have experienced and highly skilled people on your project. When choosing a systems integrator for the project, make certain the firm is well versed in your process and technology platforms. Check references to be sure their clients are happy. Regardless of their size, make sure they have available resources to work in your time frame.

On most automation projects, the technical team will include a systems integrator, along with plant or corporate engineering and plant or corporate I.T. resources. Select an experienced project manager to lead the team. The project manager must manage the plan, project schedule, and scope, and ensure that everyone understands the project objectives, as well as their respective roles and responsibilities.

Control Equipment

To ensure success, the team must pay close attention to the physical control equipment—things like control panels, plant floor controllers, instruments, sensors, computer workstations, and servers. Evaluate the physical environment in which the equipment is located, check to be sure all of the ordered and assembled parts and pieces are in compliance with their intended use, and confirm signal types, power requirements, air requirements, and network and electrical wiring connections.

Another best practice is to realize that control equipment could be damaged in transit, given the excessive vibration that can damage delicate electronic components. Ship by air ride van or another vibration-reducing method.

It’s equally important to give special attention to the integration of control equipment. Upstream and downstream systems may require integration and/or modifications to accommodate your project. Existing networks, servers, and databases may need alterations, and all of these areas must operate properly before, during, and after your project is installed. The key is to lean on your technical team for the heavy lifting, which includes proper installation and integration of equipment with the rest of the plant.

Software: Start with a Solid Functional Specification

The automated system at your plant likely includes custom software, written specifically for your facility. You will find it running many important systems, including plant floor controllers, graphical user interfaces, customized scripting, and database management. Decision makers, stakeholders, and the technical team must agree in advance on software requirements to ensure success and minimize risks that could range from a long painful startup to potentially catastrophic consequences to people, product, or equipment.

Everything starts with a solid functional specification, usually produced by the systems integrator. This document details all automated operations, including interlocks, sequence, and device activations; how people interact with the system; human/machine interface screen definitions, security, overrides, alarms, configuration, and navigation; what data is collected, how it is queried, and how it is presented; and any information exchanged with other systems.

Once all decision makers approve a functional specification, the technical team develops software in conformance. During development, it is essential to check progress adequately and periodically. HMI screens can be confirmed with easily produced screen shots; system reports can be exercised to check operations and data collection; operator tracking logs can provide insight into what functions have been tested; and signed quality assurance forms can provide additional insight into the testing processes.

Thorough Testing

With automation projects, loose ends equate to risks. Before installing the new automation system at your facility, a robust factory acceptance test, normally performed by the systems integrator, is needed to ensure that everything is working as promised. Decision makers and the technical team should agree in advance on a test plan based on the functional specification for both the factory test and site installation.