Free to decide: Food & beverage enterprises want to go wireless
Khadambari Shanbagaraman, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 2/4/2009 9:00:00 AM
|
Increased demand for packaged foods has the forced food & beverage industry to look at new technologies that facilitate constant tracking of the production process. Complete transparency is necessitated, as is continuous monitoring and traceability of the entire production process in the manufacturing plant. Wireless devices are proving up to the task.
First, the cost cutting
Currently, robotics and packaging applications use relatively higher-level wireless devices in the food & beverage industry. It is estimated that almost 50 percent of a processed food product’s price is attached to its packaging. With the help of wireless technology, 25 percent to 50 percent of damages due to inefficient packaging can be eliminated.
Robotics employ wireless devices in applications for palletization, thickness measurement, sizing the food item, and controlling robotics arm movement in loading and packing food products. Use of wireless devices in some of these applications reduces manual errors and leads to more flexible operations.
Wireless devices also are beneficial in monitoring applications such as temperature, pressure, yield, humidity, force, PH monitoring, and temperature maintenance during fermentation, sterilization, and pasteurization processes. Employing wireless sensors in the Clean-in-place (CIP) monitoring yields a significant cost savings.
Instant decision-making
Wireless sensors attached to a remote computer or a PDA allows reporting any problem or defects in the production line. As a result, any data pertaining to handling, filling, and packaging can be immediately relayed to a user’s remote computer or PDA, thereby enabling instant decision-making. Wireless GPS connectivity is used to monitor the condition of fragile articles during transportation, and identify the exact location of the consignment. Some critical applications such as the acidity and the PH measurement in the line refractometer are conducive for wireless applications.
Other advantages of wireless devices include workforce mobility, ease of installation and commissioning, and reductions in cabling cost.
End-user confidence
While food & beverage makers acknowledge the critical applications that demand wireless devices, the conservative nature of the industry to invest in new technologies is a major restraint in adoption. The wireless market in food & beverage is expected to grow at low levels over the next two years. But as the suppliers are able to clearly justify the benefits, significant investments are expected to happen over a long-term period. By the end of 2012, the European food & beverages industry is estimated at close to 25 percent for the wireless market among discrete industries.
|
|
About the author: Khadambari Shanbagaraman is a research analyst with the Frost & Sullivan European Industrial Process Control Practice, focusing on monitoring and analyzing emerging trends, technologies, and market behavior in the Industrial Automation and Process Control industry in Europe. |
