Meyn mittaa ja säätelee tuotantoa Omronin logiikkojen ja SCADAn avulla

This provides the plant with extra information and control over the production process, while the system can also be used for new IT applications.

Meyn develops and builds advanced slaughter, cooling and purification systems for the food industry, in which poultry processing lines have played a central role since the establishment of the firm in 1959. Meyn, based in Oostzaan, is a world leader in this field and builds complete solutions encompassing the entire production process, from the arrival of the chickens at the slaughterhouse right up to delivery to the supermarket. The company now supplies hundreds of different machines and has experienced spectacular growth in recent years. Chicken is in fashion, and not only in the Netherlands.

Remote-control problem-solving

Meyn's control technology division is responsible for the design and management of all machine operating systems for which they increasingly use PLCs. "With PLCs you can generate production information - something more and more customers want," relates Jan Lof, head of the division. "Practically all the machines we supply come with a PLC with a modem connected. If a customer has problems with a machine, we can simply call up the PLC, diagnose the problem and if necessary solve it - all by remote control, world-wide. This support has gradually become a standard service, for which we have set up a special help desk. This has great benefits both for us and for the customers. Problems can often be solved swiftly without incurring any travel expenses."

Total Process Control

Meyn has worked with Omron PLCs for years. "The Omron PLCs offer broad functionality and we are now so familiar with them that we can do anything with them. Even complex tasks, such as creating product formulations, where other people would probably use a normal PC." A Finnish company asked Meyn to build a solution in which all machine PLCs could be controlled using a SCADA system. "The Finns wanted a Total Process Control (TPC) system, and SCADA is ideal," says Jan Lof. "SCADA collects data from the local PLCs and presents it through a central graphical interface, giving a clear picture of the production process and all its component parts. It offers extensive measurement and regulating functions, which can be programmed for different applications using the software. For example in chicken processing lines the chicken is passed through hot water to facilitate plucking. It is important that the temperature is then reduced as rapidly as possible to values close to freezing to prevent the formation of bacteria. Inspection services require that these temperature controls can be measured and checked. Previously this was done using recorders: now it is electronic and we interpret the data with a SCADA system. The same data can also be used for the inspection audits."

Web browser

Meyn's solution for the Finnish company made full use of the facilities of PLCs and SCADA. System and software engineer Rens Vlaar spent nine months working on the software for the PLC/SCADA network and the different applications. "It was all programmed with a single Wizcon package," he relates. "The OMRON PLCs are linked via an RS422 network and communicate with the SCADA system via special drivers. The network uses the SYSMAC WAY protocol. The SCADA network is based on the same infrastructure as the PLC network, which provides quite a cost saving. In addition, the customer can link the TPC system up to his own company network and import data, for example into Excel. A new feature in this project is that the documentation for all the machines can be called up in Microsoft Word." The RS422 network is connected to a modem with an RS232 converter, so that the entire production process can be remotely monitored. "This can now be done using a web browser, so that the authorised manager or technician can access the system from any PC with a browser," says Rens Vlaar.

Preventive maintenance

The Finnish company already has plans to make the SCADA data available to the company MIS (Management Information System), so that management and others can have constant access to current, graphically presented production information. The system will also be used in Finland to monitor the quality of suppliers. "The system is also ideal for performing preventive maintenance," says Vlaar. "For example you can have it generate a message after so many hours of operation that a cutting machine needs its blade replaced. Or you can compare breakdown information from different places and use it to introduce improvements." Meyn's TPC solution offers fantastic opportunities", Jan Lof admits. "We already knew a lot about SCADA and PLCs, but this project has considerably expanded and deepened that knowledge. We expect that systems of this sort will soon be in genera use and see this as an important investment in the future."