E Tech Group’s system integration expertise resolved complex integration challenges for a major food distributor, fostering trust and future collaborations with the customer.
Challenge
Challenges in complex projects are inevitable, but the dedication to overcome challenges is what sets exceptional system integration firms apart. This case study highlights how E Tech Group, stepped in when another company was unable to fully execute a project. The case study underscores how E Tech Group’s exceptional capabilities not only remedied the situation but also earned the trust of the client to support three additional projects to-date.
The client, a major food distributor, needed to integrate a conveyor system with their pocket filler, vacuum filler, and steamer. Delays in the system deployment resulted from understaffed control support, incomplete project aspects, and equipment transfers from another facility. Plus, new conveyors had been installed by a different controls integrator. The client sought E Tech Group’s help to create a clear project outline and overcome the project challenges.
Solution
E Tech Group staffed the project with highly skilled engineers with expertise in canning lines and control strategy. First, the project team examined the state of the production line to determine what needed to be finished. They discovered that the current contractors involved were facing too many challenges with the conveyors before the system could become operational and the project deployment lacked direction because of this.
E Tech Group’s engineers presented a 30 itemed punch list to the startup team which became the central punch list for the project. E Tech Group met with plant technicians to determine how the existing OEM equipment interlocks to the conveyor system and met with OEM experts to have a firm understanding of the pocket filler design. The conveyor company later left the site without completing their controls, which caused E Tech Group to create a controls strategy that integrated the conveyor system with the existing pocket filer, vacuum filler, and seamer. The project team corrected electrical issues, standardized the programming between each OEM equipment and conveyor system, and tested the system’s functionality including the customer’s existing Allen Bradley ControlLogix PLCs and PanelView Plus HMIs.
Results
By promptly tackling issues and implementing effective solutions, E Tech Group restored the project’s trajectory within weeks. The team’s expertise not only conquered challenges but also built client trust, leading the customer to engage E Tech Group for three additional projects to-date. E Tech Group rose to the occasion with system integration expertise and dedication, helping the client reach their goals and supporting positive project outcomes.
An efficient PLC and SCADA upgrade successfully minimized downtime, reduced costs, and improved the operational control of a tomato peeler system, enhancing product quality and competitiveness for a food manufacturer.
Challenge:
A prominent food manufacturing company specializing in tomato processing faced a significant challenge with their existing peeler system. The controls hardware was outdated, causing a higher risk of downtime, limited maintenance support, and poor controls performance and control network communications. The company needed to resolve these challenges and sought the support of E Tech Group. The food manufacturer chose E Tech Group for their proven track record and expertise in control systems, supporting a swift and successful automation project.
Solution:
The customer needed to upgrade their existing panel hardware for a modern EtherNet/IP control system. E Tech Group analyzed the customer’s existing system and provided the customer with a detailed plan to meet their specific needs of an upgraded system. This upgrade involved converting their existing Allen-Bradley PLC5 to the Rockwell Automation ControlLogix platform using the RSLogix 5000 programming environment. The customer also needed support connecting the ControlLogix platfrom to a new EtherNet/IP control network, converting several Powerflex VFDs with EtherNet/IP communications, and programming AVEVA HMIs and SCADA software for improved system visibility and real-time data monitoring. E Tech Group supported the system upgrade, retagging and remapping the existing logic to the new EtherNet/IP controlled hardware. The AVEVA HMIs and SCADA system were redesigned and programmed to provide the customer’s operators with better usability and improved access to critical data, ultimately enhancing their operational efficiency.
Results:
The project was completed on schedule, minimizing downtime. This led to significant cost savings as system failures were reduced. Improved control performance ensured smoother tomato peeler operations, enhancing the customer’s product quality. The enhanced system visibility enabled data-driven decisions and proactive issue resolution, reducing operational risks, and improving efficiency. Ultimately, this project supported the food manufacturer’s competitiveness in the market with a more modern control system.
A PLC-5 to ControlLogix conversion within 48 hours helped improve control and visibility for a food manufacturer’s conveyor system.
Challenge
Challenges arise when hardware and software become outdated. This was the case for a leading food manufacturer who needed modernized controls for their warehouse conveyor system. The existing Allen-Bradley PLC-5 hardware was obsolete and lacked modern communication protocol. The conveyor system also lacked HMIs to monitor processes, identify problems, and visualize data. Because of this, the customer sought the help of E Tech Group, an E Tech Group company, to upgrade their Allen-Bradley PLC-5 to the latest Rockwell Automation ControlLogix processor, integrate AVEVA InTouch HMI stations, and connect devices over an EtherNet/IP communication network.
Solution
E Tech Group was challenged to migrate the PLC system within 48 hours of planned downtime. E Tech Group worked closely with the customer to understand their existing system in detail and identified potential challenges that could occur before the PLC conversion. After this step was completed, E Tech Group proceeded with the Allen-Bradley PLC-5 to ControlLogix migration, overseeing the installation and testing. E Tech Group converted the existing PLC-5 logic to its Logix equivalent and connected the new ControlLogix processor to distributed, remote, and POINT I/O racks via EtherNet/IP communication network. Then the project team configured and connected devices with AVEVA InTouch HMI to provide conveyor line operators with better visualization capabilities.
Results
This upgrade provided the food manufacturer and its operators with greater control and visibility over their conveyor system, enabling efficient fault detection, improved PLC and HMI communication, data acquisition, and technical support from the manufacturer. With this migration project completed, the customer minimized their risk of downtime, enhanced conveyor performance, and strengthened their network communications.
Challenge
Complex upgrades require advanced expertise. Experienced system integrators will use a holistic approach to fully scope automation system upgrades and consider how the project’s complexities will impact the customer’s budget, uptime, timeline, or performance requirements. An example of this was a PLC-5 and SCADA application upgrade for a leading rice milling company. The company had an obsolete PLC-5 controlling their rice finishing line, in addition to an obsolete SCADA application controlling their entire facility. The legacy SCADA system was costly to keep operational, and the existing network caused communications issues between the customer’s production areas. The customer needed a new PLC program to be installed within a 48-hour timeframe to minimize production impacts, and the existing SCADA system needed to remain operational during the migration to Inductive Automation’s Ignition platform. E Tech Group was engaged as the customer’s choice system integrator given their advanced expertise in system migration and the successful execution of projects at the customer’s other facilities.
Solution
E Tech Group’s goal is to set the customer up for long-term success, not just short-term gains. The project team created a site inventory of the customer’s existing PLCs, network, computers, and applications. PLC specifications were quickly defined, and long lead items were ordered. The project team remained in constant communication with the customer to keep them well-informed across the different project stages and how to best utilize the new system. The project included upgrades to servers, computer, and network switches in collaboration with the customer’s IT department, the upgrade to Ignition SCADA software across six applications with approximately 500 screens, and the upgrade to two ControlLogix PLC chassis.
Results
The SCADA upgrade was completed in several phases and each application was upgraded individually. This helped minimize impacts to the customer’s production efforts and enabled the legacy and new SCADA applications to run simultaneously so the customer’s personnel could learn the new SCADA software. E Tech Group staffed the project with subject matter experts in the Ignition SCADA platform, control engineering, and complex system migrations. E Tech Group leverages this diverse, multidisciplinary engineering approach to create intelligent automation solutions for the customer’s long-term success and the opportunity to support their operations in the years to come.