Increasing performance and reducing costs: as a specialist in packing, palletizing and loading technology, these are the goals that HAVER & BOECKER and BEHN + BATES are pursuing with its Plant Optimization Plan (POP). The focus of this service is to optimally configure existing systems, regardless of whether they are the company's own or third-party systems.
Experts look at the entire plant - from product input from the silo to packing, bag transport and on through to palletizing and loading. They look beyond the individual machine and assess the integration of the system into the overall process. Does the customer achieve a perfect flow of their product or can unsmooth operational losses be reduced?
The advantages for the customer are obvious. As HAVER service technicians have experienced, once the recommendations have been implemented, profits increase significantly. “This is mainly due to performance increases and reduced costs,” explains Klaus Siewecke, Head of HAVER Service Support. Moreover, POP can also result in considerable energy savings, higher product quality and improved cleanliness.
Customer procedure
Customers first receive a questionnaire to determine their exact requirements: What are the system’s weaknesses from the customer's point of view? What is the aim of the optimization (e.g. increased output, bag cleanliness or weight accuracy)? What system components is the customer focusing on?
After evaluating the questionnaire and collecting detailed data, the technicians take a close look at the entire system, analyze the current status and check for potential improvements. This takes them around one workday. “We get to the bottom of the causes: Where are things not running smoothly? Which errors occur again and again? And last but not least: How can we eliminate these sources of error and improve the process?” says Siewecke, describing the approach. The service technicians proceed according to a precise plan and can draw on a wealth of experience.
The potential for improvement becomes even clearer when the customer uses the QUAT²RO® System Monitoring. The monitoring/control system is used to plan, monitor and, if necessary, to adjust processes. To this end, the system records all the plant’s performance data (machine and production data). As part of the POP, this data provides detailed information on where the plant offers opportunities for optimization.
All individual areas and steps are documented in a detailed POP analysis report and then presented to the customer as a holistic optimization plan. On this basis, the customer determines individually which measures are to be implemented.
High potential for improvement
POP opens numerous opportunities for improvement at various points in the process. “We achieve very good results with some simple measures,” says Siewecke.
Specifically, the customer benefits greatly just from the fact that the system can run more continuously. Proactive service is planned in advance and takes place when it fits into the production process. This means that necessary downtimes are scheduled at an early stage and machine malfunctions are reduced. Optimized service intervals also ensure high machine operational availability.
In addition, the service technicians develop an ideal spare parts inventory based on the given site conditions and so this enables wear parts to be replaced quickly, which in turn reduces machine downtime.
Optimizing the interfaces is primarily a matter of coordinating the performance of the individual system components. “If the mixer only achieves 1,600 pph, it makes no sense to run the packaging machine at an output of 1,800 pph,” explains Siewecke.
An important component of POP is conversion consulting. "The machines are often so old that we can no longer keep certain spare parts in stock because our suppliers have discontinued them. If a malfunction then occurs, the entire system immediately stops working. We advise customers on when it makes sense to modernize which components,” explains Siewecke. However, conversion consulting can also pursue other goals: For example, a conversion with an ultrasonic sealing unit, known as the SEAL technology, increases cleanliness during filling, storage and transportation. The addition of an automatic bag placer with a RADIMAT® generates a higher output. For more in-depth retrofit advising, special HAVER & BOECKER and BEHN + BATES experts from the respective business area can be called in if required.
Cost reduction also plays a decisive role. For example, POP can improve weight accuracy, which means that less product is required. In addition, the use of SEAL technology can prevent product loss due to possible leakage.
Bag Optimization Plan
The Bag Optimization Plan (BOP) is another component of POP. In a detailed analysis, the bags used are examined with regard their material and structure. The focus is on cleanliness, permeability, weight accuracy and pallet appearance, for example. BOP comprises four basic tests: bag volume test, bag valve test, visual pallet check and bag specification check.
Training of operating and maintenance personnel
POP's portfolio also includes the training employees on site or at the Haver Customer Training Center in Oelde. The qualifications of customer personnel are recorded and training requirements are determined. In addition to the operating and maintenance personnel, this can also apply to the packing plant manager.
The service technicians also develop suggestions on how the operating personnel can motivate each other and thus achieve more. “This could be a display when packing, for example, which shows the worker how much they have already achieved,” says Klaus Siewecke. “Or a special bonus system.“
POP bestseller
There are typical causes of faults or possible improvements that the service technicians at POP encounter time and again. The most common components and measures are presented and priced on a so-called “bestseller list”. These include the installation of a RADIMAT®, i.e. an automatic bag placer, or a belt check-weigher, product feed modification or bag discharge, or control software updates. The customer can order these conversion measures even before the actual evaluation of the analysis and thus improve the performance of his system at very short notice.
Once all POP measures have been implemented, the current status gets analyzed. The new performance data can be recorded with the help of QUAT²RO® System Monitoring. "We want to show our customers how much our Plant Optimization Plan pays off for them. Our customers are delighted with the results: reduced costs, increased performance and higher profitability overall. Our QUAT²RO® System Monitoring proves this in black and white,” says Siewecke - delighted with the customers.