Miller Magazine Issue: 142 October 2021

76 COVER STORY MILLER / OCTOber 2021 Among the basic targets of the transition to automation and smart milling are to reduce human-based works by ensuring the establishment of the ergonomic & save energy, to achieve max- imum efficiency and capacity in optimum conditions by optimiz- ing losses & wastage, and produce high reliability products. In the context of quality criteria using high-tech digital instruments in all processes and provide a more profitable and sustainable working environment in the manufacturing industry where profit margins are low in a tough competitive environment. Today, especially in the food sector, sustainability and traceabil- ity are two very important factors. Therefore, process control is vital in milling plants where tons of production are made per day. Automation is a must for quality and error-free production in these plants. What opportunities and advantages does automa- tion offer to flour mills? What kind of solutions can information technology and operational technology offers to millers are be- ing discussed herein. Following opportunities and advantages are being offered by automation systems to flour mills • Automation provides mills aid by removing variability. • In flour mills, it is capable of continuously monitoring produc- tion streams, for variances in production rates and quality. • Dips in rates and quality can be monitored on real-time bases, and in some cases, corrected upstream automatically. • Automation also offers trending and historical data to help management in finding themost efficient methods for production. • Equipment condition monitoring can provide an early indica- tion of imminent machinery failure, providing the opportunity for planned maintenance and improve production uptime. Automation systems affect the yield of milling plants • Systems can react to changing variables without delays or need manual interventions. • Information can be presented to operators, engineers, and management to review control variables to drive consistency. • Operators are not required to be in front of each control point to make adjustments. • They help meet regulatory compliance as well as quality of product, safety of human resource and machinery. The basic principles of a properly functioning and designed automation system are: • Consistent production output. • Higher availability • Operators adjust variables rather than controls. • Safety is increased by keeping operations out of harm way. If we are talking about a forward-looking system like automation in milling, smart mills, and Industry 4.0, we cannot ignore this system. What we are supposed to do is to optimize the infrastructure of our businesses and energy distribution systems to make Industry 4.0 available and to benefit from the facilities and advantages offered by the system. Automation in milling industry Karan Singhal Plant Manager Swiss Bake, Trade Kings Group, Zambia