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| Efficient use of Simatic Microbox PC | | Industrial PC used for tracking beer barrels | The management of "empties" can become an important economic factor, especially where beer barrels are concerned - high losses here can cost a lot of money. It is therefore very important to breweries to keep losses and maintenance costs of the barrels as low as possible. In some of the biggest British breweries this is achieved by a continuous tracking of the beer barrels on their way to the consumer and back. This is implemented by a RFID solution and Industrial PC, the Simatic Microbox PC 420.
The utilization cycle of a beer barrel is very complex. After being filled at the brewery, the barrels wait for shipment in the warehouse. There they are loaded onto vehicles and then brought to the individual delivery depots first. Then they go to the dealers from where the barrels are finally transported to the pubs. As soon as they are empty, they are collected from the publicans and the return journey begins. It is no wonder that the breweries suffer severe financial losses due to barrels getting lost on the way and that the number of breweries who have put their Asset Management in the hands of specialists in recent years is growing constantly.
Tracking with RFID
Coors and Scottish Courage are two of the biggest breweries in the United Kingdom who have approached TrenStar Inc. in this matter. The British company is a worldwide leader in Mobile Asset Management Solutions and relies on modern RFID technology (Radio Frequency Identification) to cope with the logistic challenges. Today, TrenStar has a total of about 5 million barrels which are refilled at least six times per year. That means that every year more than 30 million full TrenStar barrels are in circulation. TrenStar's customers benefit not only from the fact that they are no longer responsible for buying and maintaining the barrels but also that they do not have to finance the losses themselves. The RFIS technology also allows them to localize the barrels exactly at any time and to clarify how long it takes a barrel to complete the whole cycle - a very important item of information to calculate how many barrels are necessary for optimum coverage of the delivery area.
The barrels are scanned first after being returned empty to the brewery. Here it is decided whether the barrel is still up to standard or whether it needs to be sorted out for maintenance. Further scanning stations follow after filling the barrels, in the brewery warehouse, when loading onto the truck, both upon arrival and departure from the depot and arrival at the pub and finally at several points on the way back to the brewery when empty.
Small, robust and reliable
PC-aided solutions in automated logistic applications like that of TrenStar demand small, reliable systems which are able to cope with the high demands of an industrial environment. Optimum robustness with regard to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), temperature, vibrations and impact are among the most important criteria for the selection of a hardware platform. Ideal requirements for the Simatic Microbox PC 420 which extends the range of the Box family of Siemens in the introductory segment. The Microbox PC 420 is a flexible, extendable, compact, robust and fan-less PÄC. The PC which can be mounted on a DIN rail is not only an integral part of the PC-aided Siemens automation but also an ideal embedded PC platform.
Large application spectrum
The Microbox PC 420 is excellently suited to industrial use for measuring, in control and regulating circuits, for operator/display applications, in data acquisition and subsequent data processing as well as for use in communication gateways and web servers. Typical applications, apart from logistics and warehouse systems, are printing machines, assembly machines, brake test benches, paint mixing machines, wind power stations, injection molding machines, industrial washing machines, vending machines and applications for building management. With its dimensions of 262 x 134 x 47 mm, the small PC offers a whole package of functions in industrial quality including a clock rate up to Pentium III (933 MHz), Compact Flash, a battery-backed SRAM for secure storage of process data (128 kByte), a VGA/DVI graphic output and extension possibilities via. Users can also choose alternatively between Profibus and Canbus field bus protocol.
Successful in operation
The Simatic Microbox PC 420 is implemented as an interface between the RFID read module and the central database. The PC itself is installed in a small switch cabinet and is located at the individual scanning stations - that is in the brewery, the warehouse and the delivery depot. TrenStar is "highly satisfied with this solution", Pip Walker, the man responsible for the technical implementation of the logistics solutions at TrenStar, stresses. "Our experience at Coors was so good from the start that we also installed the same solution at Scottish Courage before the end of last year. Before we came across the Simatic Microbox PC 420, we had not found a PC which was able to totally satisfy our demands, especially as far as reliability is concerned. Now our technology with the Microbox PC runs through numerous diagnostic tests for months without encountering any problems."
Now that the TrenStar specialists have successfully implemented the tracking of individual beer barrels at Coors and Scottish Courage, they are planning the next step, the so-called "pooling" of the barrels. This means that the barrels in circulation can be used by several competing breweries. Thanks to Simatic Microbox PC 420, TrenStar is convinced that it will be able to support the breweries here with even greater effectiveness. |  |
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