Industry:

Consumer Goods

Products:

The Challenge:

Automating our expanded brewery facility to increase productivity, efficiency, and most importantly, quality.

The Solution:

Developing a PC-based HMI/SCADA system using Lookout software.

"With National Instruments Lookout, we can control our processes more efficiently, so we can concentrate on brewing one beer at a time."

Czech and German immigrants in Shiner, Texas, founded their own brewery in 1909. Residents wanted a beer that tasted like home, so they hired a Bavarian brewmaster named Kosmos Spoetzl. Almost 90 years later, Shiner beer is still a Texas favorite.With this 90-year tradition of innovation, the 50-employee strong Spoetzl Brewery decided to expand its facility. We chose National Instruments Lookout software for three areas of the brewery - support areas such as utilities, ammonia, purified water, CO2 , and water; filter areas; and the expanded tank farm.

The Brewing Process

To brew beer, we send grain through various stages. In the brewhouse, we change grain into wort, a sweet liquid extracted from brewing grains and hops, which eventually becomes beer. Next, the wort moves into storage where we ferment the beer, controlling the temperature for various recipes. After it has fermented, we filter out the yeast and separate off the beer. We then transport the beer to the bottling plant automatically. Currently, we brew half a million barrels per year, which classifies us as a regional brewery. We produce 11,200 cases per day from the 7.5 brews per day. We test our beer in the lab for air, clarity, and haze. Previously, we brewed our beer through a process of hand calculation that left much room for error. Considering that we need to control the temperature of the brew process as closely as ±0.25 °F, we needed a more efficient way both to track our historical process and ensure that we produce the best quality beer.

System Configuration

With our new Lookout supervisory control system, we use four Siemens Simatic 555 PLCs interfaced via serial connections. The Lookout HMIs run on a Windows platform using Ethernet and display data on an industrially hardened screen. The computers are located right on the factory floor for easy operator access. A main server located in the engineering department provides an overview of all processes. We accounted for several different levels of access to maintain system security. Our total I/O count is approximately 3,000 points, and we collect data from each point every one to five seconds.

We use Lookout for recipe management, historical trending, and process control. By automating the process, we can maintain product integrity and real-time process overview. Lookout also interfaces with an Allen-Bradley PLC located in the main brewhouse. In addition, we can track temperature changes throughout the year and view the plant on screen. We readily access all alarm information and analog process variables - including temperature, pressures, control variables, and all discrete I/O points - through Lookout. With minimal training, our operators adapted to the new system. They control our system more efficiently, so we can continue to produce our old-world beer one brew at a time.

A National Instruments Alliance Program member, Vista Technology Inc., recreated our plant on screen exactly. Because of the 3D rendition of the plant, we can view all the various processes occurring throughout the plant online. An operator in the tank farm, for instance, only has to flip an on-screen switch to turn the APV intelligent valves on or off. On screen, We color-coded the system for easy viewing - switches are green when open and red when closed. In addition, an operator can check the levels in the tanks by interfacing with the Lookout screen. Using the HyperTrendfunction in Lookout, we can easily perform historical trending. We keep track of the time and temperature variations of the tank farm through-out the year and we can easily look at the daily trend or the annual trend.

The New Way

By automating data collection and real-time analysis and integrating this feedback into alarms and actions, we improved our management of filter operation. The old filter configuration required an operator’s presence throughout the filtration process to monitor pressure gauges, determine clarity, and more.

Lookout successfully manages these functions with signals from our instrumentation. Therefore, we can leave the filter room and perform other vital brewing functions, knowing that Lookout is reliably dealing with alarm situations in our absence.

http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-413

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Author Information:
Rick Balson
Spoetzl Brewery