Successfully implementing automation can increase efficiency, quality and safety in a pet food manufacturing environment, said Dean Elkins, senior director of robotics and vision at Gray Solutions. The use of robots, vision systems and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) has never been easier to implement, operate and maintain.
The pet food industry is facing increased demands for throughput, quality and flexibility, compounded by labor shortages and the need to meet flexible consumer needs effectively. Automation is the perfect way to augment the manufacturer’s needs to meet changing needs, Elkins said.
“With increasing throughput and quality demands, and labor availability not always plentiful, manufacturers are turning to flexible automation to realize gains,” he said.
Examples of automation include harvesting data related to batching and mixing; OEE data (the percentage of planned production that is actually productive); the timely delivery of raw and packaging materials to workplaces; uses vision systems in optical character recognition; robotic testing; and automated case packing and palletizing.
Gray Solutions provides automation solutions to manufacturers that often include robots, autonomous vehicles, vision solutions, computer modeling and high-level controls. On April 30, Elkins will speak at Petfood Forum. His session, From kibble to bytes: Automating pet food quality control, will highlight different types of automation solutions and their benefits in the pet food processing space.
See Spot streamline quality control processes
During the presentation, Elkins will offer case studies and real-world applications, including how leading pet food manufacturers have used automation, vision systems and robotics to improve their quality control processes.
As the pet food industry continues to evolve, utilizing this advanced technology is imperative to ensure quality and safety. Innovative solutions, like Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot, can not only save time and money, but keep employees safe.
Nestlé Purina recently deployed Spot to automate thermal and acoustic inspections on its packaging lines. Autonomous inspections allow them to give time back to maintenance technicians, better predict and plan repairs, and ensure reliable operations.
“Robots like Spot can be deployed on autonomous missions to take samples as part of quality checks,” Elkins said. “Other uses could be missions involving the detection of airflow or leaks in a temperature-controlled area or the reading of gauges throughout a factory.”
Scott Smith, maintenance electrician for Nestlé Purina Petcare, said Spot freed up manpower for the pet food processor and allowed maintenance to catch issues before they became major problems. “If Spot can find these issues for us between our changes between different production runs, we can anticipate those issues which allows us to be more predictive, more preventative than reactive,” Smith said.
The spot also goes where most people don’t. “We’re able to put the Spot in situations where things are a little tighter, and it’s able to take a lot of bending, a lot of movement, and a lot of strain out of the human body,” Smith said.
Starting
Finding a good partner is the first step for a pet food processor when automating its operation. “It’s so important to work with a trusted advisor to understand what’s possible,” Elkins says. “This can be accomplished by performing plant automation audits and a little self-research.”
Automation tools are only increasing and understanding how to use this technology will help future proof your pet food manufacturing facility. Future trends, such as programming and data harvesting with AI, allow for greater automation power in a shorter period of time. Shorter project execution, ramp-up and training periods can have a positive impact on throughput and ROI, Elkins said.
“Tangible benefits of automated quality checks include improved product consistency, lower error rates and improved compliance with industry standards and regulations,” he said.
“Automation has come a long way in terms of flexibility and ease of use,” Elkins continued. “The manufacturer must invest in a culture that supports automation. It goes beyond the plant layout and the product.
“Successful automation adopters understand the need for associate training and proper preventative maintenance protocols to keep their automation investments running trouble-free,” he concluded.
Dean Elkins will speak at the Petfood Forum on Tuesday, April 30, in Kansas City. His session, From kibble to bytes: Automating pet food quality control, will highlight different types of automation solutions and their benefits in the pet food processing space. For more information, visit petfoodforumevents.com.
