Category: Project Case Studies

  • Case Study: Automating Glycol Refrigeration Control for Beer Tank Stability

    Case Study: Automating Glycol Refrigeration Control for Beer Tank Stability

    Temperature control is one of the few production parameters in beverage manufacturing where there is genuinely no acceptable margin for error. For a brewing customer expanding their site, the reliability of the refrigeration system cooling their large beer tanks was not a convenience feature, it was a direct determinant of product quality, since beer temperature falling out of specification at any point in the process represents a serious quality failure with no straightforward way to correct it after the fact.

    The challenge

    As part of the customer’s ongoing site expansion, Bevtech was approached to implement an automated control system to manage two glycol refrigeration units responsible for delivering cooling to the site’s large beer tanks. The system needed to continuously monitor temperature and pressure across both units, calling the units and their associated pumps into operation precisely as required to maintain cooling within specification. Given that any lapse in this cooling function would risk the beer temperature moving out of specification, the control system needed to be both highly reliable and precisely tuned, with no tolerance for the kind of erratic or delayed response that a poorly configured control loop can produce.

    The engineering approach

    Bevtech’s control system engineers designed and implemented the solution around a Siemens 1500 series PLC, selected for its processing capability and reliability in continuous duty industrial applications, paired with a Siemens touchscreen HMI giving operators clear visibility and control over the refrigeration system’s status and parameters. ABB variable speed drives were integrated to provide precise, modulated control over the refrigeration units and pumps, rather than the cruder on or off control that a simpler system would rely on, allowing the system to respond proportionally to actual cooling demand rather than cycling abruptly between fully on and fully off states.

    At the core of the control strategy, PID, proportional integral derivative, control loops were configured to continuously balance temperature and pressure feedback against the cooling demand of the beer tanks, smoothing out the response to avoid the kind of overshoot and oscillation that a poorly tuned control loop can introduce. This precision matters considerably in a refrigeration application where the consequence of overshoot is not just minor inefficiency, but a genuine risk to product quality if temperature swings outside the required range, even briefly.

    Why this approach was chosen

    The combination of Siemens PLC and HMI with ABB variable speed drives reflected a deliberate choice to prioritise both reliability and operator transparency. The HMI gives site staff immediate visibility into system status and any developing issues, supporting faster response if a fault does occur, while the modulated, PID controlled approach to the refrigeration units themselves reduces mechanical wear compared to abrupt on or off cycling, supporting longer term reliability of the refrigeration equipment alongside more stable temperature control.

    The outcome

    The completed system gave the customer continuous, automated management of their glycol refrigeration capacity across both units, with the precision control needed to keep beer tank temperatures reliably within specification throughout the site’s expanded production capacity. By removing manual intervention from the routine cooling control function and replacing it with a properly tuned automated system, the customer gained both the reliability needed to protect product quality and the operational visibility, via the HMI, to monitor and respond quickly should any parameter begin to drift.

    The broader lesson for beverage manufacturers

    This project illustrates a pattern that applies broadly across temperature and pressure critical processes in beverage manufacturing, that the value of a well engineered control system is not simply automation for its own sake, but the precision and reliability that proper PID tuning and quality components like variable speed drives bring to a process where the cost of getting it wrong is measured in product quality, not just convenience. For manufacturers running refrigeration, temperature control, or similarly critical processes on ageing or manually managed systems, this kind of project demonstrates what a properly engineered automated solution can deliver.

    Engineering support for critical process control

    Bevtech Engineering and Automation specialises in control system design for the food and beverage manufacturing sector, with direct experience delivering precision refrigeration, temperature, and pressure control projects using both Siemens and Allen Bradley platforms. To discuss a similar control system project for your facility, contact Bevtech on +61 400 881 321 or admin@bevtech.com.au, or visit 25 Silvio St, Richlands QLD.

  • Case Study: Hot Water Rinse CIP Upgrade for Can Seamer Compliance

    Case Study: Hot Water Rinse CIP Upgrade for Can Seamer Compliance

    Clean in place processes sit at the intersection of production efficiency and food safety compliance, and when a customer’s quality assurance team identified the need for a hot water rinse step in their can seamer cleaning process, the requirement was as much about creating a verifiable, repeatable cleaning standard as it was about the mechanical implementation of the rinse itself.

    The challenge

    As part of the customer’s QA requirements, Bevtech was engaged to implement a hot water rinse as part of the CIP cleaning process for their can seamer. The brief went beyond simply adding a hot water rinse cycle, the customer needed the resulting process to be controllable, repeatable, and verifiable, with the ability to start and stop the cycle from a central interface and confirm, with actual instrumentation rather than operator assumption, that each cycle had genuinely met its required temperature and flow parameters.

    The solution delivered

    Bevtech’s electrical and automation team designed and installed a Siemens 1200 series PLC with a Siemens HMI to control the upgraded CIP process, supported by temperature sensors and flow sensors providing real time feedback on cleaning cycle performance, along with associated control gear to manage valve actuation and process sequencing. The resulting system allowed the cleaning process to be started and stopped directly from the HMI, with configurable parameters letting the customer adjust cycle settings as required, and diagnostic elements built into the interface giving operators immediate visibility into cycle status and any deviation from the required parameters.

    This instrumentation based approach was central to meeting the customer’s underlying compliance objective. Rather than relying on a fixed cycle duration and assuming the cleaning standard had been met, the temperature and flow sensors provided actual verification that the hot water rinse achieved its required parameters on every cycle, creating a far more robust compliance position than a time based assumption alone could offer.

    Why precise instrumentation mattered

    For a can seamer CIP process, the hot water rinse step plays a direct role in meeting hygiene standards before the equipment returns to production contact with product. A cleaning cycle that runs for the correct duration but at insufficient temperature, due to an undetected heating fault, would not actually achieve its intended hygiene outcome despite appearing complete from a simple timer based perspective. By instrumenting the process with temperature and flow sensors feeding back into the Siemens PLC, the system can detect and flag exactly this kind of fault, low temperature, inadequate flow, or a failed valve actuation, rather than allowing an ineffective cycle to complete unnoticed and the line to return to production believing the cleaning standard had been met when it had not.

    The outcome for the customer

    The completed system gave the customer a controllable, repeatable hot water rinse process integrated into their existing CIP cycle for the can seamer, with the diagnostic visibility to immediately identify any cycle that did not meet its required parameters, rather than discovering a gap in cleaning standard only through downstream quality issues or an audit finding. This shifted the process from a manually managed, assumption based cleaning step to a properly instrumented, verifiable control system aligned with the customer’s quality assurance requirements.

    A model for CIP upgrades more broadly

    This project reflects a pattern that applies to CIP and cleaning process upgrades generally across food and beverage manufacturing, that the real value of a control system upgrade in this context is not simply automating what was previously a manual step, but adding the instrumentation and feedback needed to verify, rather than assume, that the cleaning standard has actually been achieved. For manufacturers relying on manually timed or loosely monitored CIP processes, this kind of upgrade offers a meaningful improvement in both compliance assurance and operational reliability.

    CIP and hygiene control system expertise

    Bevtech Engineering and Automation has direct experience delivering instrumented CIP control upgrades for food and beverage manufacturers, combining PLC and HMI design with the temperature, flow, and process sensing needed to create genuinely verifiable cleaning cycles. To discuss a CIP upgrade for your facility, contact Bevtech on +61 400 881 321 or admin@bevtech.com.au, or visit 25 Silvio St, Richlands QLD.

  • Case Study: Can Inverter Block Solutions for Container Handling Efficiency

    Case Study: Can Inverter Block Solutions for Container Handling Efficiency

    Container rotation is one of those production line requirements that is easy to overlook until it becomes a recurring source of jams, maintenance demands, or changeover delays. Many coding, rinsing and drying, sterilisation, and package preparation steps require bottles, cans, or jars to be rotated as they pass through a particular section of the line, and the traditional solution, a twisted steel race, while functional, brings its own set of practical drawbacks that accumulate over time.

    The challenge with traditional rotation systems

    A twisted steel race achieves container rotation through a fixed steel structure that the container travels through, but this approach has several limitations in a working production environment. The steel construction is comparatively bulky and heavy, it offers limited flexibility for accommodating different container sizes without significant rework, and it provides no easy mechanism for quick changeover between different product formats, a real constraint for manufacturers running multiple SKUs through the same conveyor section. Wear and maintenance on a steel race also tend to be more involved than on a more modern, purpose engineered alternative.

    The Bevtech inverter block solution

    Bevtech’s plastic inverter blocks offer a compact, reliable alternative purpose built to address these limitations. The blocks rotate bottles, cans, jars, and similar containers by moving them through a static, twisted tunnel along the block’s length, achieving the same rotational outcome as a traditional steel race but in a considerably more compact and lightweight form factor. This compactness matters for plants working with tight conveyor layout constraints, where a bulky steel rotation system may simply not fit cleanly into the available space without significant line redesign.

    Critically, the blocks can be designed to accommodate quick changeovers, directly addressing one of the more time consuming aspects of running multiple container formats through the same line section. Rather than requiring an extended manual reconfiguration to switch between formats, a quick change capable inverter block design allows the rotation section to be reconfigured considerably faster, minimising the production downtime that changeovers typically generate, a meaningful benefit for manufacturers running frequent SKU changes.

    Applications across the production line

    Bevtech’s inverter block solutions support a range of container movement applications relevant to coding, where containers need to be presented in a consistent rotational orientation for accurate date or batch coding, rinsing and drying, where rotation ensures even exposure of the container surface or interior to rinsing and drying processes, sterilisation, where consistent rotation supports even exposure during sterilisation steps, and general package preparation, where controlled container orientation supports downstream labelling or packing accuracy. Bevtech can provide a turnkey solution for product container movement covering these applications as part of a broader line design or as a targeted upgrade to an existing conveyor section experiencing rotation related issues.

    The reliability and changeover benefit

    Compared to a traditional steel race, the inverter block approach offers a more reliable, lower maintenance solution for container rotation, while the quick changeover capability directly supports manufacturers running multiple container formats through the same production line. For plant managers evaluating recurring jam or changeover issues at a container rotation point on their line, this kind of purpose engineered solution frequently delivers a meaningful improvement over the traditional approach without requiring a full conveyor system redesign.

    A practical upgrade path

    Because inverter blocks are designed as a targeted solution for a specific conveyor function, they can typically be integrated into an existing line without the scope or cost of a full conveyor system overhaul, making this an accessible upgrade path for manufacturers experiencing specific rotation related downtime or changeover friction rather than broader line wide throughput issues.

    Container handling expertise

    Bevtech Engineering and Automation designs and fabricates plastic inverter block solutions and broader container movement systems for food and beverage manufacturers, drawing on the company’s in house machine shop and conveyor design experience. To discuss a container rotation or handling challenge on your line, contact Bevtech on +61 400 881 321 or admin@bevtech.com.au, or visit 25 Silvio St, Richlands QLD.

  • Case Study: Turnkey Project Delivery for FMCG Production Lines

    Capital projects on FMCG production lines, whether a new piece of equipment, a line modification, or a broader site upgrade, typically require coordination across multiple disciplines, mechanical design and fabrication, electrical installation, automation and control system integration, and project management to keep the whole effort on schedule and within budget. When these disciplines sit with separate contractors, each managing their own scope, schedule, and accountability, the coordination burden falls heavily on the customer’s own project management resource, and the risk of delay or rework at the interface between contractors increases correspondingly.

    What turnkey delivery actually means

    A genuine turnkey delivery model brings mechanical engineering, electrical and automation integration, and project management together under a single accountable team, responsible for the project from initial concept and design through fabrication, installation, electrical commissioning, and final handover. This contrasts with a fragmented delivery model where a customer separately engages a mechanical fabricator, an electrical contractor, and potentially a separate automation specialist, each with their own schedule and their own interpretation of how their scope interfaces with the others, leaving the customer to manage the gaps and resolve any disputes about where one contractor’s responsibility ends and another’s begins.

    Where fragmented delivery creates risk

    The most common failure point in fragmented project delivery is the interface between disciplines, mechanical fabrication completed without full visibility of the electrical and control requirements that will eventually integrate with it, or electrical and automation work scheduled without accurate knowledge of when the mechanical installation will actually be ready to receive it. These interface gaps are where project delays most commonly originate, since resolving a mismatch between separately contracted scopes typically requires the customer to mediate between contractors who each have limited visibility or incentive to prioritise the other’s schedule pressures over their own.

    The turnkey advantage in practice

    With mechanical engineering, electrical automation, and project management held within a single team, these interface risks largely disappear, since the same organisation responsible for the mechanical design also understands exactly what the electrical and control integration will require, and can sequence both streams of work against a single, coherent project schedule rather than coordinating across separate organisational boundaries. This typically translates into a more predictable project timeline and a single point of accountability for the customer throughout delivery, rather than needing to manage and arbitrate between multiple contractors independently.

    For projects involving custom fabricated equipment integrated with automated control, conveyor systems requiring both mechanical design and PLC controlled sequencing, or production line modifications spanning mechanical, electrical, and safety system work simultaneously, this integrated capability is particularly valuable, since these projects inherently require close coordination between mechanical and electrical disciplines throughout design, fabrication, and commissioning rather than at a single clean handover point.

    What to expect from a properly run turnkey engagement

    A well delivered turnkey project should provide the customer with a single project contact accountable for overall delivery, transparent scheduling that reflects genuine dependencies between mechanical and electrical work streams rather than artificially separated timelines, design and engineering input that considers mechanical and control requirements together from the outset rather than mechanical design being finalised in isolation before electrical integration is considered, and a structured commissioning and handover process that verifies the complete system, not just its individual components, performs as required before final sign off.

    Evaluating a turnkey partner

    For procurement teams evaluating potential turnkey delivery partners, the key question is whether the breadth of capability is genuine, an in house machine shop with drafting, machining, and fabrication capability, a qualified electrical and automation team experienced across major PLC platforms, and project management experience specifically with multi discipline manufacturing projects, rather than a single discipline contractor subcontracting the remainder of the scope to third parties while presenting the engagement as turnkey.

    Genuine multi discipline delivery capability

    Bevtech Engineering and Automation delivers turnkey projects for food and beverage manufacturers across mechanical engineering, electrical and automation integration, and project management, drawing on an in house machine shop and a team of control system engineers, industrial electricians, draftsmen, and TUV functional safety engineers built specifically around the demands of FMCG production environments. To discuss turnkey delivery for your next capital project, contact Bevtech on +61 400 881 321 or admin@bevtech.com.au, or visit 25 Silvio St, Richlands QLD.