Control system revolutionised beer deliveries

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 24, 2000

A control system from Softing, 4Control, has revolutionized beer deliveries from the Bavaria Brewery in Holland, by providing automated tanker loading, error-free routing for drivers and more

A control system from Softing 4Control has revolutionized beer deliveries from the Bavaria Brewery in Lieshout, Holland, by providing automated tanker loading, error-free routing for drivers and an integrated order processing, delivery and invoicing system.

The 4Control PC-based system is fitted onto the tanker.

Trials on an initial installation have been so successful that more systems will be installed soon on other tankers in the Bavaria Brewery fleet.

The Bavaria Brewery was founded in 1719 and is one of the top three in the Netherlands, shipping over 135 million gallons of beer each year.

Until recently, beer was delivered in the 'traditional' way using barrels.

That system is cumbersome, time consuming and prone to human errors, so Bavaria began looking for an alternative.

Unusually, the company decided to implement tanker deliveries, shipping in bulk to customer sites and unloading by pipe directly into fixed tanks.

This change from barrel delivery to tanker delivery enabled a PC-based control system to be introduced to control loading and unloading operations, linked into Bavaria's IT network.

Project engineers chose Softing 4Control because of its cost-effectiveness and the ease with which it could be integrated into the SAP management system.

The 4Control system, which uses a standard industrial PC, is fitted to the back of the tanker from where it can control the pumps and valves needed for the loading and unloading processes.

An operator panel allows the driver to oversee operations and 4Control also maintains a database of customer details.

Pump calibration equipment and an invoice printer are also installed alongside 4Control.

Orders are received electronically from retail outlets (pubs) and held on a SAP production management system in the brewery.

The returning tanker simply 'plugs in' to the wall of the brewery: Pipes connect to the tanker vessel for beer transfer whilst an Ethernet link enables 4Control to communicate with the SAP system.

The procedure starts with tanker cleaning being handled automatically via a PROFIBUS fieldbus link which provides digital control signals to the cleaning equipment.

Then, beer is piped into the tanker under 4Control according to instructions received from the SAP system, which also provides an optimized printed delivery route for the driver.

At the retail outlet, 4Control automatically delivers the right volume of beer into the customer's storage tanks according to the SAP instructions.

Finally, an invoice is automatically produced for the customer pub on completion of the delivery.

The Bavaria Brewery is delighted with the new system.

Peter Korsten, Head of Automation said: "Thanks to the integration of 4Control it was possible to realise a compact, on-board automation system and as a result, we have been able to drastically reduce our logistics and handling efforts." 4Control is just being launched into the UK.

It is produced by Softing AG, the Munich-based developer of advanced automation systems, and offers four software packages in one: Configuration; Control; Console; Connectivity.

Normally, these elements are purchased from different vendors: now, zero integration of different systems is required, saving costs and time, and reducing investment.

4Control is based completely on International Standards such as Windows NT, OPC, IEC66131-3 and PROFIBUS, making it one of the most open automation solutions available today.

This further reduces engineering effort and training and ensures that the investment in control solutions developed with 4Control can be re-used indefinitely.

For the customer, the 'open' solution means equipment costs are low and changes and updates are easy.