Integrating New Production Lines In an Active Food and Beverage Manufacturing Facility

Summary

Following a facility-wide controls modernization, a large coffee manufacturer moved forward with its original plan to increase production capacity by connecting new grinders, packaging lines, and Chain-Vey conveyor systems throughout their facility. The expansion required DMC to integrate new equipment and material paths into an active 24/7 facility.

The work was divided into several phases to bring priority equipment online first, limit production downtime, and carry lessons from each implementation into the next phase. At the same time, DMC continued improving the existing controls system as operators gained experience with the new platform and the client’s production needs evolved.

Customer Benefits

Solution

The standardized ISA-88 controls architecture developed during the rewrite provided the foundation for the expansion. DMC used the new architecture to integrate additional grinders, temper bins, packaging lines, and Chain-Vey conveyors while extending the plant’s material routing to support the new equipment.

DMC worked with the client’s controls team and mechanical and electrical contractors throughout development and commissioning. Each phase followed a consistent process of controls development, simulation, client FAT, installation, I/O checkout, commissioning, and SAT. This approach allowed DMC to validate system changes before installation and make use of limited production downtime.

Alongside the equipment expansion, DMC maintained a separate workflow for improvements to the existing controls system. This work included material changeover functionality along with front-end improvements.

Equipment Integration and Expansion

Each phase of the expansion began with an updated I/O list and process flow diagram from the client’s engineering vendor. These documents identified the new equipment and I/O and showed the new paths available for moving material through the facility. DMC worked with the client to define the controls requirements for each phase before beginning development.

DMC then updated the PLC and HMI applications in the development environment. The architecture established during the controls rewrite made these additions easier to implement. Engineers could instantiate reusable batch units, equipment modules, and control modules for new equipment rather than developing each addition from scratch. Reusable HMI templates provided the same approach for operator screens and controls. For new material paths, DMC created equipment and control modules for the added ChainVey conveyors and incorporated them into the existing sequences. The existing arbitration logic allowed those sequences to acquire the new equipment modules, simplifying the routing updates required for each expansion.

After development, DMC moved the updated applications into the QA environment and performed simulated FAT testing with the client. The team tested the new sequences and material paths against the agreed-upon requirements and addressed issues before deploying the changes to production.

Once FAT was complete, DMC coordinated installation and startup around planned facility downtime, often scheduling the work over holidays to limit the impact on production. During startup, DMC worked alongside the client’s controls team and mechanical and electrical contractors to check out new I/O, commission drives, integrate OEM grinders and packagers, and perform SAT testing against the project requirements.

Across the expansion projects, DMC programmed, integrated, and commissioned three new grinders, three dual supersack destinations, and two dual supersack sources. DMC also increased the facility’s temper bin storage by 50% and developed the storage, routing, and controls integration required to connect a new OEM packaging line to the rest of the facility.

Continuous Controls Improvement

While the expansion projects moved forward, DMC maintained a separate workflow for updates to the existing plant controls. These requests came from production’s use of the rewritten system and included defect corrections and new functionality the client requested.

The work included material changeover improvements, including cleanout and purge functionality, as well as front-end enhancements for material traceability and addback reporting. These updates continued to improve how operators managed production and tracked material through the facility.

DMC followed the same development and implementation process used for the equipment-expansion projects. Updates were developed and simulated in the development environment, moved to QA for testing and client demonstrations, and then deployed to production during scheduled implementation windows. DMC completed SAT testing after deployment to confirm the new functionality met the agreed-upon requirements.

Technologies

Results

By building on the standardized ISA-88 architecture established during controls modernization, DMC helped the client increase production capacity while minimizing disruption to ongoing operations. Through a phased implementation approach, DMC successfully integrated three new grinders, expanded temper bin storage by 50%, connected a new packaging line, and added the material handling infrastructure required to support new production paths throughout the facility.

The reusable controls architecture reduced development effort and simplified the integration of new equipment, allowing system expansions to be delivered efficiently and consistently. Simulated testing, FATs, and carefully coordinated commissioning activities helped validate each phase before deployment, making effective use of limited shutdown windows and reducing production risk.

At the same time, DMC continued enhancing the existing controls system with new changeover, traceability, and reporting functionality. This parallel improvement effort enabled operators to work more efficiently while supporting the facility’s long-term growth strategy. The result was a scalable production platform that increased manufacturing capacity, improved operational flexibility, and positioned the facility for future expansion.