Тема 17: problems of automating food processing plants

Active Vocabulary

1. to automate – автоматизировать

automation – автоматизация, автоматика, автоматическая обработка

automatics – автоматика

2. food processing plant – предприятие пищевой промышленности

3. overall management control – общий контроль управления

4. control system – система управления (регулирования, контроля)

support system – комплекс средств обеспечения

computerized maintenance management system – автоматизированная систе-ма управления технического обслуживания

5. decision making – принятие решений

6. packaging and handling line – линия упаковки и транспортировки продук-ции

7. to fill – наполнять, разливать

8. to wrap – обертывать

9. to seal – укупоривать

10. to label – этикетировать

11. to code – кодировать

12. to handle – обращаться (с чем-либо); транспортировать

13. to sort – сортировать

14. uptime – период работоспособного состояния (машины)

15. downtime – время простоя, простой; непроизводительная потеря времени

16. costs – расходы, издержки

17. savings – сбережения

18. labour costs – издержки на оплату рабочей силы

19. to schedule [∫edju:l] – составлять график; планировать

20.produce ['prodju:s] – продукция, изделия, продукт

Nowadays, automation in food industries is the problem of top priority. Food processing plants employ a great variety of processes and operations. To unite the varied processes from manual to fully automatic - it is necessary to provide a structural approach to permit each department in a plant to maintain responsibility for its own operation, while at the same time responding most effectively to overall management control. In addition, control system should give managers all the information to improve their ability of decision-making. Electronic equipment is used, however, not only for providing information but for direct control of production processes. Computers perform such functions as product quality analysis, product sorting and packaging as well as automating production cycles.

Computerized machines are widely applied in beverage industry, brewing, confection production, fruit and vegetable canning, etc. They are extremely helpful for product filling, wrapping, sealing, labeling and coding. In this connection robots should be mentioned. They are mostly employed as part of packaging and handling line.

The involvement of support systems, including production scheduling, materials resource planning, quality control, and equipment maintenance promotes to integrate the activities of the plant and make possible the improvement of both productivity and produce quality.

At present, computerized maintenance management systems are quickly becoming the order of the day. They allow to avoid labour and downtime costs. The savings are realized through better manpower scheduling, better material supplies control and increased equipment uptime.

Тема 18: what process control really offers

Active Vocabulary

1. process control – контроль технологического процесса (управление)

programmable controller – контроллер/регулятор с программным управле-нием

2. inspection – наблюдение, надзор, инспектирование

monitoring – текущий контроль, мониторинг

3. feedback – обратная связь

4. maintenance – техническое обслуживание

5. yield – выход продукта

extraction – выход (муки или помола)

6. sample – проба, образец

7. output – производительность, продукция

8. to judge, judgement; to reject, rejection; to waste, waste; to compete, competitor; to experience, experience; to eliminate, elimination; to shift, shift; benefit, advantage; reliable; visible; manual; uniform.

Food plants derive identical benefits from process control regardless of what product goes out of door. The brewer looks for the same things as the cheesemaker, who looks for the same things as the meat processor.

All food plant managers point out the following reasons for installing process control: a chance to modernize, non-stop processing, necessary product consistency, productivity increase (due to 100% monitoring).

Automated inspection means anything that measures, judges, or classifies without need for human assistance. Major advantages are reliability, repeatability, speed, storage, and printed copies of test results. As a result, feedback is more rapid to the process: there is less production of rejected product, less waste material and less labour. The better process control, the higher product quality is achieved.

In addition, the tireless nature of a machine means that inspection is uniform from early morning to late in the evening. A machine doesn’t have problems at home, an argument at work, or catch the cold. Therefore, its maintenance and output are more reliable than its human competitor.

With the help of a programmable controller (PC) much of the manual control and operator inspection associated with, for example, milling process can be eliminated. Since operators no longer think so much about the process, they spend more time thinking about the flour in a mill. Up to 20 types of flour can be made. The system provides regularly start-ups and shut-downs. The mill shifts from processing hard or soft wheat as often as three times per week. Commands contained in the PC memory automatically change the mill for different kinds of operations. Information is displayed and recorded concerning wheat mix, flour code, total production, percent product yield and flour extraction.

As for quality control technique, it allows to collect a sample of product on an hourly basis. The sample is distributed evenly across the surface of a conveyer belt. The belt moves under a computer-controlled video image analyser that obtains and stores the visible characteristics of the product.