VOL. 1F NO.

1
SPECIAL EDITION

Survey: MES Is
Manufacturers’
Secret Weapon
Industry Week survey of
best plants shows how
the power of MES helps
Food and Beverage Solutions from Rockwell Automation manufacturers develop
better productivity,
process improvement
and personnel
MAINTAINING
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Small Investments performance. Page 3

Keeping Track for

Compliance Pay Big Information Competitive
Advantage
with
regulations
(HACCP, The
Dividends New government
regulations, the demands
Bioterrorism of major customers, and
Act, etc.) as the need for improved
ost existing process plants are automated at the

M
well as ever- quality and consistency
changing consumer/retailer plant floor level. Small incremental investments make tracking and tracing
demands (e.g. Wal-Mart RFID) in information technology at the manufacturing solutions a must-have in
execution system (MES) layer that build upon the food and beverage
are impacting the food and
industry. Page 4
beverage industry. these plant floor automation systems can yield quick
Consumers are demanding paybacks. Simulation Cuts
products in a variety of Support for these IT additions can be very straightforward if Start-Up 75 Percent
flavors, sizes, and packaging Food equipment OEM
the MES solution matches and extends the current process
designs. Retailers are Span Tech used Rockwell
demanding just-in-time automation system.
Software’s Arena solution
deliveries. Plant Managers to design a new product
are trying to optimize and/or conveyor system virtually
increase production without before building it, ensur-
additional capital expense. ing ahead of time that
The pressure for food and product goals could be
beverage manufacturers to met and cutting start- up
perform in this environment is time by 75 percent.
intense, and your ability to Page 6
drive agility and flexibility in
your operations are evolving Optimizing
Brewing Processes
Photo courtesy: Canbra Foods

as core competencies. This

special edition of ValueStream Rockwell Automation has
offers you creative strategies
the depth of experience,
domain expertise,
that are being used by your
knowledge of hybrid
peers to meet traceability
industries, and global reach
requirements, leverage
"Since automating the process using RSBizWare Batch, we to meet the new challenges
investments to improve faced by brewers in today’s
operations, and increase the have been able to save $45,000 per year just by purchasing
ingredients in bulk,” said Rick Kurio of Canbra Foods. hyper-competitive markets.
flexibility and effectiveness of Page 7
production lines to meet the A recent project implemented by Canbra Foods shows how
demands of consumers and small, incremental MES investments can produce substantial Report Says
retailers. Challenge us to Manufacturers
benefits.
evaluate your unique Not Ready for Next
requirements and benchmark Power Failure
the best food and beverage CANBRA FOODS In spite of the experience
manufacturers as part of your Canbra Foods is Canada's largest fully-integrated oilseed of the big blackout of
operating strategy. I welcome crushing, refining, processing and packaging company. Its 2003, most businesses
your feedback. major products include cooking and salad oil, margarine, are not ready to face
Steve Eisenbrown another such outage -
shortening and a full line of proteins. Canbra is a leading sup- even though another
Senior Vice President
Rockwell Automation plier of canola products for the global food industry. At the power failure is next to
Automation, Control and company’s Lethbridge, Alberta facility, Canbra relies heavily inevitable. Page 8
Information Group on Rockwell Automation technology to control, automate and
ragmsnewsletter@ra.rockwell.com
Continued on page 2
 Small Investments, continued from page 1 BizWare Batch would allow us to lever- All RSBizWare Batch recipes are incor-
monitor production. age Rockwell Automation’s Integrated porated into two Rockwell Software
Like many food and beverage manufac- Architecture and em- RSView® 32™ human-
turers, Canbra was looking for cost effec- ploy batch mobility and Eliminating manual machine interface soft-
tive ways to extend and increase plant au- standardization concepts ingredient addition ware servers located in
tomation. Rockwell Automation was able through ISA S88 stan- the plant control room.
reduced cycle time by
to implement an MES level solution for dards. This was impor- Three operator stations
tant because we were
Canbra that leveraged its existing plant au- one half hour per batch. leverage RSView to
tomation system and exhibited an excel- also seeking a common provide Canbra with a
lent return on investment. ground for our engineers to program, trou- window into the process at any stage of
bleshoot and maintain the system." production. Two other operator stations
BOTTLENECKS IDENTIFIED reside on the milk preparation process
The production process begins with RECIPES AUTOMATED and the crystallizer machine.
canola seed cleaning and crushing. The automated solution combines RS-
Canbra runs the resulting oil through a BizWare Batch with a Flexicon Corpora- RESULTS: SAVINGS
refining process involving a crystallizer tion bulk handling system that conveys, Automating the milk preparation process
machine, where it is made into a finished loads, unloads, weighs, feeds and with RSBizWare Batch helped minimize
product for packaging. In the refining processes bulk solid material. production bottlenecks, increase effi-
phase, Canbra blends the oil with a RSBizWare Batch controls all of the oper- ciency, provide a safer work environment
custom milk to create margarine products. ations of the bulk handling system through and save money.
Canbra’s original milk preparation Allen-Bradley® PLCs. For example, when "We have been delighted with the
process was mostly a manual operation, an operator picks a recipe from RSBizWare results to date," said Kurio. "Since au-
beginning with the addition of 33-pound Batch that calls for 200 pounds of salt and tomating the process using RSBizWare
bags of salt and 44-pound bags of whey 300 pounds of whey powder, the con- Batch, we have been able to save
powder into a pre-mixer. This labor- troller receives two setpoints. $45,000 per year just by purchasing
intensive process created production RSBizWare Batch then directs the bulk- ingredients in bulk instead of in 40-pound
bottlenecks, spillage and documentation addition system to operate two 15-foot- bags."
challenges. In addition, the pre-mixer high bulk-bag dischargers to dump the The RSBizWare Batch and Flexicon bulk
occasionally received inaccurate amounts whey powder and salt into two 8-cubic- handling systems also eliminated manual
of ingredients. Canbra sought an feet-capacity stainless steel hoppers. ingredient addition, reducing cycle time by
automated material handling system and From each hopper, material is transport- roughly half an hour per batch.
batch management software. ed to one of two mixing tanks via a flexi- In addition, using the ISA S88 batch
"Rockwell Automation supplies all of ble screw conveyor. standard, RSBizWare Batch collects
the manufacturing software in the Leth- "We chose RSBizWare Batch to write the data on each batch and compiles it into
bridge facility," said Rick Kurio, control recipes for the milk preparation process batch records. This allows Canbra to
systems coordinator, Canbra Foods. and to control the clean-in-place (CIP) identify process trends and deviations,
"Therefore, when we considered imple- process for each tank," said Kurio. "RS- as well as efficiently track ingredients
menting a batch management solution, BizWare Batch follows the ISA S88 model, for food safety audits.
Rockwell Software RSBizWare Batch™ providing us with a cut-and-paste approach "We’ve been able to achieve addi-
was a natural choice. In addition, RS- to easily develop and reconfigure recipes." tional savings through increased batch
accuracy," Kurio added. "On top of
that, worker safety has improved
Top Reasons to Add MES Functionality to the Plant Floor since they no longer have to handle
heavy bags of material."
The success of the Rockwell Automation
 1. Low cost incremental MES investments yield quick payback. solutions has prompted Canbra to ex-
plore integrating its oil blending system
 2. Support is straightforward if the MES solution matches and extends with the milk blending system to further
the current process automation system. streamline the production process.
"In the next three to five years we will
 3. MES solutions can be implemented quickly with minimal disruptions obtain even greater savings and efficien-
to plant floor automation systems and production. cies," said Kurio. "By incorporating the oil
preparation phase into the RSBizWare
 4. Incremental MES investments can target specific areas of concern, Batch system, we’ll have a seamless
such as worker safety, regulatory compliance and increased uptime. process for producing our margarine
products. We will look to Rockwell
Automation to help us get there." 

2 ValueStream • Food & Beverage Solutions

Information Solutions
Improve Profitability with Investment in MES
n analysis of Industry Week
A Best Plant winners and final-
ist data over a four-year peri-
od (1998 – 2002) shows that
manufacturing execution system (MES)
implementation provides considerable
performance advantages.
Plants using MES have improved prof-
itability by four times as much as those
not using MES. The analysis shows
that plants using MES outperform
those that don’t – and improve plant
performance faster – in all of three per-
formance areas:
 Productivity. Plants using MES have
higher productivity and have improved
operational productivity more rapidly over
the previous three years. Plants with
MES were able to reduce costs – includ-
ing those related to manufacturing, prod-
uct, and energy – more dramatically than
plants not using MES.
 Process Improvement. Plants with
MES have higher process capability and
larger yield gains. Furthermore, plants
using MES have a greater reduction in
cycle times and are more advanced in
developing a true build-to-order model to
meet just-in-time demands.
 Personnel Performance. New
employees require less training in plants
that use MES. Plants using ERP, Six
Sigma, Lean Quality and demand flow
scheduling techniques all show benefits
from using MES.
MES VS. ERP
The Manufacturing Enterprise Systems
Association, MESA International, defines
MES as "a dynamic information system
that drives effective execution of manu-
facturing operations. Using current and
accurate data, MES guides, triggers and
reports on plant activities as events
occur. The MES set of functions manages
production operations from point of order
release into manufacturing to point of
product delivery into finished goods.
MES provides mission-critical information
about production activities to others
across the organization and supply chain
via bi-directional communication."
While an enterprise resource plan-
ning (ERP) system is sold as a
comprehensive manufacturing
system, very few plants have found it
to be effective in assisting plant
personnel. Among Best Plants using
ERP, the 59 percent with MES as well
have improved profitability 4.3 times
as much over 3 years – 413.3 percent
vs. 96.2 percent. ERP helps plan and
oversee manufacturing, but improving
production execution requires
detailed functionality that only MES
provides.
Plants using MES have higher produc-
tivity than those not using MES by all
three measures included in the Industry
Week Best Plants survey: sales per
square foot, sales per employee and
value-add per employee.
Productivity growth over
the prior three years ranges
from 70 percent higher to
over six times higher for
plants using MES.
Naturally, productivity growth is a key
driver of growth in profitability. Here
again, plants using MES showed a clear
advantage over those not using MES.
Productivity growth over the prior three
years ranges from 70 percent higher to
MEASURE
Profit Improvement
Productivity
Productivity Improvement
Cost Reduction over 3 Years
Energy Consumption Reduction
Process Capability
Yield Improvements
Cycle Time Reductions
Employee Effectiveness
over six times higher for plants using
MES. Those using ERP found MES an
even greater boost to productivity.
One of the keys to improvement, as
many companies implementing Six Sig-
ma and other programs have discovered,
is having accurate, detailed data to identi-
fy the root cause of problems. MES helps
provide that type of production data.
Further, MES helps reduce errors that
waste materials as well as employee and
production equipment time. Over 58 per-
cent of those with Six Sigma initiatives
use MES as well.
MES CUTS COSTS
Nearly every manufacturing company
has faced price pressures over the past
few years. To maintain healthy profits,
costs must be cut. Again, those using
MES have managed to outperform those
not using MES. While their customer
prices dropped more, their cost reduc-
tions were also greater. This data sug-
gests that companies in industries that
need to make regular improvements in
costs and productivity to compete effec-
tively – such as food and beverage –
should consider MES.
Another aspect of productivity where
MES appears to provide a significant
boost is in a plant’s ability to reduce
energy consumption per unit of pro-
duction. All of the best plants man-
aged to cut energy consumption, but
Continued on page 8
PLANTS USING MES
400%+ higher gains – 3 years
84% higher revenue/square foot
32% higher value-add/employee
10% higher sales/employee
630% greater improvement in revenue/sq ft
70% greater improvement in value-add/employee
200% greater improvement in sales/employee
34% greater cost reduction
57% greater energy reduction
11% better Cpk – 2 vs. 1.8
15% greater improvement
37% greater mfg. cycle time cuts; 22%+ order-to-ship
78% as much training needed
ValueStream • Food & Beverage Solutions 3
 Tr a c k a n d Tr a c e
Keeping Track for Competitive Advantage
ew requirements to track and
N trace all materials used in food
and animal feed manufacturing
can be costly and time con-
suming for food and beverage manufac-
turers. When faced with such demands,
the first questions many food industry ex-
ecutives ask is why tracking and tracing
must be done. There are several reasons:
 Government regulations (see sidebar
on p. 5). As of December 12, 2003, food
and beverage companies have between
six and eighteen months to comply with
the Bioterrorism Act. Compliance can
only be attained with a tracking and
tracing system.
 Supply chain responsiveness to
meet the demands of the retailers for
on-time delivery and accurate information
on deliveries.
 Improved inventory management:
reduction of inventory, waste and over-
production associated with safety stock.
 Improved quality and consistency.
 Protecting brand equity.
All of these reasons mean that an
intelligently implemented tracking and
tracing system can translate to a
competitive advantage for a manufacturer.
IMPLEMENTING
SYSTEMS
Food and beverage manufacturers can
implement tracking and tracing in one of
two basic ways. The first is to spend the
minimum amount necessary to comply
with government regulations. This path
will provide little or no improvement to
Why Track and Trace?
 1. To comply with regulations and mandates
 2. To increase supply chain responsiveness
 3. To improve inventory management
 4. To improve quality and consistency
 5. To protect brand equity
4 ValueStream • Food & Beverage Solutions
quality and consistency and no reduction
in costs. This path can also result in sub-
stantial additional expense when govern-
ment regulations become more stringent
or when supplier requirements change.
The second path is to install a tracking
and tracing system that does more than
just meet government requirements. Food
and beverage manufacturers can install
tracking and tracing systems that meet
existing and anticipated demands from
suppliers and government agencies,
reduce inventory, reduce final product
costs and improve quality and consistency.
Regulations affecting the food and
beverage industry continue to evolve in
the direction of regulations in the
pharmaceutical industry, which require
pharmaceutical companies to generate a
complete batch record and meet the
requirements of 21 CFR Part 11.
Implementation of a well-designed
tracking and tracing application positions
food and beverage companies to meet
potential regulations.
Food and beverage manufacturers are
now investigating tracking and tracing ap-
plications and how they need to respond
to the governmental regulations for trace-
ability. Smart companies are looking at
ways to leverage these applications to im-
prove operations and achieve a quantifi-
able return on the investment.
ADVANTAGES
Compliance with government regula-
tions is discussed in the sidebar (p. 5).
Additional benefits that can be gained
with tracking and tracing systems are
as follows.
Manufacturers striving to improve the
responsiveness of their supply chains
can meet the demands of the retailers
for on-time delivery and accurate infor-
mation on deliveries (RFID on pallets).
Failure to respond to these demands
will result in lost contracts with retailers
and wholesalers.
A tracking and tracing solution
tracks actual usage so the
safety stock can be reduced,
freeing capital and reducing
operating expense.
Tracking material usage at the manu-
facturing plant enables food and bever-
age companies to manage inventory
more accurately at the plant level. At
many plants, inventory usage is deter-
mined based on standards. Actual in-
ventory is reconciled to the business
system every week or month by taking
a physical inventory. To ensure that
there is adequate inventory on hand,
food manufacturing companies need
to carry additional inventory as a safety
stock.
A tracking and tracing solution en-
ables the company to track actual us-
age, so the safety stock can be re-
duced, freeing capital and reducing
operating expense.
When it comes to quality and consis-
tency, the challenge for the manufactur-
ing company is to have enough correlated
data to allow it to analyze operations and
make improvements. The tracking and
tracing applications collect all the key data
for each process step, including raw
material used, operating conditions,
personnel and quality of the product.
Batches or products that had excellent
yield and quality can be reviewed to
understand optimal conditions.
Similarly when a bad batch or product
is produced, the operation can be
reviewed and compared to excellent
batches to understand the key reason
for the difference. Based on these
analyses, companies can alter their
standard operating procedures to
optimize production.
BETTER COST ANALYSIS
Manufacturing companies seek to un-
derstand the cost of manufacturing
each product. Because of the lack of
data, they use standard costs devel-
oped using data over an extended pe-
riod of operating history. The compa-
nies are challenged to be the low-cost
producer and must compare the cost
of manufacturing at each of their
manufacturing facilities and the cost
of a co-manufacturer.
Tracking and tracing applications can
provide much of the raw data to give a
more complete view of the actual cost
of manufacturing the product. The ap-
plication collects data on actual usage,
waste/scrap, the amount of labor
deployed and operating conditions.
Based on this data, companies can
more clearly understand their costs
and make better decisions to reduce
manufacturing costs. 

REGULATIONS FORCE COMPLIANCE

 The Bioterrorism Act of 20021
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) the requirements for the implementation
and enforcement of the Bioterrorism Act on December 12, 20032. Following publication, food and beverage companies have
between six and 18 months to comply with the legislation. While there are limited exemptions, the law is intended to be broadly
applied to all persons that manufacture, process, pack or hold, transport, distribute or receive regulated food product. With FDA
authority over about 80 percent of the U.S. food supply and over 500 new inspectors to begin enforcement of applicable civil and
criminal penalties, this law is destined to have significant impact on the food and beverage industry. Under this act, food and bever-
age companies must comply with the following regulations:
• Registration - Domestic and foreign food facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for human consumption in the
United States must register with the FDA.
• Prior notice - Food importers must notify the FDA at least one day before a shipment arrives in the United States, disclosing the
contents and estimating the arrival time.
• Detention - Failure to comply with registration results in detention of product.
The FDA will shortly publish in the CFR the final rule for tracking and tracing requirements:
• Four-hour rule - Upon request, companies have four hours to respond to FDA inquiries. Small companies will have 12 months after
issue of the final rule to comply with this provision and large companies will have 6 months.
• Maintenance of records - Companies must maintain a record of the products manufactured and materials used in the manufactur-
ing process.

 European Union Regulations

EU Regulation 178/20023 establishes the European Food Safety Authority and specifies the basic conditions for safeguarding food. Two
provisions merit particular attention: the requirement that it should be possible to trace food and feed at all times; and the requirement
that unsafe products should be withdrawn from the market. Article 18 of the regulation states the following requirements:
• Traceability must be guaranteed at all stages of production;
• Businesses must be able to identify from whom they have received any products used or to be used;
• Businesses must be able to identify to whom their products have been supplied;
• Businesses must have in place tracing systems and procedures;
• Tracing information must be made available to the competent authorities on demand;
• Products must be adequately labeled or identified.
Articles 19 and 20 of the regulation require producers of food and feed to withdraw unsafe products from the market.

 RFID
In June 2003, Linda Dillman, CIO of Wal-Mart announced that the top 100 suppliers to Wal-Mart would be required to use Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) tags on their cases and pallets by January 2005. While not a regulation, the mandate has companies
scrambling to comply.
Outside of retail, several industry groups are driving their own requirements. The Department of Defense (DoD) held a
meeting in 2003 with over 200 of its suppliers to explain its RFID strategy. The potential impact of such requirements on
manufacturers could be even bigger than the Wal-Mart initiatives. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently
showed how RFID technology could speed the movement of people across boarders while reducing the threat of terrorism. In
addition to these entities, suppliers of customer relationship management software, IT, and Web services are all gearing up
to meet the RFID challenge.

1 www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html; 2 FDA News Release P03-18, October 16, 2003; 3 Official Journal of the European Communities 1.2.2002 L31/1

ValueStream • Food & Beverage Solutions 5

 S p a n Te c h L L C

Simulation
Reduces
Start-Up Time
75 Percent
imulation is a tool that can be

S used in many process automa-

tion projects to reduce risk,
save money and compress the
Photo courtesy: Span Tech LLC

project cycle. Simulations are created by

building a model of the proposed
process, usually by using PC-based
software packages.
Simulation can provide a proof-of-
concept in advance of major project A simulation of Span Tech’s proposed frozen-pancake conveyor system allowed
corrections in the design phase of the project, where they were significantly
expenditures. It can also be used to cheaper to implement.
provide a cost/benefit analysis and a
risk assessment for different design the freezer in six controlled streams. dynamically and increased customer con-
approaches. Next, the system needed to stack the fidence," said Rainer Dronzek, president
Span Tech LLC in Glasgow, Ky., makes pancakes six high and merge the stacks of Simulation Modeling Services. "It also
chain-curving conveyors for clients in the onto a single-file conveyor. assured Span Tech that its design solu-
food, packaging, pharmaceutical and Product damage directly attributable to tion would work, and it showed what
manufacturing industries. Its clients want the new system could not exceed 0.2 kind of improvements would result in the
to cut time spent handling product and percent, and the system needed to have a manufacturing process."
reduce labor costs, product damage and runtime efficiency of 96 percent or better. The Arena-driven simulation convinced
downtime. the pancake manufacturer that this was a
A frozen pancake manufacturer asked MINIMIZING RISK viable project, and Span Tech completed
Span Tech to develop a conveyor system Before embarking on the project, Span the design phase.
that would reduce the number of jams Tech wanted to minimize the risks asso-
that occur when multiple lines of pan- ciated with taking it on. Using Rockwell SAVING TIME
cakes merged into a stacking area. Software’s Arena simulation software, The new conveyor system met customer
With the existing conveyor system, Span Tech created an initial design con- goals. With Arena, Span Tech optimized
pancakes exited the freezer randomly cept to help calculate product manufac- the process virtually. Because all the
distributed. Span Tech determined that turing variables. process changes and tweaks were done
the pancakes needed to emerge from According to Leo Schroeder, president online, the start-up took only four weeks
of Span Tech, "We chose Arena because instead of months.
Top Benefits of Simulation we needed to determine project variable The result was a manufacturing
specifics and minimize risk. We wanted process that decreased pancake product
 Provides a proof-of-concept before to know before contract acceptance if damage within requested parameters.
major project expenditures. we could achieve project goals." The solution also reduced the number of
 Provides a cost/benefit analysis and a Span Tech first prepared an AutoCAD employees required to monitor pancake
risk assessment for different design layout of the project and sent it to production from four people to one.
approaches. Simulation Modeling Services in Lisle, "Developing the simulation took more
 Reveals design flaws early, when Ill. Simulation Modeling prepared a time at the beginning of the project, but it
costs for correction are low. schematic with flow rates, frequencies saved considerable time during installa-
 Reduces installation and start-up and product distribution. This informa- tion, start-up and debugging," Schroeder
time. tion was then used to program an said. "Costs for corrections made in the
 Shows how a retrofit will work within Arena simulation. design phase of a project are miniscule
an existing process. "Arena’s simulation capabilities allowed when compared to making corrections
the manufacturer to see the operation during start up". 
6 ValueStream • Food & Beverage Solutions
Focus: Brewing Industry
Common Infrastructure
Optimizes Brewing Processes
lobal hybrid industries such as and services to optimize brewing
G brewing, food and pharmaceu-
tical require that global au-
tomation suppliers possess
key attributes, including global reach,
domain expertise, adherence to industry
standards, seamless integration with
enterprise-wide computing systems and
the ability to perform discrete and
process control with a single platform.
With a history rooted in manufacturing,
Rockwell Automation and its partners are
positioned to deliver what the brewing
industry requires.
Global reach means combining a world-
wide supply chain with around-the-globe
service. Domain expertise is vital be-
cause no automation supplier can help
you solve your manufacturing problems
without an in-depth understanding of
your industry.
Adherence to Rockwell Automation’s "Virtual
industry standards
Brewery" is a set of brewery best provide a proj-
helps promote
standardization of practices, design templates, and
application soft- brewery object libraries.
ware and network
hardware at all manufacturing locations.
Seamless interconnection with enter-
prise-wide computing systems allows
manufacturers to monitor production
costs worldwide from a central location
and shift production on a dynamic basis
to the most efficient sites.
Finally, process automation controllers
that can perform discrete and process
control from a single platform simplify
implementation, on-going operations
and maintenance.
BEST PRACTICES
Market forces are contributing to merg-
ers, acquisitions and consolidation of the
global brewing industry. The top ten
brewers now control over 50 percent of
the market. These brewers will demand
that their automation supplier possesses
these five attributes.
Rockwell Automation delivers products
processes from raw material receiving to
final product delivery. It also delivers solu-
tions for energy, warehouse and asset
management.
At the heart of each of these applica-
tions is a common information infra-
structure designed using international
standards around a collaborative frame-
work. Rockwell Automation’s "Virtual
Brewery" is the basis upon which these
solutions are designed. It is a set of
brewery best practices, design tem-
plates and brewery object libraries that
simplify engineering and ensure opti-
mum brewery performance.
Rockwell Automation uses a method-
ology called Manufacturing Assess-
ment & Planning Services (MAP) to
help customers define their company
vision, develop a
gap analysis and
ect-by-project
ROI projection.
Rockwell pro-
vides a priori-
tized multi-year implementation plan
and a path to the future that can be
used as a core component to your
manufacturing strategy.
Rockwell Automation’s Integrated
Architecture™ is a single plant-wide
platform and enabling foundation upon
which its brewing optimization solu-
tions are built.
One of the clear benefits of Integrat-
ed Architecture is the execution of
both process and discrete operations
within the Logix controller framework.
"If we can merge our process and dis-
crete manufacturing operations, we
will generate great efficiencies for our
corporation," said Thinus van Schoor,
manager of automation for South
African Breweries (Pty) Ltd., a
Rockwell Automation customer.
Integrated Architecture offers users a
choice of open technologies; an
ValueStream • Food & Beverage Solutions
Key Attributes of Global
Automation Suppliers
 Global reach
 Domain expertise
 Adherence to industry standards
 Ability to perform discrete and
process control with a single
platform
 Seamless integration with
enterprise wide computing
systems
architecture capable of real-time control,
communication and visualization; and an
integrated control and information data-
base that is both backward-compatible
and capable of forward migration.
Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk™
technology complements the Integrated
Architecture and pulls together the data
model that exists in the control system
layer, allowing it to be used to its full
potential in the MES information layer.
"If we can merge our process
and discrete manufacturing
operations, we will generate
great efficiencies for our
corporation," said Thinus van
Schoor, manager of automation
for South African Breweries
(Pty) Ltd.
The suite of Rockwell Software prod-
ucts provides a comprehensive solution
to manage and control plant assets in
real time to deliver significant operational
benefits, complemented by an extensive
solutions toolkit that drives enhanced
ROI from existing business systems. 
7
 Power and Energy

Risks Reinforce Need to Prepare MES article, continued from page 3

there is a 57 percent difference.
Plants not using MES achieved a 12.3
percent reduction compared to a 19.3
report with an unwieldy CrainTech.com, says that the findings of percent reduction for those using

A title — "An Analysis of the

Consequences of the
August 14 2003 Power
Outage and Its Potential Impact on
Business Strategy and Local Public
Policy" — has some disturbing news.
In spite of the near inevitability of
another major regional power failure,
most businesses are not ready to face
one. And the risks are great.
The report, prepared by a partnership of
Mirifex Systems LLC, the Weatherhead
School of Management’s Center for
Regional Economic Issues and NE Ohio
Losses Per Hour
of Downtime
(U.S. Dollars)
From APC Currents, August, 2004. APC, www.apc.com.
the survey "reinforce the belief that even
for some events that occur as infrequent-
ly as once every few decades, the risk is
still substantial enough to warrant the in-
vestment of resources to protect against
their occurrence."
The survey also found that:
 Two-thirds of the business surveyed
lost at least a full business day due to
the August 2003 blackout.
 Nearly half said lost employee pro-
ductivity was the largest contributor
to losses suffered because of the
blackout.
 As a consequence, over one-third
said they’d be somewhat or very
likely to invest in alternate energy
systems.
 Production/manufacturing and cus-
tomer sales/service were the areas
of business hardest hit by the
blackout.
 More than half the businesses sur-
MES.
This reduction can most likely be at-
tributed to MES core capabilities such
as a unified plant-wide view of produc-
tion that leads to greater overall effi-
ciencies, operator support to reduce
errors and waste, and detailed data to
track down root causes when a prob-
lem arises.
Process plants using MES
reduced energy consumption
9.8 percent compared to a 5.5
percent reduction for those that
did not.
In process and mixed mode indus-
tries, where energy consumption is
often a larger cost, the reduction is
even greater. Process plants using
MES achieved a 9.8 percent reduction

veyed say that currently the greatest
risks to business operations are
cyber-crime and utility outages.
 Nearly half will invest more in risk
■ 80% $50,000 or less management, business continuance
■ 9% $50,000 - $100,000 and/or disaster recovery in the future.
■ 9% $100,000 - $250,000  More than a third felt it was some-
what or very likely that the region’s
■ 2% $250,000 - $500,000
image would suffer as a result of the
blackout.
A quarter of the businesses surveyed
lost more that $50,000 per hour of  Over one-third of firms surveyed
downtime — at least $400,000 for an have no risk management or disaster
eight-hour day. recovery plans in place. 
in energy consumption per unit of
production, while those not using MES
achieved a 5.5 percent savings in the
previous three year period – a 78
percent difference.
In an era where return on assets (ROA)
and operating costs are critical metrics of
company financial health, top executives
will be looking for ways to enhance pro-
ductivity. This study of best plants shows
that MES enhances the rate of perform-
ance improvements that production facil-
ities can achieve. 

ValueStream is published by Rockwell Automation. Editorial content is developed by Putman Media Custom Media Division.
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8 ValueStream • Food & Beverage Solutions