Anheuser-Busch uses more than 475 storage and processing tanks in the finishing department of its brewery in Jacksonville, FL. All those tanks are critical in the multiple steps required for aging, cooling, clarifying and blending beer. It’s a complex task in selecting the right tank throughout the process to produce a beer worthy of the Anheuser-Busch name.

Quality comes first but the brewing giant also needed to optimize efficiencies and throughput of their finishing cellars. The brewery wanted to reduce the time required to assign vessels and process equipment for the transfers, as well as the time required to initiate these processes.

The project also called for integrating a process equipment change – a new piping manifold incorporating more than 80 valves to improve the capabilities of product transfers. All of this also needed to be completed with limited downtime to maintain the brewery’s demanding production schedule.

The Solution

McEnery Automation’s engineers needed to implement the new system using the existing control system architecture. Factorylink software was used as a department-wide HMI/SCADA system. This downloaded real-time production requirements from a Microsoft SQLServer database into two new Allen-Bradley PLC-5s dedicated to making scheduling decisions. McEnery’s team also modified approximately 12 existing PLC programs throughout the fermentation and finishing processes.

The project’s complexity and short delivery schedule required that more than 4,000 hours of programming, along with 2,500 hours of simulation and testing, were worked by six McEnery Automation engineers within a five-month period.

The Results

This project produced numerous benefits. It brought the Jacksonville brewery’s process operations in line with other Anheuser-Busch facilities, greatly increasing quality control. The simplification of the setup procedure reduced opportunity for operator error and provided the brewers with more time to monitor the operations. Additional benefits included increased productivity and reduced waste.

 
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