IOT News

Overview

A food processing facility produces a variety of sauces and condiments through an integrated process that includes cooking and filling. Due to the nature of sauce production, equipment must be thoroughly cleaned between each product changeover. This process is time‑consuming, labor‑intensive, and often difficult to validate in terms of effectiveness. To address these challenges, the company has installed a new CIP (Clean‑in‑Place) system consisting of three cleaning tanks (caustic, acid, and rinse water) and a return pump station. From the central control room, operators can initiate the entire cleaning cycle with a single click—without the need to disconnect any piping. This significantly improves cleaning efficiency and reduces changeover time.

WideIOT offers an IoT solution specifically designed for CIP equipment. By deploying PLC‑compatible industrial gateways that connect to the CIP system's PLCs, the solution captures real‑time data on tank liquid levels, pH, inlet/outlet water pressure, return pump status, and more. This data is transmitted via Ethernet to the on‑premises platform in the central control room, enabling remote monitoring, fault detection, management, control, and statistical analysis of the CIP equipment. The result is refined operational oversight and assured safety throughout the cleaning process.

Key Capabilities

Flexible Data Acquisition – The gateways feature multiple serial and Ethernet ports and support data collection from a wide range of PLC protocols. Equipment parameters are transmitted to the cloud platform or on‑premises systems via 5G, 4G, Wi‑Fi, or Ethernet, ensuring stable and reliable data communications.

Real‑Time Parameter Monitoring – Operators can monitor key CIP operating parameters in real time, including liquid level, flow rate, temperature, pressure, cleaning duration, and cycle count. Data is presented through intuitive digital readouts and graphical dashboards.

Automated Alerts – When operating parameters deviate from normal ranges or show abnormal trends, the system automatically generates fault notifications and sends alerts via SMS, email, or WeChat. All alarms are compiled into a searchable log for easy reference.

Comprehensive Data Logging & Reporting – The system records detailed operational data for each CIP cycle, generating reports on equipment runtime, cleaning frequency, fault statistics, and more. Data can be filtered by multiple criteria, facilitating equipment performance assessment and maintenance planning.

Open API Integration – The platform provides API interfaces that allow MES, ERP, and other enterprise systems to pull data seamlessly. This enables the linkage between product quality data and cleaning records, supporting rapid traceability and root‑cause analysis, while enhancing overall data governance.

Data‑Driven Decision Making – By analyzing equipment operating parameters and fault distribution patterns, management can optimize maintenance schedules, improve equipment utilization, and ensure that production processes remain safe, controlled, and compliant with quality standards.