In a barrel tracking solution for British brewers, a compact industrial PC provides the interface between the RFID reader module and the remote database. The entire RFID system allows Coors to control the position of each barrel in its marketing network.
In order to help some famous British brewers, such as Coors, Carlsberg and Scottish Courage, to track the barrels, Trenstar, as a provider of mobile asset management solutions, provided them with an RFID tracking solution.
Wine barrel management needs analysis
The entire life cycle of the barrel is actually very complicated. First, before entering the warehouse to wait for delivery, the empty wine barrel had to fill the winery first. Then, once there is a supply requirement, trucks will take these beer barrels filled with wine and distribute them to different distribution warehouses before they can be delivered by retailers to retail outlets. Finally, empty kegs are again collected and shipped back to the brewery and a new cycle begins.
In recent years, many breweries have begun to outsource the asset management tasks of these barrels, and Trenstar is now tasked with outsourcing tasks for approximately 1.2 million barrels. The company provides brewers with RFID tracking technology that can identify the location of a particular wine barrel at any given time, and also eliminates the maintenance of beer containers by brewers.
Industrial PC choice
The RFID technology used by Trenstar relies heavily on Siemens Automation and Drives' SIMATIC Microbox 420 PCs to provide an interface between RFID reader modules and a remote database. "Currently, this technology has been successfully implemented at breweries such as Coors, Carlsberg and Scottish Courage," said Pip Walker, technical analyst at Trenstar.
Considering the use at the machine level, the key hardware platform selection factors for industrial PCs include electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), high temperature resistance, vibration resistance, and impact resistance. According to Siemens, the Microbox 420 is a machine-oriented Top-Hat rail-mounted PC that is scalable, compact, rugged and fanless. The product is ideally suited for open-loop and closed-loop control, operator interface/display interface, data acquisition and processing in industrial environments, and applications such as communication gateways and Web servers. Typical applications include warehouse systems, printers, pick-and-place machines, brake testers, paint mixers, wind power plants, injection molding machines, building management, industrial washing machines, and vending machines.
The industrial PC measures 262 mm × 134 mm × 47 mm and has a computing performance up to the Pentium III 933 MHz processor. It is equipped with a Compact Flash memory card, SRAM with buffer and backup battery, which ensures the safe storage of process data and graphics output. VGA/DVI, and PC/104-Plus bus extensions. In addition, users can also choose Profibus or Canbus bus protocol.
RFID barrel tracking system
Coors Brewery's RFID barrel tracking system is also integrated with SAP's ERP system, warehouse management and transportation systems. From the moment an empty bucket returns to the brewery, beer barrels are scanned and recorded at each point of their life cycle. If there is a problem with a cask found during the recycling process, it can be picked out and sent for repairs and maintenance. In subsequent stages of use of the barrel, such as when it is filled with wine, when it is stored in a brewery warehouse, when it is loaded on a distributor’s truck, when it arrives in the warehouse, it is delivered to the retailer’s truck and delivered. When it comes to retail outlets, it will be scanned and recorded one by one. When the retailer sells the beer, the wine barrels will be recycled as empty barrels. This reversed barrel flow process will also be scanned multiple times by RFID and recorded one by one.
The entire RFID system allows Coors to control the position of each barrel in its marketing network. The brewery can also monitor the cycle time of each barrel, which is the most crucial information when people optimize the calculation of the number of barrels needed.
Source: Logistics Industry Network
Aluminum railing that doesn`t rust GD aluminium Railing, it doesn`t rust as some other metal materials do when exposed to the elements for a prolonged period of time, making Impression Rail a superb choice for modern, low-maintenance outdoor spaces. Our aluminium railing system is very easy to install and it requires practically zero maintenance. No repainting or repairs are necessary - all the rail needs is an occasional wash! The aluminium railing system is supplied in all RAL colour that looks fantastic . The rail combines the traditiona. We only use aluminium in the construction of Impression Rail (unlike most other [wrought iron" style handrails, which are made of steel and show signs of rust within a few years).
Aluminum Railing Balustrade,French Balcony Railing,Outdoor Aluminum Stair,High Quality Aluminum Terrace
FOSHAN GD ALUMINUM CO LTD , https://www.gd-fence.com