Batch Management Solutions

Imagine a production line at your chemical manufacturing plant produces yellow paint that is used for traffic marking. As client demand expands, you need to start producing white paint. Instead of building a new production line, you plan to manufacture both paints using the same equipment. Batch management allows you to use the same equipment to run multiple recipes to make different products.

Whether you are looking to add a new product to a production line, improve the quality of an existing product, or build a new facility, batch management solutions can increase functionality and efficiency at your site.

Continuous vs Batch Programming

Using vendor specific software, engineers write sequences – a procedure of events that happen in a particular order to make a desired product. Sequences don’t necessarily indicate batch, but all batches are written in sequences.

If the process operates in a steady state with constant product outputs, the process is likely classified as continuous. Process logic is handled through a mix of PID control loops and discrete on/off control. Changes to the control loops – temperature, flow, pressure, and level – will determine what happens next in the process. For instance, if the level in a vessel hits a certain setpoint, the flow will decrease. Any sequential actions are often programmed with simple delay timers or Boolean logic.

Batch programming requires extensive sequence programming, most often using SFCs (Sequential Function Charts), but occasionally still in Ladder Logic or text-based languages depending on the platform. Similar to a hierarchy, each step in the process is definitive and must occur in succession. Batch programming also allows you to change the recipe input variables so you can produce multiple products within the same production line.

Batch Programming

Your entire process doesn’t have to be batch to employ batch programming. Many processes that use continuous distillation columns, inline mixers, or dryers may still have batch reactors, crystallization tanks, or other sequence-driven equipment. Batch recipes allow you to easily change your product characteristics.

With batch programming, your recipe parameters will change based on your desired output product. You are only changing settings (inputs) on the Human Machine Interface (HMI) in order to make a different product.

Changing the recipe does not rewrite the code. The original sequence structure still exists, but now you have the ability to modify the existing program to add additional recipes, giving the operator the flexibility to switch from one recipe to another. Modifications to the code could be as simple as changing the color of dye to something more complex like adding a chemical that may not have been introduced in the original recipe.

Some batch manager platforms have built-in recipe managers while other platforms require an add-on to the system which requires special licenses. It’s common for batch to be written in sequences that don’t require additional software, but by investing in batch software and acquiring the add-on licenses, you gain functionality. Just as Excel has built-in functions, batch licenses have predefined functions and libraries inside the platform. Instead of writing your own program, there’s a function already built into the software that performs it for you. These add-ons simplify programming, streamline interfacing with operators, and reduce your configuration effort.

Selecting the Right Batch Manager

Choosing which batch manager is right for your facility will depend on several factors. Rockwell, Honeywell, and Emerson are the top three installed-based systems in North America; however, other systems include AVEVA, Yokogawa, ABB, Siemens, and Foxboro.

Many of these companies offer different product licensing tiers based on the amount of batch equipment or levels of functionality. For example, one batch management tier may offer recipe management and manual queueing of batches, but a higher-level tier may offer campaign management with automatic batch loading and equipment scheduling for multiple product lines and shared equipment.

Consider the following when selecting a batch manager.

• Do you already have installed platforms and/or libraries or is this a greenfield site?
• Do you have a large-scale or small-scale process? DCS/PLC preference?
• If you have multiple sites, what are the current platforms at those sites?
• What is your budget?
• What are your long-term goals for the facility?
• Do you have the resources to hire and train the right personnel to support the system?
• Are there specific standards required by your industry?
• How important is user-friendliness at your site?

Batch Management at Your Facility

If you are looking to improve the quality of your product, add an additional product to an existing line, or determine the process for a new product, our Team of industry specialists can help. Contact us today.