Production planning for automated bottling lines

IT modules from Krones underpin the entire production and bottling processes in the new Vitaqua facility in Breuna, Germany, of the mineral water bottlers Brandenburger Urstromquelle. The order and production planning system is one of the success-driving factors behind the high performance being achieved in the production output of the four lines, with a capacity of around 4 million fills a day. The data from the cross-facility ERP system are transferred from the management to the production operation through communication with the Krones production planning system (IPP).
The starting point for the entire IT solution is reception of incoming goods: the deliveries of raw materials and supplies (RMS) pre-announced by a delivery note are recorded with a scanner using hand-held terminals. Ordering proposals, which are generated automatically once stocks reach a predefined minimum, ensure prompt delivery capabilities. From these basic data, the production planning system (IPP) creates the production order during the scheduling phase.
On the basis of the known delivery deadlines and the materials required, the system proposes a production schedule and creates a list of bottling orders. The order system imports the current production schedules and distributes them to the machines. From the material master data record for each product, the requisite materials are reserved and made available in the RMS store (raw materials and supplies). As soon as the lines have been made ready for the new order, the production order can be initiated by the operator.
Production planning work is based on numerous algorithms, like the actual output of a line and the framework conditions for the bottling operation (such as any intermediate cleaning procedures required at a product change-over, actual makeready times), and can thus control all the processes involved inside a bottling and packaging line.