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We interviewed a Fosters America Group manager. His mobile bottling trailer,
powered by Inductive Automation software, services the finest wines of Napa Valley.
IA: What do you use Inductive Automation software for?
John: It runs our mobile bottling line. The semi trailer goes all over Napa and Sonoma county. I'm not always with the trailer, but I always want to be able to access process information. It logs production totals, CIP (clean in place) cycles, and user input. I can pull up any info including realtime values from anywhere. We're still in the development stage. Eventually I want to integrate our maintenance and more. We want the most advanced mobile bottling trailer there is.
IA: What is a mobile bottling line?
John: Imagine a complete bottling line inside a semi trailer. They connect a hose where the wine comes in, out goes bottled, labeled wine. We do about eighty bottles per minute. We're not the only mobile bottling line around, they're common for smaller wineries who only bottle a couple of times per year. The difference is that ours does the best wines Fosters makes. Owning our own mobile bottling line is actually new to us, we're developing this application to meet our needs for the best wines.
IA: Why would you use a mobile bottling line?
John: We've consolidated our bottling facilities into one large location that services most of our wine. This is efficient and cost effective. Premium, delicate wines, for example, a Private Reserve Cabernet, are bottled on site. The winemaker demands that the wine comes out in exactly the same quality as it went in. They're concerned with the effects of transportation, storage, and the bottling process. The mobile bottling trailer goes to their site and bottles the best wines that Fosters America makes: Beringer, Lindemans, Meridian, Wolf Blass, and many more.
IA: What makes your mobile bottling line different?
John: We don't do anything unique, but have onboard technology and tracking software. We have high quality equipment, but the main difference is that my team has to be very careful. For example, all SOPs are available on the touch screen. They have to acknowledge every step during the bottling process, which is logged to our server. It's not so much to check on my crew but if there is ever a question we can prove exactly what happened. It tells me who did the CIP, when, and gives pertinent info. The team can't bypass the process - and they're trained. They can either go by procedure exactly or abort, which is also logged. There's another thing that's important about this technology. Say there is a failure somewhere. We have the ability to find out what went wrong and correct the procedure. I can even troubleshoot via the PLC from anywhere.
IA: Could you describe some of the technology in your trailer?
John: We have a web server and SQL database in the trailer. A proxycast cell modem allows me to access the realtime process and historical data from anywhere - regardless of where the mobile bottling happens to be. Right now I'm in Napa and it's in St. Helena. I get a report every hour on my cell phone and email since they're producing. I can pull up the process from a web browser. We also have wifi setup even though we can do everything via the proxycast modem.
IA: What can you say about the web based model?
John: That's extremely important; it was the main selling point for us. I wanted to allow anybody in the company go to the web page for information. A winemaker might look at the schedule of the trailer. They can verify that bottling occurred smoothly and view relevant data.
There is a lot of expandability. I'm looking into what Senior VPs who report to Australia are really looking for. They can already bring up the information from any computer, regardless of where the trailer is. I've yet to find anything that the system can't do. The program seems to be easily expanded or modified to suit customer needs.
IA: Is there anything else to say about the Mobile Bottling Line?
John: The mobile line is a showcase. We take pride in our wine and do the best. Remote troubleshooting capabilities are very important. The wine is delicate. Winemakers want their wine in bottles as soon as possible from when they get started. Downtime likely jeopardizes the quality and worries winemakers. That's a bigger point than production. Quality comes first with our wine. If a winemaker is confident in the mobile bottling line, they can focus on their artistry, wine. That's their job and where they excel. When you look at a bottle of wine, it has their name on it. They take that very seriously.
End-User Highlight: Fosters America Group
04/04/2007 - We interviewed a Fosters America Group manager. His mobile bottling trailer,
powered by Inductive Automation software, services the finest wines of Napa Valley.
IA: What do you use Inductive Automation software for?
John: It runs our mobile bottling line. The semi trailer goes all over Napa and Sonoma county. I'm not always with the trailer, but I always want to be able to access process information. It logs production totals, CIP (clean in place) cycles, and user input. I can pull up any info including realtime values from anywhere. We're still in the development stage. Eventually I want to integrate our maintenance and more. We want the most advanced mobile bottling trailer there is.
IA: What is a mobile bottling line?
John: Imagine a complete bottling line inside a semi trailer. They connect a hose where the wine comes in, out goes bottled, labeled wine. We do about eighty bottles per minute. We're not the only mobile bottling line around, they're common for smaller wineries who only bottle a couple of times per year. The difference is that ours does the best wines Fosters makes. Owning our own mobile bottling line is actually new to us, we're developing this application to meet our needs for the best wines.
IA: Why would you use a mobile bottling line?
John: We've consolidated our bottling facilities into one large location that services most of our wine. This is efficient and cost effective. Premium, delicate wines, for example, a Private Reserve Cabernet, are bottled on site. The winemaker demands that the wine comes out in exactly the same quality as it went in. They're concerned with the effects of transportation, storage, and the bottling process. The mobile bottling trailer goes to their site and bottles the best wines that Fosters America makes: Beringer, Lindemans, Meridian, Wolf Blass, and many more.
IA: What makes your mobile bottling line different?
John: We don't do anything unique, but have onboard technology and tracking software. We have high quality equipment, but the main difference is that my team has to be very careful. For example, all SOPs are available on the touch screen. They have to acknowledge every step during the bottling process, which is logged to our server. It's not so much to check on my crew but if there is ever a question we can prove exactly what happened. It tells me who did the CIP, when, and gives pertinent info. The team can't bypass the process - and they're trained. They can either go by procedure exactly or abort, which is also logged. There's another thing that's important about this technology. Say there is a failure somewhere. We have the ability to find out what went wrong and correct the procedure. I can even troubleshoot via the PLC from anywhere.
IA: Could you describe some of the technology in your trailer?
John: We have a web server and SQL database in the trailer. A proxycast cell modem allows me to access the realtime process and historical data from anywhere - regardless of where the mobile bottling happens to be. Right now I'm in Napa and it's in St. Helena. I get a report every hour on my cell phone and email since they're producing. I can pull up the process from a web browser. We also have wifi setup even though we can do everything via the proxycast modem.
IA: What can you say about the web based model?
John: That's extremely important; it was the main selling point for us. I wanted to allow anybody in the company go to the web page for information. A winemaker might look at the schedule of the trailer. They can verify that bottling occurred smoothly and view relevant data.
There is a lot of expandability. I'm looking into what Senior VPs who report to Australia are really looking for. They can already bring up the information from any computer, regardless of where the trailer is. I've yet to find anything that the system can't do. The program seems to be easily expanded or modified to suit customer needs.
IA: Is there anything else to say about the Mobile Bottling Line?
John: The mobile line is a showcase. We take pride in our wine and do the best. Remote troubleshooting capabilities are very important. The wine is delicate. Winemakers want their wine in bottles as soon as possible from when they get started. Downtime likely jeopardizes the quality and worries winemakers. That's a bigger point than production. Quality comes first with our wine. If a winemaker is confident in the mobile bottling line, they can focus on their artistry, wine. That's their job and where they excel. When you look at a bottle of wine, it has their name on it. They take that very seriously.