Visualization and control of milk reception at AGRO TAMI, Slovakia

AGRO TAMI is a Slovak joint-stock company specializing in the processing of milk and the production of dairy products and cheese.

In 2023, the DATANOVA company installed a system for the control and monitoring of milk reception at AGRO TAMI. It consists of tens of Siemens SIMATIC PLCs and the Reliance SCADA/HMI system.

Control system

The system is intended to control milk reception and all related supporting processes. It includes the world's most advanced available technology for automation and the full use of Industry 4.0 in practice.

The solution aims to combine all information from multiple control systems into one compact system and then – based on the obtained data – automatically and efficiently control milk reception. This significantly streamlines and improves the entire process, both in terms of quality and quantity.

In addition to the Reliance SCADA system and the Siemens SIMATIC PLCs, the following processes and systems have been integrated:

• Truck scale for weighing tanker trucks
• RFID verification on the truck scale and in the reception bay
• Surveillance camera system for recognizing license plate numbers
• GPS system for tracking tanker trucks before entering the reception bay
• Integration of tanker states in real time directly in the field (4G and GPS)
• Automatic sample collection, administration, and registration
• Automation of the process of pumping milk from tanker trucks to reception tanks
• Automation of CIP (cleaning in place) processes
• optiMES production system for the control and registration of milk reception
• ERP system
• Quality control systems

The Reliance Control and Reliance View runtime software modules are an essential part of the third level of the control process. The reception office staff use them for the monitoring and visualization of the current status, display of historical data, and escalation of alarms.

Reliance Control Server – another runtime software module – is run on a virtual server. It is used to collect data from all connected Siemens SIMATIC PLCs and provide staff members with detailed information (custom reports, reports, trends) through Reliance's thin clients. Subsequently, the data is provided to third-party systems and other Reliance modules using Reliance OPC UA Server.

The reasons for choosing the Reliance SCADA system:

• It has proved useful for its access rights and roles (control, assignment).
• It allows integrating database systems like MySQL.
• Using Reliance's thin clients means there's no need to install and manage end computers in the cloud infrastructure.
• By combining a number of isolated processes into a single unit, the Reliance SCADA system allows staff members to have full control in one program on multiple monitors.

Example of a visualization window