End User: Clover Dairy

System Integrator: Advansys

Clover South Africa uses Flow Software to gain more insight into day-to-day stock levels, production volumes, and operator behavior. This has resulted in reduced operational costs and improved inventory management, with the implementation cost being recovered within two months.

Business Challenge

Clover saw the need for a solution that would initially help them manage energy costs and highlight areas of peak usage. They also wanted to monitor the usage of water, caustic, acid, and sanitizer. Identifying all the users of these resources and their needs was crucial to improving production while lowering costs.

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Solution

Flow Software provided Clover with real-time monitoring and reporting of energy and material usage throughout the plants. The implementation strategy included:

• Data Integration and Historization: Integration with SCADA and Historian systems to collect and historize relevant signals.
• ‍Custom Reporting: Structured initial CIP and usage (water and acid) reports. Enabled the generation of reports over any time period, highlighting deviations from the norm to help diagnose and isolate production equipment problems.
• ‍Performance Monitoring: Continuous monitoring and analysis of key performance indicators (KPIs) related to material losses and energy usage.

Results

• Realized ROI within the first month.
• 20% reduction in CIP time.
• Savings of more than 8 hours of engineering time per week.
• Highlighted previously hidden problem areas, including incorrect flow rate setup and faulty OEM equipment.
• Reduced utility usage and prevention of over-cleaning.
• Access to reports from all levels within the organization, facilitating informed decision-making.

“As soon as the system was in place, I was asked for reports and, with the intuitive use of Flow Software, I managed to provide the necessary information in five minutes – although I could have done better, this was sufficient to help production on their way and it was also web-available.”
- Ursula du Plessis, Process Control Engineer, Clover SA

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Conclusion

Flow Software has significantly improved Clover South Africa's industrial and information intelligence, leading to increased profits through better management of energy and material usage. The quick ROI and substantial operational improvements demonstrate the value of Flow Software in optimizing manufacturing processes and reducing waste.

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