Real-time Process Control in a Food Processing Facility

Nestle Foods Corporation

Nestle Foods has installed expert systems in real-time applications at their processing facilities. Real-time readings from a plant programmable controller are collected and provided to an expert system, which performs an analysis on the process status. Messages that guide the operator in optimizing the operations are then generated.

The system operates with special interface software developed for Nestle. A special operator's screen, and extensive use of interrupts provided by EXSYS, were keys to success of the project. A model of the process was also built to support the system in the real-time analysis.

This real-time work has been extended to provide increased power and multi-tasking. A special version of the development software was built by EXSYS, with custom hooks into process control software developed by cooperative effort of IBM and selected industry leaders in process control, including Nestle. This combination of the power is ideal for monitoring and controlling a wide range of process operations.