Mohn is a manufacturer of hygiene sluices, washing systems, and stainless-steel operating equipment for the food processing industry. The company has been using a Siemens logic module to control the ultra-modern Highline hygiene sluice. This provides precise control of time checks, access rights, rinsing times, and the addition of cleaning agents.
Unlike previously used circuit boards, this new controller is robust, flexible, and reliable which is vital for smooth operation. The control of the sluices and the duration of the programmes they run provides Mohn’s customers with opportunities to reduce the consumption of both cleaning agents and energy.
Bakeries, butchers, and chocolate factories all have one thing in common: Every employee must pass through a hygiene sluice before entering the manufacturing area. Employees may only leave the sluice once all the prescribed steps have been completed to avoid bringing germs or contaminants into the production area. Up to 5,000 cleaning cycles can therefore be quickly completed in a day depending on the size of the business. Mohn has developed the Highline workforce hygiene sluice for these cycles using a Siemens Logo! 8 logic module for the control function.
Many benefits with opportunities to save
Mohn has focused on the energy and resource efficiency of the hygiene sluice as well as its overall efficiency. As a manufacturer, Mohn appreciates that Logo! 8 allows highly individual customer requirements to be accommodated and settings entered to the second.
“We are the only company on the market that can do without detection sensors in optical form for shoe sole cleaning,” claimed Carsten Homuth, technical project manager at Mohn.
This is one of the major benefits compared to circuit board control where the sensor only detects when someone enters the sluice. The brushes then run for a pre-set time interval – even if the employee leaves the sluice before the cycle is complete. However, with Logo! 8, the system immediately recognises when the sluice is empty and stops the brushes as well as the addition of the cleaning agent which offers significant potential for savings.
New generation of Logo! 8
A further benefit of Logo! 8 is its many network interfaces. Customers can retrieve consumption data from anywhere in the company via Ethernet, and Mohn can also provide immediate remote maintenance support in the event of disruption. Mohn has made this Siemens controller the control standard on all its systems, and has further plans for it in the future. The new Logo! 8 generation, which has a programmable web service application, will have a part to play in this. This allows customers to set up their own control website using the Logo! Web editor with access from a smartphone, tablet, or PC.
