其他服務業Business News

The idea of lights-out manufacturing, where a factory is so highly automated that it doesn't need people, still sounds exotic even to high-tech sectors. Although on a more limited scale, it is already used in Bulgaria, and in the chemical industry. The only operators in the packaging shop for Solvay Soda's new bicarbonate of soda production are robots. They grab, measure, fill, seal, tape, and stack the finished produce bags. People are involved only then - to transfer the packages to the trucks with forklifts.

The decision is part of the BGN 60 million investment that the Devnya producer of soda ash (part of the Belgian Solvay group) recently completed, adding a second product to its list. This opens up new markets for the company, which in 2021 grew by 13%, reaching BGN 436 million in sales.

A new solution for an old line

There are modern technologies not only in the new facilities of the enterprise. The cableway built 25 years ago that carries limestone from the quarry to the plant is also fully robotic. "This is a 9-kilometer installation and absolutely everything is done automatically - from the crushing of the stones, the loading of strips and dosing in the trolleys to the transfer of the material to the plant and its unloading in the designated bunkers," says Stanislav Fotev, who is the head of the Telecom division of Solvay for the region, and in Devnya he is responsible for the local IT systems and the implementation of digitization.

The entire system is practically managed by a single operator who monitors the process from a command center. For comparison, when the line was previously mechanical, 30 people worked on it. The new system is now intelligent, stopping automatically in strong wind or rain or when certain temperature limits are reached.

To predict smartly

A completely local solution is the company's project to build a monitoring system that can predict when a given machine starts to wear out and needs repair (so-called predictive maintenance) based on machine learning. "The problem is that in many facilities, especially in those that are in motion, it is difficult to put conventional sensors," explains Fotev. The team's solution is to integrate intelligent video surveillance with cameras that monitor the object and its parameters all the time. "We are practically implementing a process, the technology exists, but the entire solution and its integration is ours," explained Fotev. The pilot project has already been successful, and the ultimate goal is for the software to not only log and alert on problems, but also make decisions. Currently, the system works in parallel with the old,

Machine self-learning is also used by machine analyzers in the laboratory, which check how white the bicarbonate of soda is - an indicator of possible impurities. The measurement of the exact color from hundreds of shades of white is done on the basis of photographic material. And an analyzer is already integrated so that it automatically enters the results into the system.

A long chain of know-how

While the technologies can be bought from external suppliers, the challenge for the Solvay Sodi team is to build the overall structure. "This means defining the process that starts from a conversation with an operator or a technician in the factory, going through all the logic, taking technologies from several places, very often from international suppliers, bringing them together and implementing them. The whole assembly line as a know-how is being built here," Fotev explained.

Since production is continuous, any digital solutions are introduced while the plant is running, which is another challenge. "This is not like a new factory that you start from a blank sheet of paper. It is much more difficult to digitize a working factory," Fotev said.

The management of the processes at the plant is at such a level that the entire technological staff can be absent for two, three or more hours without affecting production, commented Ivan Angelov, head of the "Technical Development and Processes" department. That is why the night shift is made up of only 40 operators (out of a total of 440 personnel in the company). According to Angelov, the system is able to determine the current capacity of each unit and the entire factory to be reconfigured according to the capacity of the bottleneck. "It's all done automaticaly, and the production chain is quite long," he said.

The Solvay Sodi team is already planning its next innovative projects. "Next year we will try to look for leaks in pipes with the help of video surveillance," said Fotev, adding that at this stage the design has been made.

The company also has ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions, implementing several projects in this direction. The largest of them is for the construction of a plant for the production of steam using alternative fuels, which will cost between 150 and 200 million euros and should be ready in 2026. And the ultimate goal is that by 2030 the plant will phase out the use of coal and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Source: https://www.capital.bg/biznes/promishlenost/2022/12/01/4422894_solvei_sodi_da_imash_ceh_bez_hora_i_osvetlenie_samo_s/