Abstract
The use of completely automated systems for collecting sensor data with the aim of monitoring and controlling the quality of small-scale food processes is not widespread. Small and micro-enterprises usually do not carry out their own precompetitive research or prototype development as regards to automation technologies. This study proposes a web-based, low-cost monitoring and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system whose kernel is available for free, as a possible solution that could be adopted by these food producers. It is mainly based on open SW/HW so as its configuration is adaptable to the application and type of plant. It presents a modular architecture and its main functionalities encompass the acquisition, management, aggregation and visualization of process data, providing an operating database. It also provides food tracking and process quality control: The time series are browsable due to QR-Code generation and different early warning detection strategies are implemented. A tool for solving migration problems based on Fick’s equation is offered as a packaging decision support system.
Highlights
The competitiveness of small production companies in the food sector, farm and agricultural businesses and in the production of natural cosmetics is mainly based on the quality of the product and on the elimination of potential health risks
The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems for small/medium industries have been available since the mid-1990s and since the technological innovation concerning these systems has followed the technological innovation concerning HW
HQ-Pro was tested in the alarm managing configuration on the microalgae pilot-plant, while HQ-Track was tested with simulated runs
Summary
The competitiveness of small production companies in the food sector (beer, olive oil, milk, fruit juices, wine, cheese, natural supplements), farm and agricultural businesses and in the production of natural cosmetics is mainly based on the quality of the product and on the elimination of potential health risks. This study presents an on-line monitoring and low-cost early-warning system It is an open-source open-hardware web-based smart-SCADA system ad-hoc developed to acquire, manage, aggregate, historicize and show real-time process data from the food processing industry at a small scale. It can monitor the main operating conditions of the units in their different sections and to manage alarms. The main technological innovations included in this prototype are the methods of visualization and consultation of data in real-time; the implementation of some particular algorithms for the management of alarms and early warning detection [12,13]; the identification of correlations between process variables through the use of black-box models [14]. This black-box model, being nonlinear in the variables, can describe complex dynamics, but since it is linear in the parameters, its identification procedure (parameters estimation) can be carried out only by a least square algorithm [26]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
