Overview

Design and implementation of a controlled temperature and airflow system within a cream cheese filling area at Tongala Nutrition, ensuring compliance with food safety requirements while improving production readiness and environmental control.

The Problem

The production environment had strict requirements that were not being reliably met:

• Filling rooms required temperatures below 10°C prior to production.
• No automatic system to ensure rooms were ready before operators entered.
• Air handling system required:
  • Specific air changes per hour.
  • Maintained positive air pressure for food safety compliance.
• Existing equipment was underutilised and lacked proper control.

This created risks around:

• Production delays.
• Inconsistent environmental conditions.
• Food safety compliance.

What Was Implemented

A complete control solution was developed to automate and stabilise the environment:

• Implemented PID temperature control using existing cooling infrastructure.
• Upgraded cooling fans from DOL to VFD control for variable airflow.
• Calculated required air changes per hour based on:
  • Room volume.
  • Duct sizing and airflow capacity.
• Developed PLC-based PID control to:
  • Dynamically adjust fan speed.
  • Maintain target airflow and pressure conditions.
• Designed and implemented a custom HMI interface for operator control and monitoring.
• Integrated the system with a change room lighting trigger that automatically initiates cooling when operators begin shift preparation.

Additional Functionality

• Developed a cleaning mode that:
  • Temporarily increases temperature to assist with moisture removal.
  • Reduces condensation during washdown.
• Integrated heating coil control that:
  • Provides drier air during cleaning cycles before cooling.
  • Improves overall moisture management within the space.

Outcome

• Rooms consistently reach target temperature (<10°C) before production starts.
• Improved production efficiency with no delays due to environment readiness.
• Achieved stable airflow, pressure, and air quality conditions.
• Enhanced food safety compliance.
• Reduced condensation and improved drying during cleaning cycles.
• Fully automated system requiring minimal operator input.

Project Delivery

Works and commissioning were carried out around live production and shift coverage, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

Key Capabilities Demonstrated

• PID control implementation (temperature & airflow).
• VFD integration and control.
• HVAC / Air Handling System optimisation.
• PLC & HMI development.
• Process-driven control system design.
• Working within live production environments.