Product changeovers in food production present companies with significant challenges. Complex processes, an increasing variety of products and the use of seasonal workers increase the likelihood of operating errors and production interruptions. GEA has responded to this issue by introducing Changeover Assist, a digital tool that guides operators through the conversion process, thereby minimising errors, waste and unplanned downtime.
The Changeover Assist is a new digital application for the standardised support of product and recipe changes on SmartControl-based machines. Developed at the GEA site in Biedenkopf-Wallau, the competence centre for horizontal packaging machines, Changeover Assist is initially available for the PowerPak series of thermoformers and the GEA MaxiFormer drum forming machine. In the near future, the software is also to be extended to other machines such as the GEA OptiSlicer slicer. The application offers recipe-based operator guidance directly on the SmartControl HMI and displays only the work steps relevant to the respective product change. This increases transparency and traceability, as each step is confirmed and documented.
Digital networking and knowledge management
A central component of the new solution is the integration with the cloud-based platform InsightPartner. Here, customers can centrally manage and update retrofit instructions. This is complemented by multimedia content that creates a cross-location digital knowledge base. The InsightPartner Notification Service makes it possible to transmit machine notifications in real time to the responsible employees, which further shortens response times.
Sustainable production security
Michel Theiss, Product Manager Digital Solutions at GEA, emphasises that Changeover Assist makes valuable machine and process knowledge available at all times and supports customers in carrying out changeovers safely and efficiently. This leads to a reduction in material and food waste and enables new employees to be trained more quickly.
Changeover Assist is another component of the GEA digitalisation strategy. The application supports the goal of further developing networked, user-friendly and reliable solutions for food processing and packaging, thereby sustainably strengthening customers' industrial value creation.
Changeover Assist is being continuously further developed at the Biedenkopf-Wallau site. The development work is increasingly benefiting from the planned centralisation of customer-centric functions at the site, which creates closer proximity to the end customer and better conditions for integrated working. Among other things, sales, service and final customer acceptance are to be pooled at the Hessian site by April 2028.
Source: GEA
