O’Neill Vintners and Distillers

Requirements: Plant Operations Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting

The Goal: Improve Filter Performance.

Benefit: Real-time performance monitoring and reporting of filtration systems provides critical business intelligence to coach shift operators and inform management with key metrics.

The Challenge

O’Neill Vintners & Distillers is a leading California producer of premium bulk wine, case goods, and brandy and spirits for beverage companies and the retail trade.

Pressure relief filtration is a common bottleneck in plant operations. Delays are costly often leading to weekend overtime to meet demands. This “batch type” operation has a myriad of variables, and monitoring the process is frustratingly difficult for management. As a result, filtrations management is often left to the operators without systematic feedback to management.

O’Neill needed highly accurate real-time data with corresponding dashboards, and a reporting system that would manage the filtration process and assist operators with filtration management and optimization. They needed data to collaborate with operators and find solutions to optimize processing performance.

The Solution

Operators carry smart phones that have the Kiptraq application installed.

Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tags have been placed at critical filter control points within the plant. Throughout the shift, generally every hour, the operator “bumps“ their device against the RFID tags, recording the time of day and operator’s name. A task associated with that monitoring point is then opened on his or her device, which allows the operator to record filter performance data including volume, pressure and notes on operational status. Once recorded, the information synchronizes with the server, and is available for analytics and reporting.

Analytics and reporting are performed on KipTraq’s web-enabled reporting site, a business intelligence tool viewable on any computer connected to the internet. Administrators can easily preconfigure the dashboards and reports they need. This makes data available to operators and managers on a real-time basis. When operators start their shift, they are able to preview filter performance from the prior shift and plan their work tasks accordingly.

Once KipTraq was in place, we had real-time access to information on filter performance through live dashboards and daily summary reports. We were then able to manage filter downtime, work orders, maintenance and coach operators on how best to optimize filter cycles. In the first two months of operation, we improved filter performance by 39%, eliminating the need for overtime and exceeding production demand.
Phil Castro

Director of Operations, O'Neill Vinters and Distillers

Features and Results

In the first 2 months,

O’Neill Experienced a 

%

Filter Performance Improvement

Features Implemented:

  • Always works, even without internet connection
  • Flexible online reporting (including pictures)
  • Automatic real-time alerts via email
  • Optional RFID tags and GPS integration adds speed and security
  • Standalone system – no servers to buy or maintain
  • Multiple language support
  • Inexpensive – monthly fee based on use
  • Fast rollout – collect data and report on day 1
  • Intuitive – users and admins learn quickly
  • Efficient – faster and more useful than paper forms
  • Scalable from small companies to multinationals
  • Over 1 million transactions logged in KipTraq
Our plan is to expand KipTraq into our Bottling Quality Control operations, and use it to optimize truck delivery performance during crush. For us, KipTraq is a flexible, economical, user-friendly solution that has allowed managers to establish baseline performance metrics for our operations and made us more efficient.
Phil Castro

Director of Operations, O'Neill Vinters and Distillers