In 2014,Kansas State University (KSU)揭开了庞大的1600万美元O.H. Kruse Feed Technology Centerin Manhattan, Kan., that houses a 5 tons/hour production feed mill and a Feed Safety Research Center (FSRC). The 142-foot-tall building rises over the campus much in the same way the Kansas State Feed Science and Management program does in the animal feed industry. This well-known program has had close to 700 graduates find employment in the U.S. food manufacturing industry over the past 60 years.
随着食品行业的快速变化，最著名的是，随着《食品安全现代化法》（FSMA），重点是该行业内部的谷物安全以及对劳动力的教育。FSRC对学生进行食品安全过程的申请进行了教育，并且是世界上唯一的危害II级饲料研究中心。
The FSRC’s mission statement includes identifying, improving and experimenting with animal feed in the batch process. The center produces feed pellets, using a conditioning machine that infuses steam into ground-up corn and then presses it into pellets. The steam conditioning is the thermomechanical process variable; changing the amount of pressure can increase pellet quality.
The experimentation often involves adding pathogens to the feed production process, such as salmonella, and then remotely controlling and monitoring the application. The research center usesTatsoft的FactoryStudioto allow students and faculty to remotely monitor whether process variable changes can eliminate bacteria.
“The research center has a PC-based SCADA HMI station that’s in the mill for normal process operations, but they also display those same (HMI) screens on iPads or smartphone devices,” says Mark Spindler, CTO at theLakeland Companies。
Lakeland integrated the controls and automation at the FSRC and leveraged FactoryStudio’s native ControlLogix communication drivers for the remote monitoring architecture. Using ControlLogix-defined tags and data structure saved Lakeland time with the integration because they eliminated the need for manual configuration of tags that is typically required when building a SCADA system.
“So once we configured the PC/HMI in the operations area with different security profiles, we were ready to make it available for remote monitoring via an intranet network and then to iPads,” Spindler says.
SCADA系统提供了广泛的流程设置标签，例如数字，模拟或日期/时间格式的类型和操作方法测量。设置标签包括启动值，在系统供电时保留值的选项以及多维标签。这些可以应用于电动机，泵或机械。
Remote monitoring is especially important for the safety center, where pathogens can be observed and controlled from the classroom. According to Kansas State, students and faculty monitor the process experiments on clear, plastic-covered iPads inside the safety research center. With an EtherNet/IP communication backbone, students connect to iPads and iPhones with the Tatsoft app.
实验也有回报。一种称为猪流行腹泻病毒（PEDV）的猪病毒会感染老猪和幼猪。对于小猪，这意味着死亡，而年长的猪会减轻体重。堪萨斯州饲料技术助理教授卡桑德拉·琼斯（Cassandra Jones）说：“通过FSRC的活动，堪萨斯州立大学能够制定一项程序，以帮助停止PEDV的传播。”
食品成分管理
尽管现实世界中的SCADA系统在堪萨斯州的安全研究中心提供远程监控，但食品成分管理系统正在为未来的劳动力提供高水平食品可追溯性的瞥见。除研究中心外，克鲁斯饲料中心还包括一个生产饲料工厂，每天都提供大学动物科学系。
州际控制系统，一个控制系统集成商，为饲料厂生产设施提供了I-Control和HMI集成服务。I-Control是一种食品成分数据库管理系统，可从批处理过程中收集数据，创建报告并可以将数据导出到企业资源计划（ERP）系统中。它包括所有系统数据，从与设备通信到存储食品食谱的PLC。食品成分软件主要是为饲料，宠物食品，混合粉和面粉铣削行业设计的。
The I-Control platform provides an introduction to modern food traceability, beginning with automated routing controls for when ingredients enter the receiving area. For batch processing, the food ingredient management system measures dry and liquid ingredients. The food system includes enforced strict sequencing rules and a “hand-add” function that is also regulated and tracked.
根据州际，在颗粒和挤出过程中，管理系统不断监视Pellet Mill的质量和生产输出，而负载模块则管理从存储箱到实际客户的生产。
