Case study
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points
HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), or otherwise “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points”, is a method that aims to ensure the safety and hygiene of the food and beverages produced by a company at all stages of the production and distribution process.
Problem
Companies and factories that have food and beverage production processes need to check these processes on a permanent basis, in order to recognize and avoid all kinds of risks. In order to implement the HACCP method, so that they are assured of safety and hygiene, they needed a means of interconnecting the data from all the machines and production units, and displaying them, for quick and easy supervision. For this reason they got in touch with Depia Automations and in cooperation of their managers with Depia’s software department, specific issues were identified. The development of such a tool would strengthen quality control, safety and reliability of the overall production process and, in general, the economy of the company.
Planning
The experienced programmers and developers of Depia Automations after they have recorded and shared, in cooperation with the respective managers and the staff of each company, the above identified issues, started the development plan. of the application. A development plan was drawn up, according to which the employees and operators of the company, through our application, would be able to monitor data, such as temperature and pressure, of all the units and machines involved in the production process, to compare them and export reports. The specific reports can be used, in addition to monitoring the process and for presentation to any control body. To achieve the above, our application would contain multiple tools, each providing different but equally important information and capabilities. When a modern programming language, is chosen, the code development plan for each tool was carefully planned.
Implementation
Since the software development planning was completed, taking into account all the factors, we proceeded to develop the code in C#. The specific language was chosen because it is a modern, widely used, recognized and easily extensible programming language.
To configure the application, as above, it was necessary to export the unit data automatically. For this reason it was deemed necessary to configure a database adapted to the needs of the program, as well as the machines of each company, and to connect it with the software under development, so that we can receive data directly from the machines. Simultaneously with the aforementioned implementations, regular visits were made to the company to familiarize the operators with the use of the application, but also to receive feedback for its continuous improvement.
Αποτέλεσμα
Now, having a modern and specialized tool for monitoring the operation of the machines, with dynamic capabilities, it became possible to maximize the efficiency of the entire production process. In addition, safety and efficiency in production and the detection of sources of risk were enhanced, since the full supervision offered by our application ensures maximum accuracy and speed, through the diagrammatic depictions of the data and the export of reports. In addition, the specific reports also provide full compliance with food legislation.
Any information necessary for all machines and production units is obtained instantly, which greatly reduces discarded finished products, taking preventive measures at the time of need.
In conclusion, the overall process became more efficient, simultaneously maximizing the overall economy of the system and the company.