• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Chitra Phadnis

A Bangalore dairy delivers clean milk to your kitchen with hands-off technology.

NOT many people would associate complete automation and computerisation with an industry like diarying. At Bangalore Milk Union's Mega Dairy project, however, "nothing is touched by hand,'' says B. Nataraj, Assistant Manager, Quality Control, proudly.

In fact, no room has been left for human errors, says A.S. Prem Nath, General Manager, Mega Dairy project, Bangalore Milk Union Ltd (Bamul).

Driven by the cooperative's principles of maximum profit to members at lowest prices to consumers, an investment of Rs 40 crore was made in automation for greater efficiency a year-and-a-half ago. The entire operations are controlled from two consoles in an air-conditioned office at the new premises. Information on milk, from the time it enters the campus in tankers to the time it leaves in plastic packets in vans, is faithfully recorded on the system.

On a typical day, tankers full of milk collected from villages in Bangalore Rural and Urban regions come in through the gate onto a weighbridge. The weight recorded at the weighbridge is automatically registered on the Bamul computer network. At the gate, samples are taken from each tanker and tested for fats, solids not fat (SNF), and other parameters on "MilkoScan'' machines and the results (accepted or rejected) are again on the system. In fact, unless the milk is "accepted'', it is not allowed to flow into the huge stainless steel silos for storage. The flow of the accepted milk from the tanker to the silos, from the silos to the processing unit, and then to the packaging area, is controlled by the two operators at the consoles. Which is why there is not a soul to be seen on the "shop floor'', where processing is done. "Nobody enters the area except for maintenance,'' explains Nataraj.

Processing includes stringent filtering, which no manual filter can ensure, he says. The centrifuge-based filtering process gets rid of even dead cells and dirt present in the milk, he says, holding it up as an example of how automation allows a better check on quality and standards. Even the cleaning of the silos is prompted by the computer. The system notes when milk enters the silo and after six hours of use, it sends out a cleaning alert.

Cleaning the 1-lakh litre capacity silos is also done by pushing buttons.

In ordinary systems, it is difficult to monitor cleaning and maintain quality. The cleaning standards depend on the whims of those who are actually doing it, says Nataraj.

At Bamul, all parameters such as concentration of cleaning agents and temperature of water to be used for rinsing are stored in the system, with no room for error. "Last year, after automation, we saved Rs 1 crore on energy costs alone,'' Nataraj says. Temperatures in the new system are maintained exactly at the required levels. Earlier, to be on the safer side, temperatures were turned up higher than required, using up unnecessary energy. "We process 6 lakh litres of milk per day. Even an increase of one degree per one lakh litre will drive up costs by Rs 1 lakh a year,'' he says.

Bangalore is the second dairy in the country to be computerised, after Anand. Most of the technology for the plant is available in India, from NDDB's arm, Indian Dairy Machinery Company (IDMC). Some of the machines have been imported from Denmark. The process control software has been developed by Allen Bradley India.

Today, there is demand for these systems from African and Asian countries which are keen for India to export them, Nataraj says.

chitphad@thehindu.co.in

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
Two and two don't add up

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line