The digitalization process in the food and beverages sector : use cases in beer and milk production with low-cost hardware technologies [resumen]

Abstract

This presentation addressed two practical approaches to the digitalization of the food and beverage sector in Argentina, focusing on primary milk production and small-scale brewing. José Luis Torres (UTN-FRSF) emphasized the initial need to define sector-specific requirements, beginning with an overview of the dairy supply chain—from production to consumption. He analyzed the primary production stage, highlighting key elements such as animal care, feed, laboratory controls, and transport. Based on this, three critical assets were selected for digitalization: the laboratory report, the milk storage tank, and the transport truck. Martín Alejandro Bär (UTN-FRSF and HSEL) focused on applying Industry 4.0 concepts to small breweries using low-cost hardware. He proposed a structure aligned with the RAMI 4.0 model, assigning tasks to hardware based on performance and communication capabilities. After identifying requirements and selecting suitable devices, the implementation involved acquiring data, creating OPC UA servers, and exposing information via REST APIs. This data was then stored and used to support analytics. Specifically, brewing process data—such as equipment usage time—was used to train decision trees or neural networks for predictive maintenance. The presentation showed how digital transformation could be achieved with limited resources by strategically adapting to sector-specific needs.