MES, SCADA, and lot traceability that hold up to HACCP checks and retail audits.
Food & Beverage lines mean recipe variability, allergens, lots that change within the same shift, and unannounced audits. We build the line automation and the MES/SCADA software that documents every gesture — from raw material intake to the labelled pallet leaving the dock — without slowing production down.
Four recurring knots we see when we walk into a plant. They usually coexist on the same line.
Lot traceability that doesn't survive the audit
Raw material lot, recipe, process parameters, finished lot, and shipping pallet must be linked with no gaps. Coloured paper sheets and Excel won't cut it: a 4-hour product recall needs structured, queryable data, not a shift leader digging through a folder.
Allergen handling and cross-contamination
Product changeovers across allergens on the same line require traced sanitization protocols, validated wash sequences, and safety blocks before restart. The PLC must know when it cannot restart — not only when it can.
Low OEE from recipe variability
Food lines are high-variability: format, recipe, packaging changes. OEE collapses on changeovers. Without an MES that actually measures changeover time (not as "generic setup"), no improvement initiative starts from real data.
Retail pressure on lead times and penalties
Large retailers demand serialization, valid EAN/SSCC, real-time DESADV. Penalties for wrong pallets or out-of-window deliveries eat margin. WMS and MES must speak the language of the end customer, not a 2008 vendor's.
One team from PLC to plant dashboard — no handoffs between line integrator and software vendor with misaligned SLAs.
PLC, motion control, and safety
Siemens PLC programming (S7-1500, S7-1500F for safety) for fillers, cappers, labellers, palletisers. Synchronous motion control on V90/S210 for fast format changes. ISO 13849 / IEC 62061 documented for audit.
ARIA MES/SCADA with native traceability
Lot, recipe, process parameters, alarms, manual OEE logged at the millisecond. Real-time shift-leader dashboard, fast QC queries, ERP export. Compliant with the traceability policies IFS/BRC auditors want to see.
ARIA Warehouse for raw materials and finished goods
FEFO management for short shelf life, automatic quarantine lot blocks, SSCC labelling, DESADV to retail clients. Plugs into existing ERP (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics) without rewrites.
OT cybersecurity and NIS2
OT network segmentation, PLC hardening, SCADA user management with audit log. IEC 62443 as reference. For NIS2-covered essential food operators we prepare the assessment and compliance roadmap.
We build automation with the standards your auditor wants to see. When useful, we participate in validation ourselves.
- HACCP
- ISO 22000
- IFS Food
- BRCGS Food Safety
- FDA 21 CFR Part 11 (electronic records)
- EU Regulation 1169/2011 (allergens)
- GS1 / SSCC / EAN-128
- IEC 62443 (OT cybersecurity)
- NIS2 (essential operators)
- ISO 13849 / IEC 62061 (safety)
Examples of lines where we intervened. Client identity under NDA; numbers shareable in deep-dive calls.
- Challenge
- Lot traceability managed across a mix of Excel and a 15-year-old Access database. IFS audit required within 9 months with major non-conformity risk. Zero OEE visibility, changeover losses unquantified.
- What we did
- SCADA rebuild on ARIA MES/SCADA with native lot traceability. Integration with Siemens PLCs already on the floor. OEE module with automatic loss breakdown (changeover, micro-stops, quality, speed). 21 CFR Part 11–compliant audit log.
- Result
- IFS audit passed with no major non-conformities. Average OEE up 9 percentage points in 6 months on changeovers. Lot recall time from 4 hours to 12 minutes.
- Challenge
- PET line at 36,000 bph with filler, labeller, and palletiser from three different vendors. No unified visibility on micro-stops, root-causes always approximate, production loss estimated at >15% chasing intermittent faults.
- What we did
- ARIA SCADA as the unified line supervisor. OPC UA links to the three PLCs, standardised alarm mapping, real-time Andon for the shift leader. MTBF/MTTR analysis per machine and per failure mode.
- Result
- Identified 3 dominant failure modes (label-proximity sensor, reel change, palletiser micro-jam) that drove 62% of micro-stops. Average intervention time −41%.
What teams ask before we kick off.
Can I integrate ARIA with my existing ERP (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics)?
Yes. ARIA talks to ERP via REST API, batch exchange files, or dedicated connectors (e.g. SAP IDoc/RFC). The typical Food pattern is: ERP generates production orders and recipe master data, ARIA executes and returns lot consumption with full traceability. No ERP rewrite required.
How do you handle recipe changeover on multi-product lines with allergens?
The PLC accepts the new recipe from ARIA only after the traced sanitization protocol is closed and signed off by an authorised role. The sequence is enforced by PLC safety logic, not just by SCADA — so the changeover cannot start if the sanitization step is missing, even if someone bypasses the interface.
How long does a typical MES/traceability project on a Food line take?
For a single line with existing automation: 8-12 weeks from kick-off to go-live. For a multi-line plant with an IFS/BRC audit as the deadline: 4-9 months depending on line count and PLC condition. We work in phases, going live progressively line by line.
Are you compatible with my existing PLCs (Rockwell, Schneider, Omron)?
Siemens is our default, but we routinely integrate Rockwell (Logix), Schneider (Modicon), Omron, and Beckhoff via OPC UA or native protocols. ARIA Connector abstracts the PLC from the SCADA — the MES doesn't know which brand is underneath, so no strategic lock-in.
How do we prepare for an IFS or BRC audit with your solution?
We provide evidence templates aligned with the latest IFS Food / BRCGS versions: forward and backward traceability reports, user audit log, allergen handling, recipe validation, change management. We sit with your QA lead before the audit to dry-run typical auditor questions.
Can we start small before redoing everything?
Yes — that's actually the pattern we recommend. Start with a pilot line (usually the most business-critical one or the one that generates the most audit non-conformities), measure value in 90 days, replicate with the configuration already proven on the others. Lower project risk and gives you a clean exit point if the numbers don't show up.
Pages a Food & Beverage Plant Manager usually opens after this one.
ARIA Suite
MES/SCADA, HMI, Warehouse, and Mobile as a single platform. Already in production on multi-station lines.
Explore ARIA →PLC programming
Siemens S7-1500, motion control, safety. The layer underneath every MES and SCADA we build.
Go to PLC programming →OT cybersecurity
Network segmentation, hardening, IEC 62443, NIS2 readiness. For plants that can't afford a single incident-driven downtime.
Go to OT cybersecurity →Got a project in mind?
Tell us about your idea or your operational challenge. Our team is ready to listen and propose the right technology fit.