The future of grain handling facilities will be characterized by automation
This article is based on a presentation by Jeff Van Pevenage, president and CEO, Columbia Grain International (jvanpevenage@columbiagrain.com), given at CONVEY‘24 in Omaha, NE.
Automation already is used in several areas of plant management. Tools such as Docusign and automatic invoice generation through enterprise resource planning software have already saved time in accounting and logistics. Many facilities in Europe have already implemented some forms of automation, such as automatic bagging, storage, and retrieval of product done entirely by machines, improving their efficiency greatly.
With the addition of the autobaggers to U.S. facilities, the amount of grain that could be processed by workers in 24 hours can now be bagged in eight. By speeding up processing and bagging, a facility can incur savings from needing fewer employees on the night shift while still remaining productive. Autobagging technology could allow facilities from running eight to10 hours, five days a week to running 24/7 without requiring hiring additional staff.
Automation also helps to solve staffing shortages without removing currently employed workers. By increasing the number of tasks handled by machinery, consistently unfilled positions can be eliminated.
Other Automation Options
Automation also can leverage technologies, such as cameras, speed and motion sensors, wave radar, and barcodes and RFID readers to track and manage inventory without direct intervention. It is predicted that these automations will improve overall efficiency within a facility and, in some cases, allow for lights-out operation. During lights-out operation, automation would be used to alert employees to any problems requiring intervention. Automation could also potentially lessen safety risks to employees by handling more dangerous or hazardous tasks. It could also lessen costly operational mistakes and human error, such as mislabeling products or loading incorrect quantities.
Due to the potential benefits of automation, it is likely to be worth the costs of installing these new systems. Through not paying for night shift workers during lights out operation, less unfilled positions, and increased efficiency facilities that embrace automation can expect long term gains from the upfront investment.
Looking Ahead
If the benefits of automation are embraced, the grain industry in 10 years will feature more streamlined processes, allowing for increased efficiency. Advanced sensor technology would allow for lights-out processing with greater confidence, as a facility’s ability to detect issues with stored grains becomes more reliable. Additionally, combined with analytics and AI improvements, facilities are likely to become more able to address problems with grains without human intervention, allowing for more efficient and autonomous production. To allow for processing to continue without workers present, autonomous vehicles and product transport will likely become commonplace in the next decade.
In totality, these systems seek to create more efficiency within grain elevator facilities in multiple key areas. By using RFID or camera imaging recognition to identify farmers, grain intake can begin more efficiently than with manual identification. As grain is brought into the facility, sensors would allow for self-probing and automated grading as inventory is recorded.
By using an AI system trained to identify quality trends and loading needs, bin segregation suggestions can be automatically provided based on efficiency. Inventory could be tracked more easily through automatic monitoring of grain flow in bins as opposed to manual inventory tracking that is more prone to errors. Because the automated system would be tracking inventory and quality, it could suggest optimal blending instead of blending being decided by personal knowledge. Lastly, for grain loadout, autonomous locomotives, as well as automatic lid opening and closing, would allow for more efficient transportation.