The challenge: compressed air leaks increase energy consumption

Nestlé, owner of well-known global brands such as Nescafé, Maggi and KitKat, operates 335 production facilities in 75 countries, where hundreds of pneumatically driven machines and systems are in use. For that reason, compressed-air efficiency has long been a focus at Nestlé: “With ultrasound sensors, plant staff used to detect system leaks during regular maintenance rounds and then fix them,” explains Jörg Schmitt, Environment and Sustainability Lead Nestlé Zone Europe in Frankfurt/Main. “We calculated that an entire compressor is required to generate the air lost through undetected leaks alone,” Schmitt sums up.

Automatically report deviations

“We refused to tolerate that waste any longer,” Schmitt says. In regular discussions with Carmen Graf, Key Account Manager at Festo, he learned about the Festo AX Leakage Detection software. The software continuously monitors compressed-air consumption and automatically reports deviations.

At the Maggi plant in Singen am Hohentwiel – one of Nestlé’s largest sites in Germany with many compressed-air systems – Maximilian Meißle, Area Engineer for Utilities, Energy and Environmental Management, was responsible for introducing Festo AX Leakage Detection. With support from Sven Haugstetter, Solution Engineer at Festo, he adapted the software to Nestlé’s needs.

“With Festo AX Leakage Detection we can now automatically analyze the meter data from flow sensors on the systems,” Meißle says. Dashboards of the AI- and machine learning-based software show the health status of a system: “If compressed-air consumption exceeds a data baseline, the software reports these anomalies caused by increased air use from leaks – whether the system is running or idle,” Meißle explains.

AI leakage detection identifies energy anomalies immediately

That means emerging leaks can be detected continuously, localized to a production line, and eliminated immediately after they appear. “When maintenance colleagues used to detect leaks with ultrasound sensors during their scheduled rounds, some leaks may already have been present for months, wasting compressed air for a long time,” Meißle explains.

Modernizing pneumatic systems with AI-powered predictive maintenance

Festo AX Leakage Detection is not intended to remain a pilot project for Nestlé. “We plan to roll the software out globally and gradually implement it at as many of the 335 Nestlé plants as possible,” sustainability manager Schmitt says of future plans. A practical advantage: the software also works on systems that have been in operation for many years.

Integrated hardware and software solutions from Festo

“All you need to do is install flow sensors that collect the meter data on compressed-air consumption and provide it to the software,” explains Carmen Graf from Festo. As a contact for Festo’s electrical and pneumatic automation products, she supports Nestlé plants in Germany and Switzerland. “Now we supply Nestlé not only with reliable components such as pneumatic and electric drives, valves and controls, but also support them with intelligent software solutions in line with our Seamless Automation approach,” Graf says. Electrical and pneumatic automation together with digital solutions integrate seamlessly and enable solutions for every motion requirement in machines and systems.

Upgrade existing systems and simplify processes

“It’s impressive how digitization can simplify and optimize processes. Where previously only consumption could be measured, the leak-finding process is now significantly shortened. Maintenance staff can focus on more important tasks and are optimally supported by the digital solution,” summarizes Nestlé sustainability manager Schmitt.