InUse
Canvas Category Software : Operational Technology : IIoT
InUse supports factories and equipment manufacturers in their quest towards eco-efficiency without compromising performance levels through the Digital Continuous Improvement Hub (DCI Hub). This IoT application mobilizes connected services to reduce the wasting of time, materials, and natural resources in factories.The DCI Hub drives continuous improvement into the digital age. Production data from the connected equipment guides operators, technicians and plant managers on the best actions to take for the highest level of performance. The DCI Hub has been operating since 2015 and is to date in more than 100 plants. Its deployment is led on a daily basis by a team of 20 professionals invested in projects on behalf of several manufacturers from different sectors: Food & Beverage, equipment manufacturing, and renewable energy. Companies deploying the DCI Hub include: Engie, Pellenc ST, Hellenic Dairies group,and others.
Assembly Line
InUse Raises €2.4 Million in Series A
Founded in 2015 by Laurent Couillard, the company’s managing director, and Etienne Droit, the president, InUse is a startup specialized in the manufacturing sector. Publisher of an IoT SaaS platform, this solution allows manufacturers to meet two fundamental challenges that are the performance optimization of their industrial equipment and the reduction of the environmental impact of their plants. Indeed, thanks to the real-time collection and interpretation of data from the machines, the integrated IoT platform delivers information that allows to control production performance, identify malfunctions, anticipate breakdowns and reduce the waste of materials and natural resources. It is an eco-efficient solution. Today, InUse has more than 20 customers and the platform is deployed in 150 plants in Europe, North America and Japan.
How to optimize cleaning in place (CIP) duration?
Cleaning systems regularly disinfect the entire production lines. They consist of stainless steel tanks, storage tanks, pumps, valves and piping and integrate connections with the production equipment. In a medium-sized factory, the cleaning stations wash up to 250 pieces of equipment per day to avoid contamination from one batch to another (by bacteria or micro-organisms).
When the equipment is being cleaned, disinfected or sterilised, it is not in a position to produce. CIP thus has a direct impact on the uptime rate of production lines. Furthermore, CIPs require large volumes of water, the scarcity of which is becoming increasingly critical looking at the needs of a factory estimated at several tens of thousands of cubic meters per year. Optimising CIPs is therefore an essential lever for any manufacturer who aims to increase the availability of production lines while significantly reducing its water consumption, in other words to achieve eco-efficiency.