In and out in no time
Time is money. This maxim of shipping companies counts twofold and threefold for drivers in the dairy industry. The faster they take the milk from the producers to the dairy, the more lucrative their daily tour will be. Here, the TIGER measuring system helps. It is MID certified and operates faster and with greater precision than comparable systems in the market.
Lutz Reiprich
Raw milk is one of the most sensitive products in the food industry and surely one of the best-studied foods in Germany. All the way through consumption, its quality must be assured in a manner that can be verified and tracked. Each single step on its way from production to the final product is carefully controlled, analyzed and logged. At the same time, the earning possibilities in processing this staple are variable only within a particularly rigid pricing structure. Truck operators collecting milk from the producing farms on behalf of dairies are thus confronted with much higher logistical challenges than their colleagues transporting merchandise that is less perishable.
For this reason, measuring instruments detecting amounts of milk electronically to avoid confusion in invoicing milk payments, and systems for taking safe samples are standard equipment for any vehicle collecting milk. Any system approved by the MID process ensures for the supplier, the truck operator and the dairy that the exchange of goods from the producer through the end product is handled properly. These are mandatory requirements. This measuring technology turns into a pleasure when, like the TIGER milk measuring and analyzing system by BARTEC BENKE, it saves time and thus increases the profitability of any tour. "By using the TIGER system, my daily tour gets shortened by an hour. My average daily stint is 330 kilometers (205 miles) with stops at approximately 50 dairy farms. For this, I am now on the road for a mere nine and a half hours—including the legally prescribed rests—instead of the more than ten hours it used to take," says Jürgen Krieg.
Higher payload of milk possible
The truck operator from Hünfeld, Hesse, works for the local Hochwald dairy. The areas he covers—around Hünfeld and in the Waldecker Land in northwestern Hesse—include approximately a hundred farms, which he visits within two days. "Eighty of these farms supply an average of approximately 1,300 liters (343 U.S. gallons) of milk every other day; for the other twenty, the average is 3,000 liters (793 gallons) each," he says. Every year, he collects 23 million kilograms (50 million pounds) of milk. Thus for him, time literally is money. Two years ago he learned from a colleague about the TIGER system, and already his first test run won him over. He placed an order immediately.
The advantages of the TIGER technology do not come out of the blue. Manufacturer BARTEC BENKE wanted to offer its customers a stable solution that would meet the expectations of all parties with respect to measurement and sampling on location and every day. With this goal, the engineering experts sat down with the users and asked trucking companies, milk truck drivers, farmers and dairy specialists before and during development of the complete package about what a perfect measuring system must be capable of doing. The specifications for the system set by the customers were set up at the beginning of the development quickly and with great precision. As a matter of course, delivery of constant measurements of density and quantity was the requirement on top of the list. Also, the system should be fast, precise and lightweight. For BARTEC, this cooperative project was a very positive experience. The company has comprehensive expertise in analytical devices and systems as well as in engineering, design and service of the monitoring and optimization of production processes at its disposal. The practical relevance communicated by the customers, however, was the continuous benchmark for introducing a system of unconditional everyday practicality to the market.
The result is a system operating faster and with greater precision than comparable systems in the market. "The TIGER system has a suction and pumping capacity more than twice as high as the system I used before! Instead of 700 liters (185 gallons) per minute, now 1,600 liters (423 gallons) per minute are pumped," truck operator Krieg notes. "Thus, the retention time for every pumping event is immensely shortened. In the suction mode, the TIGER achieves a flow velocity of more than 1,200 liters (317 gallons) per minute, which varies depending on the outlet diameters of the farm tanks. Having just arrived, I can already set out again for the next dairy farm."
The lightest system in the market
The measuring and sampling system TIGER represents the most recent generation of measuring technology in milk collecting vehicles. It has a very high measuring precision and a suction range of up to 1,600 liters (423 gallons) per minute. The sensor for detecting air bubbles developed for this purpose operates without air separation technology and serves primarily for metrologically precise online detection of undissolved air content when receiving the milk. The response time for detection air of bubbles is within the range of milliseconds. Due to its high resolution and stringent measuring procedure, the sensor can be used directly for controlling the intake pump. At a weight of less than 200 kilograms (440 pounds), it is the lightest system of its kind in the market. The system complies with all legal mandates and directives of the food industry for measuring and handling food. It is MID certified and completely available in 3-inch stainless steel.
Less fuel consumption
TIGER is compact, and no gas separator is required. This means savings in fuel consumption and increases the possible milk payload once more. The self-adapting TIGER system automatically adapts to the conditions of tanks and hoses at the farm. The milk is collected and delivered efficiently and gently. Samples are drawn simultaneously with suctioning the milk, and there are no inhibiting elements on the suction side. GPRS, remote diagnosis and remote updates to the TIGER system are matters of course. In order to comply with the spatial restrictions between the axles according to the EURO 6 norm, the current minimum width of TIGER system including sampling unit is 175 centimeters (69 inches).
In detection of quantities, the economically common denominator in the logistics of receiving milk, the milk TIGER consistently takes the next step. Dispensing with an air separating system not only results in drastic weight reduction but also yields excellent measuring results by measuring the volume of the underlying air content. The BARTEC BENKE TIGER system subtracts these values from the total. Thus, the quantity measurement is based on milk and not on air.
However, for the engineers at BARTEC BENKE, proximity to the customer does not end with introducing a system to the market. Employees of the company support truck operators in the start-up of the measuring and sampling system, from the connection through the functional test through the final documentation. After the initial training, comprehensive after-sales service is offered.
An overview of the system's advantages:
- From start to finish, stable measurement of density and quantity in day-to-day business
- Compact design of reduced weight (200 kg / 440 lb), no air separator, hence savings in weight and higher milk payload possible
- Minimum intake quantity of 100 L (26.4 gal)li>Optimized suction capability across the complete suction range
- Simultaneous sampling
- Gentle treatment of milk
- Fully electronic
- No inhibiting element on the suction side Possibility of remote diagnosis and remote updates
- Easy operation combined with highest performance
