A CIP skid rarely fades out. These systems tend to be binary – they either do the job or they don’t.
The rinse will run longer than in the past, or you may find yourself having to put a hand on a valve to make an adjustment, and while the caustic wash is reliable on most days, it is not on all of them. Then a cleaning validation comes back with a failure, and there are questions as to when this started.
Put simply, a CIP (Clean-In-Place) skid is the collection of pumps, tanks, valves, controls, and chemical dosing units that let you clean process equipment, from heat exchangers to spray devices without disassembling anything. But eventually there will be a point at which the skid can no longer keep pace with what the plant requires, and an in-depth review becomes necessary.
To be fair, the problem often isn’t the skid itself. The problem is that plant conditions are almost always dynamic: a recipe changes, a piece of equipment gets upgraded, lines get swapped, new circuits are added. The only thing that’s guaranteed in most facilities is change.
This issue becomes apparent in the production time. If the CIP is holding up normal operations, the skid is probably not keeping pace. This is more of an issue as production grows or the plant has to deal with different soil types and more product changeovers.
A CIP cycle that was fine five years ago can become a bottleneck. Whether it is a dairy plant running CIP every 24 to 48 hours or a beverage operation on a three-day schedule, the question is whether the process fits your needs.
A proper clean is a matter of applying the right amount of pressure and cleaning solution concentration to the interior surfaces. When the pump lacks power, or the heat exchanger can no longer maintain its temperature, effectiveness will suffer. The plant might try to make up for it with extra chemicals or by turning to manual cleaning methods, but that is not really a solution.
Then there is the question of flow rate, which is easy to miss. If a CIP skid does not have the capacity to move enough volume through the system, the solution will simply run past without creating the turbulence needed to work the residue loose. This is a particular problem in the vicinity of spray balls, valves, bends, and long process lines. The cycle might run its course, but that does not equal a proper clean. When the system fails to deliver the right pressure, temperature, or chemical concentration on time, the shortcomings are bound to come to light.
There are telltale signs: poor rinse results, failed swabs, chronic ATP failures, or the need for repeated sanitation corrections. It could be the wrong cycle or the wrong chemical, or perhaps the skid lacks the functions to handle new allergens or equipment.
A solid CIP process should be able to handle whatever is required, be it a pre-rinse, caustic or acid wash, or the full seven steps common in pharma and dairy. The data from the validation will usually indicate when the skid has been outgrown.
An older PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) can be a headache. It might still function, but finding parts is another matter. If it doesn’t integrate well with current SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) integration or newer sensors, it can cause issues for documentation and operations.
Today’s automated systems track everything from flow and conductivity to final rinse water conditions and alarms, leaving less to human memory and error. If the old way requires the team to remember every adjustment, the skid is asking too much of them.
There is a cost to running a skid that does not perform as it should. It may be putting in the work, but it is also siphoning off money by needlessly wasting hot water, energy, and chemicals, all of which must be heated before being sent to the drain. An optimized approach with improved sequencing and recovery will put an end to that. Sometimes the better course of action is an upgrade to the instrumentation and valves rather than a full replacement.
There is also the matter of how the facility has evolved. Whether it’s new ownership, an added line that demands greater fluid volume, or extra sanitary fittings, these things impose a different load on the skid. A single circuit that used to be enough may no longer cut it. . You cannot fix that with a patch job on an old pump; the skid needs to be brought up to speed with the way the facility operates now.
A re-evaluation is in order every 5 to 10 years, or at the first sign of diminished performance. If the frame and key components are in good shape, an upgrade will suffice. But if your system is little more than a series of patches, with weak capacity and poor design, replacement makes more sense.
Sometimes, a skid simply requires updates to the programming – the recipes need to be refreshed and aligned with current routing, or maybe valving needs to be changed and updated at a plant PLC level outside the skid. Other times, the plant has demands that outpace the original design of the skid. Often, the best solution if the old skid still works is adding another skid and gaining flexibility and redundancy. Other times, the old skid can soldier on with some updates.
HMS can put the whole matter under review, looking at everything from flow data and the system’s design to sanitation requirements to determine which solution is appropriate. We can propose an optimized solution with better parts and new programming, or advise on a completely new system. We don’t believe in replacing equipment without good reason. What matters is having a CIP system that is up to the task; one that safeguards production and spares the team any unwelcome surprises.
