Thermopak Limited Drives Sustainability and Efficiency with Guidewheel

Thermopak Limited has become a leader in delivering high-quality, eco-friendly solutions in Kenya and the wider East Africa Region. At the heart of its success is a steadfast commitment to sustainability and innovation, aligning with global environmental goals and meeting the rising demand for responsible products.

As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, Thermopak embraced Guidewheel in 2018 as a key element of its digitization strategy. This move marked a departure from manual tracking systems, such as complex Excel spreadsheets and pen-and-paper methods, to a real-time visibility tool for monitoring energy consumption, tracking production floor issues, and increasing production efficiency. Mr. Jinal Haria, production manager, recounts his journey so far with Guidewheel:

“We started using Guidewheel on just a handful of our machines. Back then Guidewheel was strictly using current transformers (CTs) to clip onto machines and give us information on how much energy our equipment was using. In addition to that, we could also get information on machine runtime and receive notifications on machine breakdown or extended downtime and we immediately realized that we had within our hands the ability to make operational decisions that are based on facts. We had started with 13 critical machines, but have over the years expanded to 71 machines spread between our two plants.”

Guidewheel’s implementation harnesses the power of CTs to support manufacturers across the world meet their sustainability goals. The use of these simple and non-invasive sensors that clip over the power supply lines of any machine or auxiliary equipment has made the installation process easy and fast. Clip-on sensors collect live machine data that Guidewheel turns into clear metrics and alerts, on any device, anywhere. Thermopak describes using these data and alerts to make operational decisions based on facts. The timing and value of improvements depend on the site's setup and follow-through.

Beyond current sensors, Guidewheel supports temperature, pressure, humidity, flow and production sensors, plus data sources that output 4–20 mA or pulse signals. Customers already getting results from current sensors can add the metrics that matter most to their operations. When they heard about the new sensors available to Guidewheel customers already getting great results, Thermopak were quick to sign up and add temperature sensors on their chillers. Jinal explains the premise behind installation of temperature sensors:

“We already had CTs clipped on our chillers and had a good idea of when they were running, how much power they were consuming, and when they were idling. During normal operations, our chillers should not idle for more than 10 minutes and we have alerts configured to notify us whenever that threshold is exceeded. The reason for this is that if there is a problem with the chillers and we are unable to meet our cooling demands, the quality of our products may be compromised. With temperature sensors, we could go a step further and monitor the temperature of the water being supplied from our chillers which would help us understand whether we were running the chillers efficiently. This is why we were eager to try out the new sensors.”

Among the many components vital to the production process, industrial chillers play a critical role in maintaining optimal temperatures for various applications. These powerful machines require careful monitoring, and thanks to Guidewheel, temperature sensors can now be used to ensure their reliable operation. With temperature sensors, Guidewheel users can set alerts on temperature thresholds. When a threshold is crossed, the team knows what is happening and what to do next. Jinal adds:

“Due to the sensitive nature of plastics, the chiller's temperature threshold is set to maintain a constant coolant temperature between 50°F (10°C) and 59°F (15°C). These thresholds are tailored to ensure that the chillers operate within the ideal temperature range. Introduction of temperature sensors has made it possible to configure alerts into the platform that notify us whenever we operate the chillers outside the recommended thresholds. We recently observed that on days when all machines are running, our team receives numerous notifications that the chiller temperature is above threshold. The alerts enable us to know when operators run more machines than required for optimum performance of the chillers. In the long-run, we hope to eliminate production delays caused by chiller breakdowns and ensure high production quality.”

Guidewheel has become an indispensable tool in Thermopak's journey towards sustainability and efficiency. By leveraging the platform's features, Thermopak has not only enhanced machine performance and issue resolution but has also optimized production processes for a more sustainable and competitive future. Guidewheel stands as a catalyst for positive change, aligning seamlessly with Thermopak's mission to lead in innovation while maintaining an unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility.