El proceso de producción del agua mineral Sant’Anna se securiza con Sony

Fonti di Vinadio ha implementado un sistema de videovigilancia, basado en las cámaras de la serie V de Sony, en su planta de embotellado para supervisar las instalaciones y garantizar el control del sistema de producción.

La empresa italiana Fonti di Vinadio, que embotella y vende el agua mineral Sant’Anna, fue fundada en 1996. El agua que mana de los manantiales a una altitud de hasta 1950 metros se canaliza a través de 400 km de tuberías de acero inoxidable hasta la planta, donde se recoge en 11 tanques de acero inoxidable con una capacidad de hasta un millón de litros de agua cada uno. Este es el punto de partida de la línea de producción, in which the water is bottled immediately in order to preserve its organoleptic properties.

This Vinadio production plant has an area of 60.000 square meters. There are 10 packaging lines, among which the last two were tested in 2008 and produce 55.000 y 45.000 units per hour, respectively.

Over the past three years, the company has focused much of its efforts on diversification, adding the production of iced tea and fruit nectars to that of mineral water. This is why the company is planning the plant reorganization and the incorporation of new production lines.

The plant is highly automated, with laser-guided automated systems that handle all the movement of goods, from storage to warehouse dispatch.

Plant security and control

Given that situation, Vinadio needed to implement a video surveillance system that allowed monitoring of the facilities and ensured precise and effective control of the entire production system.

For this project, Vinadio chose the IP network cameras from the V series of Sony. Specifically, the SNC-VB600 models have been installed, a fixed type camera, and the SNC-VM602R, a mini-dome solution with vandal-proof design, weather-resistant with infrared illuminators (AND) integrated.

The project, managed by Gruppo Sintesi, already has 20 installed cameras and the plan is to expand the base by 10 o 15 more cameras in the coming months.

The Sony SNC-VB600 and SNC-VM602R cameras offer 720p/60 fps HD images with high quality and a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. Sony's exclusive Exmor CMOS sensor enhances the image, even in dark environments, thanks to their low noise level features. Both models incorporate the Ipela Engine EX signal processing system developed by Sony to acquire, analyze and act on clearer and sharper HD images in the most demanding environments.

The true day/night function of these cameras ensures continuity of video footage, as the camera automatically switches between day mode (color) and night mode (black and white) according to light levels, which ensures image optimization under any lighting condition. View-DR technology combines images captured at different shutter speeds to offer a wide dynamic range of up to 130 dB (for 720p HD).

IR and View-DR are key functions

Sony network cameras provide great visibility even in poor lighting conditions, such as darkness or strong backlighting. They have met the plant supervision requirements, not only for security purposes, but also for monitoring the entire production process in order to maintain product quality.

The flow of spring water to the Vinadio plant is uninterrupted, there are never pauses in the production cycle and the water from the Sant’Anna spring reaches consumers' tables in 48 hours.

One of the most notable aspects of Sony cameras that contributed to their choice was that they had infrared illuminators (AND) integrated, that ensure capture and excellent visibility at a distance of up to 30 meters from the camera, even in absolute darkness.

Another important factor in the decision was the View-DR technology, which allows the camera to capture images clearly and adaptably, even in strong backlight conditions. This allows offering great visibility of high-contrast areas, as happens with doors when loading and unloading goods.