From manual judgement to closed-loop control: OER up 0.65 percentage points in the first year, verified by FGV lab records
From 2018 to 2023, FGV Kilang Sawit Maokil ran its core process line on manual control — digester levels judged by operator experience, a basic legacy PLC, skimmers operated by hand at the tank, and no live process visibility. Results depended on who was on shift, and oil losses in the sterilizer-to-press line were discovered only after they had happened.
RODATECH designed, fabricated and commissioned a complete automation package across four control systems: radar level and RTD temperature sensors on the digesters with automated hydraulic chute-door control for optimised fruit feeding; Vertical Clarification Tank (VCT) level control; automated VCT skimmer control; and closed-loop dilution control integrating MIMOS NIR INSPECTRA™ inline measurement — a first-of-its-kind deployment in the industry. Everything runs on Siemens PLC with HMI stations giving operators the full process — digesters, presses, crude oil tank, clarifier tanks and skimmers — on live screens.
Panels were built and tested at our Nilai workshop; field instrumentation and junction boxes were specified and terminated for the mill environment — sealed, labelled, and serviceable.
Scope of Works
- Digester radar level + RTD temperature instrumentation
- Automated hydraulic chute door — optimised fruit feeding (~+0.3% OER contribution)
- VCT level control and automated skimmer control
- Closed-loop dilution control with MIMOS NIR INSPECTRA™ inline analyser
- Siemens PLC + HMI process screens for the full station
- Panel fabrication and FAT at RODATECH Nilai workshop
- Environment-rated field termination: sealed junction boxes, labelled cores
- Commissioning, process tuning and operator handover
Project Outcome
Mill OER improved from 22.01% (2022) to 22.66% (2023) — a +0.65 percentage point gain in the first year, independently measured and recorded by FGV laboratory staff, worth approximately RM 1 million per year to the mill. Night shift now achieves the same result as day shift. The site has become a reference mill, with other operators visiting to see the system in operation.
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