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SOP — Canning Line Operation

FUERST WIACEK Version 1.0 | Packaging — canning line

Purpose

This SOP covers the operation of the canning line from post-CIP through to end of run. The goal is a consistent, high-quality fill that is low in dissolved oxygen (DO), free of particles, and stable in all parameters established in the cellar through to end of shelf life.

PPE Required

  • Ear protection
  • Safety goggles
  • Gloves

Risks

Hazard Risk
High pressure in lines and vessels Spray or sudden release of liquid or gas
Damaged cans or lids Cuts
Working at height Falls
Moving machinery Crush or entanglement injury

Pre-Run Requirements

Before starting, confirm all of the following are in place:

  • Canning line CIP completed (see Canning Line CIP SOP)
  • Line connected correctly to tank via T-piece and hoses at swing bend panel
  • Beer at correct temperature, DO and CO₂ levels — confirmed before opening to the line
  • Racking arm height set correctly to avoid drawing particles
  • Labels loaded and labeller set up for the correct beer
  • Date coder programmed (see Labeller & Date Coder SOP — TBC)
  • Trays and depalletiser prepared
  • Ladder available at the line
  • Outfeed team briefed

Process

1. Line Purge — CO₂

This phase purges residual water from the lines after CIP using CO₂.

  1. Once the CIP sanitisation cycle is complete, close the butterfly valve on the T-piece CIP return hose.
  2. Place a CO₂ gas valve at the T-piece and set pressure to at least 1.5 bar.
  3. Place the canning line into Product Feed mode and open the CO₂ line to purge residual water.
  4. Once the lines are empty of water, allow CO₂ to continue flowing for five minutes. Monitor manually — the line does not manage this timer automatically.
  5. During this five-minute purge, open the line. Replace the star-wheels if not already fitted and remove the blind caps, placing them in the blue box. Close the line once complete.
  6. Clear any alarms and press Start on the panel to allow the system to gear. Wait for the gearing cycle to complete.
  7. After five minutes, stop the purge manually by placing the line into Basic Position.

2. Line Synchronisation and Gas Steps

  1. Place the line into Basic Position, then Automatic mode. Engage the door safety.
  2. Run the line in automatic mode to confirm synchronisation.
  3. Once synchronised, initiate step P5 Drainage Gas. Ensure the line is turning. This step runs to completion automatically — approximately 2–3 minutes, indicated by a yellow flashing indicator at the bottom right of the skid visualisation.
  4. While P5 is running, go to the cellar. Remove the CO₂ gas valve from the T-piece. Close the gas valve on the tank and move it to the CIP arm.

Note

Do not open beer to the line yet. This step is preparation only.

  1. Once P5 is complete, initiate step P27 Pressure Blowout. Ensure the line is turning. This step also runs to completion automatically — approximately 5–6 minutes, also indicated by the yellow flashing screen.
  2. During P27, confirm the ladder is in position, lids are prepared, labels are ready, and the date coder is correctly configured. Brief the outfeed team that the line is about to start.

3. Beer Introduction

  1. Once P27 is complete, return the line to Basic Position. Set bowl pressure to 2400 mbar and bowl level to 120 mm, and confirm the pump is on.
  2. Go to the tank and open the beer valve to the line.
  3. Return to the canning line. Place the line into Product Feed mode and confirm strong beer flow at the drain.
    • If flow is strong: place the line into Basic Position.
    • If flow is weak: switch to Manual mode, open the drain manually to 100% for 5 seconds, then return to Basic Position.
  4. Place the line into Automatic mode and confirm the line is turning. Then place into Production mode. The reservoir will begin filling with beer.

Warning

Ensure automatic mode is engaged and the line is turning before switching to Production mode. If the pump is off, gas or beer may be pushed back into the tank.

  1. Once beer is visible in the reservoir (blue indication on skid visualisation, or confirm by mm height reading), place the line into Basic Position. Turn the key on the panel to noon to engage Manual mode.
  2. On the production page, click the hand visualisation. This opens all valves simultaneously. Hold for 2 seconds, then return to Automatic and Production mode. Allow the line to fill completely and purge — the yellow box to the right of the Production button will stop flashing when complete.

Note

Target reservoir fill level is 120 mm.

  1. Check fill volume: switch to Manual mode, disengage door safety, navigate to the Test cell on the production page. Set fill volume to 455 ml. Set stabilisation to 300 ms and snifting to 300 ms as the baseline. Place a can at an accessible head on the outfeed before the second star-wheel and press the green Play button. Repeat 2–3 times. Save settings once on target.

4. Production Run

  1. Return the line to Automatic mode with doors closed. Set filling speed to 4500 cph.
  2. Send 12–14 cans through to stabilise the line and remove them directly. The entry gate is controlled by the green button at the bottom right of the control panel.
  3. Check fill weight on the standalone scale. Adjust as needed until weight is consistent and on target.
  4. Check DO with the Haffmans.
  5. Once fill weight and DO are within specification, launch the line.

  6. Stay at the line for the first 100–150 cans. Temperature will drop as the line acclimates:

    • Typical temperature at start: ~11°C
    • After ~200 cans: ~7°C
    • After ~600 cans: ~5.5°C

    Foaming behaviour will change as temperature drops. Monitor closely and adjust bowl pressure and stabilisation as needed.

Note

If individual heads are foaming excessively during warm-up, increase stabilisation to 1000 ms temporarily. Step back down as the line acclimates to temperature: 1000 → 600 → 300 ms. Snifting can similarly be raised to 1000 ms if needed, then returned to 300 ms once settled.

  1. Begin stepping bowl pressure down: 2400 → 2000 → 1600 → 1400 → 1300 → 1200 mbar, then in 100 or 50 mbar steps. Observe the foam dome on the cans before the lid is attached.
  2. The target is a clear dome of foam without excessive beer loss. The final running pressure is typically 1100–1200 mbar. For beers with lower CO₂ or lower fill temperature, this can be below 1000 mbar. Adjust based on what you see.
  3. Monitor DO throughout the run. Typical range is 50–70 ppb. Note: CO₂ supply baseline is approximately 35 ppb.

Stop the line

If DO exceeds 100 ppb, stop the line and check with the team before continuing. Troubleshooting step: reduce bowl pressure further in 50 mbar steps to encourage more foam displacement.

  1. Monitor the labeller — avoid allowing the label reel to run completely empty as mid-run changeover is more complex.

5. End of Run

Note

There are typically 350–400 cans worth of beer remaining on the line once the depalletiser is stopped. There are approximately 80 cans between the filler and the labeller — factor this into how many labels you have remaining and adjust the number of cans sent accordingly.

  1. Stop the depalletiser approximately 400 cans before the target volume (e.g. stop at 1600 if the target is 2000). Use the labeller reading to track count.
  2. Once the target volume is reached and filling and labelling are complete, place the line into Recycling Product through CIP Return (P24). This applies head pressure to the reservoir and pushes remaining beer back to the tank.
  3. Go to the cellar and place your hand on the T-piece connection going into the tank. You will feel turbulence at the connection as gas begins to follow the beer. Close the valve as soon as turbulence is felt — do not allow gas into the tank.

6. Tank Switching

When packaging from multiple tanks in series, switch tanks as follows once the current tank is empty or the target volume for that tank is reached.

  1. At the next tank, close the side valve on the T-piece facing the new tank.
  2. Pressurise the new tank to at least 2 bar.
  3. At the canning line, run P5 Drainage Gas and P27 Pressure Blowout as per Section 2 steps 3 and 5. Rinse the outside of the line and heads with the spray gun.
  4. Return to the canning line and place into Product Feed mode.
  5. Go to the tank and open the beer valve on the new tank. Send beer to the line, confirm strong flow at the drain, then proceed with beer introduction as per Section 3.

Note

Up to four tanks can be connected in series using T-pieces and packaged sequentially.

7. External Rinse

The outside of the line and filling heads should be rinsed with the spray gun:

  • During tank switching — after P5 and P27 complete, before sending beer from the new tank
  • At the end of the canning day — as part of line clean-down

Note

Internal line rinsing and full clean-down are covered in the Canning Line Clean-Down / Foam-Down SOP.

Pre-Run Checklist

Before Line Start

  • [ ] CIP sanitisation cycle complete
  • [ ] Line connected to tank — T-piece, hoses, swing bend panel
  • [ ] Beer temperature, DO and CO₂ confirmed within spec
  • [ ] Racking arm height set correctly
  • [ ] Labels loaded, date coder programmed
  • [ ] Trays and depalletiser prepared
  • [ ] Ladder in position at the line
  • [ ] Outfeed team briefed

Before Launching Production

  • [ ] Star-wheels fitted, blind caps removed
  • [ ] CO₂ purge complete (5 min)
  • [ ] CO₂ gas valve removed from T-piece, tank gas valve on CIP arm
  • [ ] P5 Drainage Gas complete
  • [ ] P27 Pressure Blowout complete
  • [ ] Beer flowing strongly at drain before Basic Position
  • [ ] Automatic mode engaged and line turning before Production mode
  • [ ] Reservoir filled and purged (yellow button greyed out)
  • [ ] Bowl pressure stepped down to target (typically 1100–1200 mbar)
  • [ ] Stabilisation 300 ms / snifting 300 ms confirmed
  • [ ] Fill weight checked and on target
  • [ ] Underlet CO₂ active
  • [ ] 12–14 stabilisation cans removed

Troubleshooting

Issue Likely Cause Action
DO exceeds 100 ppb Insufficient foam displacement at fill Stop the line. Check with the team before continuing. Reduce bowl pressure in 50 mbar steps to increase foam dome.
One or more heads foaming excessively Line not yet at temperature Increase stabilisation to 1000 ms temporarily. Step back down: 1000 → 600 → 300 ms. Raise snifting to 1000 ms if needed, then return to 300 ms.
Weak beer flow at drain during introduction Back-pressure or partial blockage Switch to Manual, open drain to 100% for 5 seconds, return to Basic Position.
Beer or gas pushed back into tank during Production mode Pump off — automatic mode not engaged before Production Return to Basic Position. Ensure the line is in Automatic mode and turning before switching to Production mode.
Fill weight inconsistent between heads Pressure or temperature not yet stable Allow more cans to run through. Re-check in Test mode and adjust fill volume. Save settings.
Beer not pushing back to tank during P24 Insufficient head pressure or valve not open Confirm butterfly valve at tank is open. Check tank pressure. Ensure T-piece valve is in the correct position.
Line stops mid-run Alarm triggered Check the alarm log on screen. Clear the alarm, confirm line status, and restart from Basic Position if needed.