Last Day at MGP!

IMG_3762[1]

Last Day!

Well it has been a wild ride. I am very grateful for the experience I was given this summer–learning all about how alcohol was made, stored, and shipped from the Lawrenceburg plant. We had some side projects along the way, but in the end we were able to complete our to main ones: updating drawings, labeling pipes, and writing SOP’s for both the Wine Room and Building 88. This past week we also gave our final presentation to some of the staff at MGP.

Each area had a different labeling system based on its needs. In the end I don’t really think one style was better then the other. Each both had their inherit benefits. In the Wine Room, our labels matched the AMSE 2007 Standard in both size and color. The pipes also contained a lot of information–where they were coming from and going to. In Building 88, the wrap around labels met neither of the AMSE requirements–however– the colors matched the most updated drawing, making reading what was in the lines significantly easier.  Building 88 also took more of a common names approach–which made it much easier for the operators to match up the lines with their screens out in the field.

I will definitely take this experience forward with me as I continue my education at Ohio State. MGP is a great company, and for anyone looking to internship there I highly recommend you check it out! I leave you with my favorite picture of my time here.

IMG_3408[1]

 

MGP Internship Update #4

Hello everyone! This will most likely be the last update to our project over the summer!

The colored wrap around labels finally came in this week! Let me tell you–when you are writing down potential label positions everything seems a lot more doable. Mike and I looked up at some of the pipes we were going to place labels on and collectively said “oh boy…” But! With an insanely long ladder and a teammate to hold it down, we made quick work.

The labeling process in Building 88 was a bit different then the Wine Room (if you read the last update post you probably already have a firm idea). We used color to denote what kind of product is in the pipe. Another nice thing about Building 88 was that a lot of the lines already had common names. They weren’t marked in the field that well–but the lines were shown on the operator screens. Thus after the project was done the operators could physically see what was on their screens matched to the field.

Here is an example of one of the labels:IMG_3769[1]

As you can see, the line’s common name was S-GIN (which actually stands for Seagrams Gin). Fun fact, back in the day they used to barrel their gin in old whiskey barrels to give it a specific flavor and color. Anyway, the pipe is marked with the common name, the green tells you what product is in it, and the arrow denotes the direction of flow.

Bring your Parents to Work Day!

13770464_10206825974470444_5555397132105020370_n

From left to right: Me, my Father (bottom), my Uncle (top), and my Cousin

This past weekend my parents came down to Lawernceburg and I gave them a tour of the plant! My Aunt and Uncle, who I am currently staying with this summer, and their son also tagged along! It was fun being able to show them around and talk them through the whiskey/spirit making process. Initially when I started giving them the tour I realized I had to dial down a lot of what I found interesting (chemistry of generating alcohol… big surprise there). It hit me that they were like how I was just a couple weeks ago.

Anyway it was a blast! I also got to take them to the wine room and showcase my efforts to them. I mentioned how my project fits into the bigger scope of plant operating and helps the plant move toward meeting OSHA regulations. It was a good warm up for the end of the year presentation I will be giving to the upper management along with my fellow intern!

Cincinnati Reds Game

Coupled with my parents coming down this weekend, MGP gave me 4 tickets to the Reds v. Arizona Diamond backs on Friday, July 22nd! The whole crew that went to the tour came along.. and by theIMG_3685 fourth inning we were all sitting next to each other. I hadn’t really been much of a Red’s fan before this summer–but with my Aunt and Uncle constantly having it on the background I was surprised how much I picked up. Billy Hamilton is always a pleasure to watch. I admire how he always runs to the base. A lot of players will hit the ball and watch where it goes, then adjust their pace accordingly. But by giving effort 100% of the time, Billy opens himself up to the possibilities– what if the ball bouches off the fielders glove? What if it takes a weird bounce? Working that much harder allows you to succeed where others fail.

On a lighter note, it turned out to be a great game! The final score was somewhere in the number of 8-1. The reds also managed to get 11 strikeouts… which every ticket holder knows means a free small pizza at La Rosas this next week.

IMG_3682

MGP Internship Update #3

Currently we are waiting for some labels to be shipped, so I have some down time to write this post! I’m back again with another update!

Building 88

Building 88

After completing the Wine Room portion of the internship, Mike and I were transferred to a new
area called Building 88. This building is the main distribution hub of alcohol in at the back end of the plant. Distilled whiskey comes in from the Wine Room, is held, and then sent over to the J&M (the barreling building) across the street. Gin is also received from the wine room where the proof is slightly cut and sent out to the Mini Tank farm to eventually be shipped off to suppliers. Also, at this section of the plant they manufacture Seagrams 7 Crown which contains a mixture of different blends of aged whiskey, light whiskey, spirits, and blending flavor.

Building 88 is also received the “dumped” aged whiskey back from J&M, where the proof is cut slightly and sent out on trucks. Any rails containing Grade 9 or 11 Spirits are unloaded from the building and either sent directly to the Tank Farm, or the Wine Room. A lot happens at Building 88–a large portion of fresh alcohol is being fed in one direction, and being received from another.

IMG_3659

This will be fun

Mike and I’s goal remains the same as it was in the Wine Room: to label all the pipes, write SOP’s and update redlines. So far this building seems much easier as it was all built around the same time in the mid 80’s. Unlike the Wine Room where pipes where slowly added to adjust to new layouts and other ones were simply rust, in Building 88 every pipe has a purpose. Don’t worry though, there are still a far share of congested areas… However, now we are working for the logistics manager in the back end of the plant. After discussing, the labeling here will be quite different. Lines will have names, and the color of the label will match a recently updated flowchart sheet made by one of the Engineers here. Spirits will be blue, whiskey will typically be gray, high wine will be black, and gin will be green.

IMG_3665

The Mini Tank Farm

Also, as a part of Building 88 we will be labeling the Mini Tank Farm right next store. This is were the Seagrams 7 Crown is actually made, and where Gin waiting to be shipped is stored. There is also another new element that we have not seen before… Cam locks! These allow the operators to attach a hose from different pipes to jump lines direct the load out of the product. It seems overwhelming at first but once you understand what they typically do it’s not too bad.

Well, that’s all for now!

MGP Internship Update #2

Hello all! I thought it was time for another update!

So over the past couple of weeks we set out for what we needed to do in the Wine Room. First we walked through the room and learned what the operators do. Then we starting tracing the lines and updating the redlines, followed by labeling the pipes. This strategy worked out pretty well–as we had a strong idea of the process of the area moving forward with the project.

Many things were added to the drawings–including new lines, flow directions, valves, and any missed instrumentation. For each sheet, all individual lines and valves were named as well. In the future this will greatly help out anyone who is writing or following a standard operating procedure to be able to say “For this transaction product will flow from line LBB 3089-25 to LBB 3089-28. Open valve LBB-3089-5.” Each line was named according to the following setup:

Product-Nominal Pipe Size- Sheet Number-Pipe Material- Line Number

EX: W-3″-3089-SA 312- 22

The valves also follow a similar set up. This allows anyone looking at the P&ID drawings to instantly identify the product going through the pipe, the material of the pipe, and the pipe size.

Moving forwarded with the labeling was difficult. As with the rest of the plant, the Wine Room has a lot of pipes that the operators use every day, and some that they have not touched in the four years on the job. We had to find a balance in labeling. We’d ask ourselves, okay, might this line be helpful if they need to transfer something in the future? Also, how much information is too much? We analyzed the redline drawings, and generated an approach. On each pipe, the following information is spelled out:

Product-From-To (and direction of flow)

We also realized partway through that pipes *could* flow in two directions, but typically only went one way as in the example below:

IMG_3656

The product is Hi Wine, coming from selected tanks of 51-82, heading to pump 14.

Another challenge we ran into was how to denote pipes which had main flows going two different ways.  How do we show where it is coming from and going to? How do we keep it consistent with the current format? Eventually we decided to simply split the label into two different parts, each showings the flow of one direction of the pipe, and the associated information for that pathway as seen below.

IMG_3655

Two way flow pipe

On the left, you see that the contents of the pipe are a high wine. When the product is going left is is coming from pump 22 and going to pump 16. When product is traveling right through the pipe it is coming from the Tank Farm and going to tanks 51 and 59. Bold arrows are used in both directions because the pipe has a primary purpose both ways.

That is basically it!

 

 

 

MGPI Internship Update #1

MGP-Lawrenceburg-Distillery-Aerial-LR

MGP Lawrenceburg Distillery

Currently I am working at a distillery called Midwest Grain Products (MGP). The plant was formally owned by Seagrams for over ~75 years. Recently, it changed hands to Pernod Ricard, then CL Financial. MGP acquired the plant in 2013 and here we are! They primary make Whiskey, Gin, and Vodka–mainly Whiskey and Gin though, because it has a higher profit margin per wine produced when it is all said and done. Vodka (ethanol and water) can be made faster in other plants and in much greater quantities. Since its profit margin is lower per wine gallon, the plant does not focus on exporting as much of this product.

Where they have me working currently is what’s known as the “Wine Room.” Does it have anything to do with wine? Nope! To make spirits all alcohol basically goes through the general process: Grains —> Mash (grains mixed with water)—> Cooker —> Fermentation —> Distillation —> Storage —> Barreling/ Holding —> Loading/ Shipment. Depending on what part of the product you are tracing, you can add a lot more arrows, some even in different directions! However, this is the general flow.

The Wine Room receives the product (Vodka, Light Whiskey, Whiskey, or Gin) after the distillation phase. From there it will either be sent to a large tank farm for further use, or it is off to Building 88 where it is either barreled or loaded out as product. At the plant they never cross contaminate tanks. A tank that holds gin will always hold gin, etc. This is really important in order to maintain a quality product.

In the Wine Room there are pipes–lots of pipes. Our job as interns are to label the flow of these pipes—IMG_3392both where the alcohol is coming from and where it is going to. This will be done placing adhesive labels on all the pipes as well as updating the P&ID engineering drawings (P&ID drawings basically tell you pipe type, nominal size, flow of alcohol, content of pipe any valves, etc). The current drawings contain none of the above information. They only show most of the pipe connections– we are filling in everything else. The drawings we got where from 2002, so we are walking the lines and updating them as we see changes.

IMG_3404

Spooky…

Some areas of the Wine Room are certainly easier than others. Mike and I spent roughly 5 hours tracing out all the pipes on one tank alone–probably our least favorite tank in the plant. You get pretty good at spotting pipe sizes after a while. One of the key things we learned when tracing pipes are that pumps, flange meetings, and valves can help you accurately size a pipe or identify its flow on a drawing. Of course, by now we can call a lot of the pipe sizes on the spot. We also take down any valve and motor information, etc. But it’s not all hard work, I learn of some pretty cool places to hide bodies if I ever wanted to murder someone…

Anyway, that is what we are up to! I will try to update in a couple weeks, but for now there are a lot of pipes, and a lot of labels to print out, so nothing is going to be changing for a while since we will be nailing down the busy work. The one really cool thing I have learned about this plant is that since it is old, there is a lot of past meets new, and they have a lot of options when it comes to creating their product.