Rescuing a Multimillion-Dollar Trim Sort System
A new third-party trim sort system at a beef processing facility was missing yield, fighting clumps, and burning labor. TEC's controls and HMI work made it run the way it was sold.
A beef processing facility had invested in a new third-party trim sort system — a multimillion-dollar capital line. The mechanics were sound. The control logic and HMIs that drove them were not. The result was out-of-spec product, increased rework, lost margin, and operators flying blind.
The challenge
On paper the system worked. On the floor, every shift fought the same problems and nobody could see clearly enough to fix them.
What we did
TEC engineers spent time on the line — watching clumps, watching belts, watching operators work around the system. Then we rebuilt what wasn't doing its job:
- A new algorithm for the Infeed Lean Adjustment System.
- HMI graphics that exposed clump weight, fat/lean percentage, clump location, and process control state.
- Refined VFD logic for belt speed, clump timing, and bin retract timing.
- Calibration and operations documentation operators could actually use.
The outcome
Calibration held. Clumping resolved. Reclaim dropped. Operators could finally tell — clump by clump — what the system was doing and why. The line started returning the ROI it was sold on.
Key Results
Higher
Yield
Lower
Rework Volume
Reduced
Labor Cost per Pound
Technology Stack
Let's build something
that actually works.
Whether you need to modernize legacy controls, build out data infrastructure, or deploy ML models on the factory floor — we're ready when you are.
