In the food industry, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics, hygiene requirements are particularly stringent due to the sensitivity of the products. To clean their equipment, these industries often use Clean-in-Place (CIP), or Nettoyage en place (NEP).
This process still involves high costs and recurring production downtime. Far from being inevitable, there are levers for optimization. So what is CIP? And how can it be optimized? Dametis and its specialist partner Elodys explain it for you.
Clean-in-place: definition, how it works, and key benefits
Definition of clean-in-place
Clean-in-place (CIP) is a equipment cleaning process built directly into the equipment design. It is triggered automatically after production, removing residual materials from the installations. This method complies with the strictest hygiene and quality protocols while operating without dismantling the production unit.
An effective CIP process relies on continuous control of several parameters, collectively referred to as TACT, or the recipe:
Temperature (T).
It must strike the right balance between effectiveness and controlled energy consumption.
Immediate action (A) or flow rate.
Flow must be constant and powerful.
Detergent concentration (C).
The detergent threshold required to make cleaning effective must be continuously monitored.
Contact time (T) with the unit being cleaned.
The contact time between the detergent and the equipment being cleaned is actively measured to avoid damaging it.
Definition of clean-in-place
Once configured, the system automatically runs through the steps without human intervention. They are adapted depending on the company’s sector, the contamination risk, and the configuration of the production line.
The main steps successively include rinsing and cleaning phases until the desired level of disinfection is reached. They are recorded in the CIP tracking system. This archiving makes it possible to verify that all TACT data meet the expected requirements.
The benefits of CIP for manufacturers
The primary objective of CIP is to ensure a product quality level that meets the manufacturer’s requirements, in order to avoid health risks and non-compliance. Another advantage is its speed of execution and intervention, which makes it possible to restart production quickly once cleaning is complete.
“ Overall, the company’s entire production capacity is improved thanks to the CIP system. A station is made up of different cleaning lines, capable of cleaning up to 10 pieces of equipment simultaneously. On average, a CIP station with around 3–5 lines can clean up to about fifty pieces of equipment for greater efficiency. ”
Paul Peltier, Consulting Engineer at Elodys International
Optimizing clean-in-place with the use of an EMS software
Why optimize your CIP system?
“Despite its many advantages, clean-in-place represents an irreducible amount of time, energy expenditure, and significant use of water and detergent for the manufacturer. To limit these expenses, it is possible to use optimization tools that deliver substantial gains.”
Paul Peltier, Consulting Engineer at Elodys International
In this context, optimizing CIP offers several benefits. First, it saves many hours of production without compromising fundamental hygiene rules. Next, it generates savings on several fronts: energy consumption, because CIP runs for less time, as well as water and cleaning chemicals.
Optimizing clean-in-place: the Milleret cheese dairy case
The Milleret cheese dairy called on Dametis and Elodys to optimize two clean-in-place lines. The audit carried out identified a potential gain of 400 production hours.
Most of the tools provided as standard on CIP systems are very useful for monitoring the proper execution of operations, but they do not provide sufficiently in-depth analysis to optimize CIP properly. For this, the use of a CIP monitoring tool such as BARcip is recommended.
The BARcip optimization module
Born from the combined expertise of Elodys International and Dametis, BARcip is a software solution dedicated to optimizing and monitoring clean-in-place processes. Integrated into the MyDametis software, BARcip enables real-time monitoring, analysis, and optimization of CIP. This module is also a true operational excellence lever for field operators, who can see in real time where and why to take action.
“The value of the BARcip module lies in its ability to validate whether washes comply with the defined criteria and to confirm whether they are effective. Its reporting component provides access to all TACT data to identify key optimization points. ”
Paul Pelletier, Consulting Engineer at Elodys International
To facilitate data analysis, BARcip offers three levels of review: at the CIP station level, the wash line level, and the equipment level. The module also includes a Wash Log. It lists the equipment washes and the associated recipe (the selected TACT combination). Analysis of this data makes it possible to clearly identify factors that can be optimized in terms of time, chemical concentration, water, and even the energy used.
Bonus info
A new version is currently under development. It will make it possible to display washes in real time and also to add comments from the field, further facilitating process optimization.
+1,000 production hours recovered for Antartic with BARcip!
A subsidiary of the Agromousquetaires Group, Antartic produces 330 million liters of non-alcoholic beverages each year with 14 production lines. The company chose the BARcip module integrated into MyDametis to monitor and optimize its CIP. The results met expectations, with more than 1,000 production hours recovered. This optimization also translates into a 50% reduction in caustic soda consumption and an 80% reduction in water use over 5 years, as well as annual energy savings of €70k.
The new Golden CIP: enhanced CIP
Available in June 2026, the new BARcip feature, Golden CIP, will make it possible to define an ideal wash operation for each piece of equipment once the optimal recipe has been found. It will then serve as a reference for all subsequent washes. The objective of the Golden CIP feature is twofold: validate CIP compliance and achieve better long-term performance.
Golden CIP will be defined by the operator or the CIP manager, in line with their data analysis and the results obtained in the field. This new feature has been designed to be easy to use and get to grips with, notably with the addition of a notification system to facilitate its use.
In addition, a new feature, Golden Batch, will offer a new, in-depth view of water and energy consumption, as well as the relationship between concentration and detergent consumption—data that is still too rarely analyzed in current monitoring systems.
In conclusion, clean-in-place is an automated solution particularly well suited to industries subject to stringent hygiene requirements. Its optimization, supported by a control tool such as BARcip, helps improve the overall performance of the installation. A lever to activate to gain useful production time and profitability!
