Transform CIP processes: Ecolab launches AI-enhanced technology

In order to optimise wash performance and free up significant capacity for innovation, Ecolab has introduced Ecolab CIP IQ, an AI-enhanced digital system that transforms the way food and beverage makers manage clean-in-place (CIP) by combining new sensor data with sophisticated analytics.

CIP IQ helps plants increase productivity, quality, and sustainability by providing real-time visibility, exception alerting, and AI-driven insights. Teams can use this time to reinvest in strategic initiatives.

The solution has yielded quantifiable operational improvements in client deployments, such as reclaimed capacity and an approximate 15% increase in efficiency. Along with better product optimisation, customers also noticed energy and water use reductions of roughly 10% – based on results from customer trials, which are specific to those individual customers when full Ecolab recommendations were implemented. Results will vary for other customers based on factors and circumstances in their operations.

Purpose-built for food and beverage, CIP IQ provides a unified, real-time view of CIP performance with wash conformance scoring, consumption reporting and critical exception alerts.

Poor visibility into CIP performance hampers overall production capacity. Operators are left without answers to basic questions: Did the wash run? Was it effective? Was it efficient? Ecolab’s goal is to help food and beverage companies maintain reliable safety and quality while also supporting more productive, more sustainable business operations at every level.

The time and capacity gained with CIP IQ opens space to innovate strategically — whether that’s driving higher throughput on existing lines, developing new SKUs to meet changing consumer preferences, or exploring new categories and verticals.

Ecolab’s Precise Wash capability is a module of CIP IQ, which uses real‑time soil load data from advanced sensors to help determine when active cleaning is complete, so teams can confidently move to the next step.

While Precise Wash is only one part of the broader CIP IQ technology, trials in dairy facilities have shown it can reduce alkaline wash time by 10–20% and unlock additional annual production output. These insights integrate with CIP IQ’s reporting and alerting to support compliance, continuous improvement and sustainability objectives across the plant.

CIP IQ and its Precise Wash module are part of Ecolab’s comprehensive approach to helping customers advance food safety and quality, optimise water usage, maximise productivity and lower costs of operations with state-of-the-art solutions for cleaning, sanitising and pest control.

CIP IQ technology is available to food and beverage customers globally.