Optimizing continuous production in the pharmaceutical industry

Background

A pharma company has moved to continuous production, in which the reliable supply of raw materials for the manufacture of tablets and capsules is of crucial importance. These raw materials are stored in so-called big bags. Transporting the big bags to the vacuum conveying systems is the last manual step in the production process. Sufficient availability of the raw materials is monitored by the weight of the big bags. A sufficient quantity of raw materials must always be available at the big bag emptying stations in order to avoid production downtimes and ensure consistently high product quality.

Requirement

To ensure the smooth operation of continuous production, it was necessary to implement an alarm system that detects faults at an early stage and informs the responsible employees immediately. The system should ensure that, for example, if the big bag weight in the emptying stations falls below a defined threshold value or in the event of a fault in other critical systems, an immediate notification is sent to the smartphones and DECT telephones of the responsible employees to ensure fast response times. In addition, the system had to be able to control the big bag emptying stations and visualize the filling levels of the big bags. The solution also needed to be integrated into the company's existing infrastructure, including the building management system.

Solution

The company decided on the Alarm Control Centers (ACC) in conjunction with the SIMATIC WinCC Unified visualization system from Siemens.WinCC Unified controls and monitors the big bag emptying stations and enables the filling levels to be visualized, while the ACC is responsible for sending alarms in the event of a fault. The fault messages are transmitted directly from the WinCC Unified system to the ACC, which immediately forwards them to the DECT telephones and smartphones of the responsible employees.

In addition to the big bag emptying stations, the ACC is also responsible for alerting in case of faults in other critical systems within production, including loss-in-weight feeders, granulators, fluidized bed dryers and tablet presses. Integration is achieved via interfaces (ACC Agents) for MS SQL databases and OPC UA.The company's building management system has also been connected to the ACC via the Desigo CC platform from Siemens to ensure reliable alarming here too.

Benefit

By implementing the ACC in conjunction with WinCC Unified, the pharma company was able to significantly improve its production processes. The fast and reliable alarms minimize downtimes and ensure a continuous supply of raw materials. The visualization of the fill levels and the control of the big bag emptying stations via WinCC Unified enable efficient and automated production control. This leads to increased production reliability and efficiency, as faults can be detected and rectified immediately. Integration into the existing infrastructure ensures seamless communication between the various systems and guarantees comprehensive monitoring and control of all relevant systems.