The Task
A pharmaceutical company’s control system hardware and software were obsolete, and no longer supported; spare parts were unavailable. IES were engaged to upgrade the obsolete systems.
The Challenge
The control system is critical to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products. The outdated control system risked.
- Component failure impacting on customer service supply.
- System failures resulting in extended downtime and operational disruption.
The outdated control system meant that the company risked system failure and lost production. But upgrading the equipment also carried a risk; with a production process dependant on an operating control system, any downtime necessitated by the upgrade needed to be kept to an absolute minimum. The full scope retrofit, including cabling and electrical connections, had to be done within a challenging timeframe.
The Strategy
The purpose of the control system is to enable users to start up, monitor and control all plant equipment items safely. It manages process functions and the tablet-coating process. The specification for the upgraded control system included the following:
- Control loop functions. The control system executes closed-loop control to control process parameters to a setpoint for the Air Handling Unit and the Coaters.
- Interlocks.
- Regulatory control.
- Sequences for safe plant operation. The control system executes predefined sequences for starting the Air Handling Unit (AHU) and DC.
- OC Coating controls.
- Interface with field instrumentation.
- Alarm detection and logging.
To minimize disruption at the transition from old to new systems, a detailed cutover plan was essential. The plan was developed down to the panel terminal level. The creative design of the system architecture facilitated a phased changeover, reducing production downtime to a minimum.
The Design and Implementation Teams
The complex new system designed by IES included:
- a Rockwell Logix PLC to perform the control functions
- The I/O structure for interface to the field equipment and instruments
- iFIX SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) for user interface
- MSSQL (Microsoft SQL) Database for audit trail and alarm and event log.
- An independent Safety Related Control System (SRCS), Sick Flexisoft (software programmable) Safety Controller and associated I/O (input/output) modules.
- ThinManager (thin client management software)
IES specialists performed a risk assessment on the coating machines; they identified the hazards, estimated the risk and designed and implemented risk reduction measures to ensure that the installation complied with Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.
As part of this project, IES undertook a full review and remediation of the Air Handling Unit (AHU) instrumentation and process performance. The AHU was optimised to maximise throughput while achieving the specified process parameters.
The Outcome
The project was completed successfully within the planned time frame. A major contributor to the success of the project was the rapid and accurate changeover from old panels to new, resulting from the comprehensive cutover plan.
Did You Know?
The first references to medicinal pills were found on papyruses in ancient Egypt; the pills contained ingredients such as bread dough, honey or grease.
The company known today as SICK AG, makers of the Flexisoft Safety Controller, was born in 1946 when Erwin Sick obtained a license from the American military government in Munich to set up his own engineering firm. The company is now a global provider of intelligent sensors and solutions for industrial automation technology. (Check this with Niall – a possible competitor)
iFIX SCADA is a Windows-based system providing monitoring, supervisory control, alarming, and control functions.