The massive capital project encountered integration challenges after a third-party system integrator-followed by the pharmaceutical company’s internal automation staff-were unable to resolve control logic issues associated with the routing and fillers. These included automatic solenoid valves, GEA Tuchenhagen mix-proof valves, analog control valves, back-pressure valves, Endress+Hauser mass and magnetic flow meters, and variable-frequency drives.

The initiative also added a comprehensive fleet of instruments on the processing side to help regulate and monitor solution flow. The facility consists of three filling lines serving two automated fillers and three manual fillers, and these lines are fed by the 13 solution tanks. The project overhauled the manufacturer’s preexisting filler supply tanks and clean-in-place (CIP) system and updated all of the process piping to support better drainage, add product recirculation functionality and allow for automated connection of multiple tanks to multiple filling lines. When a Canadian manufacturer of intravenous (IV) and peritoneal dialysis solutions recently launched a multimillion-dollar upgrade for its 180,000-sq-ft processing and packaging facility, it called on Grantek Systems Integration to bridge the most complex engineering challenges of its automation initiative. But the path forward is not always simple.

Large automation upgrade projects for manufacturing facilities are driven by a multitude of factors, including increased regulations, changing consumer behaviors and the lure of greater operational efficiencies for legacy plants.

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