Complete control

22 March 2010

Wireless technology is taking a firm hold in our daily lives, but to the food, drink and pharma industries, it has been a fact of life for many years. For Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, wireless technologies were an essential part of a revamp of a plant in north-east France, where the company makes Xolair, a biochemical agent for treating asthma.

The plant, in Huningue, uses a complex series of processes that are linked together over a large and awkward-to-manage area. The ingredient made at the plant is derived from genetically modified mammalian cells, which have to be cultured in a laboratory and then used in a fermentation process in larger bioreactors. The active ingredient itself then has to be harvested, purified and frozen. This takes place over three floors in a large plant where approximately 300 people work.

To operate this system effectively, Novartis uses a distributed control system that has operator stations near the main areas of the process, such as the bioreactors and tanks. But to make sure their operators were working as effectively as possible, the plant managers realised they had to be able to work in a variety of locations around the plant as well.

The solution was to embrace wireless technology, something that isn’t new to Huningue, as wireless systems have been used there since 2000. Novartis was an early adopter of industrial wireless and has been expanding its use since its first forays; a user of Emerson Process Management’s DeltaV system, it migrated to version 9 in 2008, bringing in integrated Wi-Fi and wireless security, and added extra Wi-Fi access points and a complete mobile wireless solution last year.

The plant now has wireless coverage on all three production levels, using 10 Wi-Fi access points, with 17 mobile operator stations and 100 DeltaV controllers. These are spread across two systems: the first system, upstream, controls cell cultivation and harvesting, while the second, downstream, handles purification and freezing. Both zones are connected by an Emerson software/hardware system, DeltaV ZONE, so that they can work efficiently with each other.

“Because of the wireless network, we do not need to systematically invest in new control stations”

PATRICK BORSCHERT, NOVARTIS

The mobile stations are mounted on wheeled trolleys that can be rolled around the plant area.To meet the strictures of sterile manufacturing, they have a stainless-steel enclosure to protect the CPU and have USB connections for monitor, keyboard and mouse. These stations allow operators to move around the plant and maintain an overview of how the processes are running.

Novartis said this has allowed it to improve efficiency considerably. For example, a mobile workstation allows a single person to recalibrate instruments where previously it would have taken two - one to work on the instruments, while another kept an overview on a static workstation of the changes made to the process. Moreover, it removes the need to shut down the process if a workstation fails; the wireless network acts as a back-up system and another mobile station is moved in to replace the non-functioning one.

The system also has advantages when a new product is launched or a recipe changed. Previously, this would have meant a period of shutdown while new operator stations were installed; now, the mobile ones can simply be wheeled to different areas to keep an eye on the important process steps. ’Because of the wireless network, we do not need to systematically invest in new control stations, even if the production of new products requires a change to the plant equipment or layout,’ said Novartis automation expert Patrick Borschert.

The new systems have also helped Novartis to diversify production at Huningue. As well as the single-chain Xolair molecule, it is now able to produce more complex, multi-chain molecules, such as monoclonal antibodies and immunosuppressives.

Keeping operators in touch with the process is vital, wherever their workstations are, and the key to this is workable human-machine interfaces (HMIs); these are standard in larger facilities, but still not widespread in smaller operations. This was recently a problem for Nicholl Food Packaging, which makes foil containers and disposable packaging for the catering industry. Based in Cannock, Staffordshire, the company found that the HMIs on its electrically controlled presses were failing, probably because of the machinery’s vibration.

’We spent a long time trying to rectify the problem but were eventually left with no alternative but to look for replacements,’ said engineering manager Joe Taylor. However, the PLC system to which the HMIs were interfaced did not need to be replaced, so the new HMIs had to be fully compatible to allow Nicholl’s operators to continue monitoring the processes and keep them running.

“Some managers are unaware how simple it is to incorporate HMIs into the plant’s automation”

To provide the solution, Taylor turned to Schneider Electric and its Magelis HMI range, which has an open connectivity function that allows it to work with legacy control systems. ’HMIs are fast becoming an essential part of plant management,’ commented Schneider Electric’s Dave Collier.
’They are now commonplace in most large production lines, but new compact terminals are making them ideal for smaller applications too. However, some managers, despite being keen to utilise the benefits of this technology, are unaware of how simple it is to incorporate the system into the plant’s existing automation,’ he added.

For Nicholl, the key ability of the Schneider HMIs was to mimic the way that its previous systems had worked. ’Our previous HMIs had physical function buttons, whereas the Schneider Electric products have touch screens,’ explained Taylor. ’However, we were able to configure the screen to match exactly the layout that our operatives were familiar with, which meant that we did not have the time or inconvenience of retraining to the new models. That made it a very smooth transition for us.’