Embracing the Digital Factory for Bio/Pharma Manufacturing
New technologies enhance quality, efficiency, and flexibility.
Mar 02, 2019
Pharmaceutical Technology
Volume 43, Issue 3, pg 16–21
Modern manufacturing technologies are being adopted by pharma and biopharma companies because of the value that they can provide in improving quality, efficiency, and flexibility, as well as profitability. Replacing manual activities with automated systems can remove error and increase the speed and accuracy of activities. Examples of such technologies range from automatic data capture and electronic batch records, which can improve data integrity, to using robots, which removes the potential for human error and reduces the exposure of operators to ergonomic or safety hazards. Connecting manufacturing systems and individual pieces of equipment using the industrial Internet of things (IIoT) improves data flow, so that decisions can be made more quickly and with more information, and data analytics tools create insights that enable improvements in many areas. Whether these technologies are labeled as advanced manufacturing technologies, Industry 4.0 (1), or the digital plant, they are poised to transform bio/pharma manufacturing.
