IT in Manufacturing


Rockwell customises recipe design

September 2010 IT in Manufacturing

Rockwell Automation introduces electronic batch recording to FactoryTalk Pharma Suite.

Rockwell Automation has extended its set of software applications tailored for pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers, FactoryTalk Pharma Suite, to include electronic batch recording (EBR). The new release comes with a graphical recipe workbench and an enhanced recipe execution client. Both are optimised to meet the needs of target users and provide excellent usability, look and feel.

“Innovation and time to market are the main drivers in the pharmaceutical industry today, and we designed FactoryTalk Pharma Suite to support exactly that. We broke with the old ‘paper-on-glass’ paradigm and optimised FactoryTalk Pharma Suite for maximum productivity of every user at every step of recipe lifecycle, from recipe design to execution, review and approval. This product extends our traditional strength in large-scale pharma-manufacturing to biotech and is well aligned with the latest industry direction – personalised medicine,” explains Vladimir Preysman, chief strategist, Rockwell Software.

In FactoryTalk Pharma Suite, recipes are modelled graphically and aligned with the S88 standard. Visual tools and intelligent search mechanisms help ensure that information required for recipe design such as material, equipment, recipe building blocks, or process parameters can be accessed quickly and easily.

Recipes are assembled from re-usable, parameterised building blocks that represent standard functions like adding material to a process or checking equipment against requirements. The software also allows recipe authors to isolate and save sections of a recipe as custom building blocks. After focused tests and reviews, these building blocks can be reused in new recipes. This accelerates recipe design, prevents errors and enables incremental validation resulting in faster deployment.

“Pharma Suite has proved to be a flexible and agile MES platform that can be deployed in a short time,” says Robert Fretz, head of process automation and MES at Roche. “Its built-in application development framework enables our engineers to install, configure and extend the system by themselves, which was one of the major decision criteria when we were evaluating a material tracking and weighing system for our production.

“The recipe building blocks capture a wealth of domain knowledge and best practices from many successful EBR projects delivered by Rockwell to pharmaceutical and biotech customers worldwide,” says Preysman. “Now, we are expanding this to provide an open and extensible system. We offer IT departments and system integrators the tools to develop their own recipe building blocks in order to address their customers’ individual needs.”

The recipe execution client maximises efficiency by focusing on the operator’s workflow. It has been designed for interaction via a touch-screen and 2D barcode scanner, and provides excellent usability and ergonomics supporting efficient operator performance and compliance with GxP. The system guides the operator through complex processes and helps ensure that all tasks are completed according to the recipe. Deviations are handled by built-in exception management that delivers important input for review by exception.

FactoryTalk Pharma Suite is based on the state-of-the-art FactoryTalk ProductionCentre platform. It leverages a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for cost-effective, flexible deployment and integration with business and automation systems. Object oriented design makes it easier and faster to build, modify, and deploy applications across multiple sites.

For more information contact Jeff Sandison, Rockwell Automation, +27 (0)11 654 9700, [email protected], www.rockwellautomation.co.za



Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Why choose between Capex and Opex if you can Totex?
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
In a sector marked by cyclical demand, high capital intensity, and increasing regulatory and sustainability pressures, mining, minerals and metals (MMM) companies are re-evaluating how they approach procurement and investment.

Read more...
AI and the smart factory
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Imagine walking into a factory where machines can think ahead, predict problems before they happen and automatically make adjustments to realise peak performance. This isn’t science fiction, it’s happening right now as AI continues to transform how we run industrial operations.

Read more...
Why your supply chain should be a competitive advantage
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
The last five years have placed unprecedented strain on global supply chains. Leading companies are turning the challenge into an opportunity to transform their supply chains into a competitive advantage.

Read more...
Why AI will never truly understand machines
Wearcheck IT in Manufacturing
Cutting-edge technology and solutions powered by AI are embraced by specialist condition monitoring company, WearCheck, where the extreme accuracy of data used to assess and diagnose machine health is paramount.

Read more...
Buildings and microgrids for a greener future
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Buildings are no longer passive consumers of power. Structures of almost every size are evolving into dynamic energy ecosystems capable of generating, storing and distributing their own electricity. Forming part of this exciting transformation are microgrids.

Read more...
Traditional data centres are not fit for purpose
IT in Manufacturing
Traditional data centre designs are falling short, with nearly half of IT leaders admitting their current infrastructure does not support energy or carbon-reduction goals. New research commissioned by Lenovo reveals that data centre design must evolve to future-proof businesses.

Read more...
AI agents for digital environment management in SA
IT in Manufacturing
The conversation about artificial intelligence in South Africa has shifted rapidly over the past year. Among the technologies changing the pace of business are AI agents - autonomous, task-driven systems designed to operate with limited human input.

Read more...
AI-powered maintenance in future-ready data centres
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
The data centre marketplace often still relies on outdated maintenance methods to manage mission-critical equipment. Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) is powered by AI and is fast becoming a necessity in ensuring both competitiveness and resilience.

Read more...
Powering up data centre mega development
IT in Manufacturing
Parker Hannifin has secured a major contract to supply key equipment for nearly 30 aeroderivative gas turbines powering a new hyperscale data centre in Texas.

Read more...
Building resilient supply chains through smarter e-procurement
RS South Africa IT in Manufacturing
In a time of constant disruption, from supply chain uncertainty to rising operational costs, businesses that embrace digital procurement are better positioned to stay competitive and resilient.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved