Digitalized, modular and customer-centric: the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing
08 Aug 2022
Evelien Devroey, Strategic Business Manager, Pharma Solid Dosage, explains how GEA Pharma & Healthcare has integrated the concepts of digitalization and modulization to better serve its pharmaceutical customers and develop the processes that will shape the future.
GEA has implemented a strategic plan that defines certain key pillars that the company will use as a foundation to accelerate profitable growth. The focus is on sustainability, holistic product innovation and digital solutions, as well as excellence initiatives in sales, service and operations. We’ve also established GEA digital, a central digital organization to support specific business areas and different parts of our global network. The overall aim is to safeguard future generations and reduce the cost, complexity and timeline of industrial projects with sustainable engineering solutions.
The ever-pressing need for efficient and sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment is a constant driver of creative thinking. A central pillar of this process is digitalization; and, one of the collaboration themes that the GEA digital team will be working on is customer engagement. GEA digital functions as a network organization that makes a wide range of software resources available and streamlines the decision-making process in the digital space. The idea is to present one digital image and product to our customers. As opposed to each unit or division developing their own apps and programs, we want to deliver a singular and cohesive message: it’s really easy to get access to the digital tools you need from GEA They’re all in one place!
One of the topics within the remit of customer engagement is the development of one customer portal. In the future, we’ll offer one single GEA customer portal for all the digital apps that have been developed in the past (and those in development) to make our processes more user friendly, inclusive and demonstrate to operators exactly what they can expect from GEA in terms of digitalization. This is an absolute top-down priority for us; we’re working with software suppliers to ensure that we’re seen to be less of an equipment vendor and more of a solution provider. We’re also applying the principles of Design Thinking, integrating customer feedback and user experience as part of the development process. In fact, during ACHEMA, we’ll be testing a prototype NexGen Press® customer app on the booth (Hall 4 G66).
Evelien Devroey, Strategic Business Manager, Pharma Solid Dosage
Going phygital
Although the greater pharmaceutical manufacturing industry is more often associated with stainless steel than digitalization, blending the two concepts together has been an interesting project. It’s been a fascinating journey. Working with my colleague, Senior Director of Technology Management, Dr Jim Holman, I’ve witnessed some incredible digital breakthroughs come to fruition.
One of GEA’s first digitalization initiatives, for example, was virtual reality (VR), which we use a lot for both training and marketing. Not only did VR provide a solution to many of the issues encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also made us rethink our traditional training format.
Anyone interested in learning more should stop by the ACHEMA booth and try it out. We already offer a VR-based commercial training module for both the GEA Coater and our feeders (you can actually dis/assemble them in the virtual world) and we’re currently working on one for our new NexGen Press®. We’d welcome your thoughts and feedback!
One machine, many applications
The NexGen Press® range is something that we've been developing for the last few months and exemplifies our approach to digitalization and modularization. By offering one machine with many applications, this compression technology really is engineering for future generations.
Its modular design means that a spectrum of containment capabilities (from dust-tight to OEB 5) is available on a single platform. Additionally, it’s also designed to be both wash-offline (WOL) and wet-in-place (WIP) compatible to suit a broad array of customer requirements. In summary, an entry level machine can be upgraded to meet specific process requirements, such as bilayer tableting, different washing options and/or to further reduce the risk of cross-contamination, as and when required.
To respond to present and future market demands, manufacturers are looking for flexible and multifunctional solutions that can handle both low and high potency active ingredients. This next generation of modular tablet presses will make machine selection easier, facilitate fast product changeovers and deliver price-performance leadership.
As well as modularity, energy reduction was also an important factor during the development process. The press is now equipped with energy efficient servo motors and minimizes water use during washing cycles, so it’s more planet friendly than before too!
We’ve taken the very same approach to the machine’s software. There is a whole new look and feel to the human-machine interface (HMI) and we’re developing an app to give customers easy access to all the information they need from GEA. The NexGen Press®range is Industry 4.0 ready and also includes an interactive 3D model of the tablet press. The customer can navigate their way through the different compartments of the machine and click on individual parts to assess wear-and-tear and/or order spare parts. There are also interactive digital manuals, online project documents, 2D drawings and exploded diagrams; everything you need to automatically generate a quotation request!
Furthermore, each machine features GEA’s most advanced process control system. Designed with the user in mind, the MC5i interface is easy to use, intuitive and highly visual, enabling flawless communication between machine and operator. Created to ensure full data and recipe management, all input parameters are transferable between tablet presses running MC5i. I should add, though, that all the traditional functionalities are still in place, so current users of earlier systems won’t have to start from scratch.
Presenting a wide range of GEA technologies on our stand in Hall 4 (G66) and during our live Spotlight Events, visitors will be able to take a closer look at the recently launched LYOAIR®sustainable cooling system for freeze drying applications, the Digital Canary Atmosphere Monitoring System, which both detects product leaks from contained pharmaceutical production lines and protects the health and safety of operators and, of course, the groundbreaking NexGen Press®compression technology. We look forward to welcoming you to GEA’s better world.
