Finds new prescription for process control and information
management
 SmithKline
Beecham, plc initiated a new concept in process automation architecture
last year at its Irvine, Scotland pharmaceutical production
facility. The new concept, PlantWeb field-based architecture,
helps reduce the time-to-market of new products through faster
execution of new product projects.
SmithKline Beecham automation team leader Ian Allan notes
that reducing instrument installation time by as much as 50
percent has a positive impact on both project schedules and
costs. Establishing a predictive maintenance environment,
Allan says, is another cost-saving aspect of the new architecture.
Benefits that meet industry regulations
These and other benefits result from several time- and money-saving
features of the DeltaV digital automation system and the open, field-based architecture,
including faster commissioning of instruments, more efficient
maintenance practices, and calibration procedures that more
efficiently meet specific pharmaceutical industry documentation
requirements.
 These
last two features are extremely important in helping SmithKline
Beecham comply with the rigorous requirements of governmental
agencies regulating the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. A
key element of the company's compliance program is the accurate
documentation of process instrument calibration and maintenance.
Allan says that because SmithKline Beecham can automatically
record these activities through PlantWeb architecture, it
eliminates time-consuming report writing by hand and the unavoidable
human errors.
 "We
see an opportunity to go beyond compliance with the techniques
afforded by the PlantWeb architecture, and we can concentrate
on our core business -- making pharmaceutical products,"
Allan says.
A technological leader
Since open, field-based architecture represents the future
of process control and information management, SmithKline
Beecham is determined to lead the adoption of this progressive
technology in the pharmaceutical industry.
Plant managers at the Irvine facility recognized the need
to capture and utilize the large amounts of data generated
by smart instrumentation installed throughout the plants.
The potential for accurate documentation of a wide range of
production and maintenance activities was sufficient justification
to implement the new system and architecture. Additionally,
scalability was another positive factor. The PlantWeb architecture,
centered on the DeltaV system, is modular by nature, allowing
a plant to start on a small scale and add functions later.
For these and other reasons, Allan says it's an exciting
time to be working with these leading edge advances in process
control and information management, and the future is also
inviting.
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