process news Water Future The Magazine for the Process Industry Australia: Simatic technology helps protect resources on the driest settled continent

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1 process news The Magazine for the Process Industry Volume 14, Number 3, 2009 Australia: Simatic technology helps protect resources on the driest settled continent Water Future

2 Cover Australia Bulla Dairy Foods, Australia Cream of the Crop Happy with its Siemens automation, Australia s renowned dairy manufacturer took the next step and increased plant efficiency even further. Bulla Dairy Foods is an Australian-owned family company producing premium-quality dairy products. Since 1910, it has manufactured cheeses, yogurts, and ice creams in Colac, Victoria. Bulla Dairy Foods is one of Australia s most recognized dairy brands and is also established in the Asia- Pacific region. Monitoring and tracking challenge Bulla Dairy Foods has 160 stock-keeping units (SKUs), of which 99 percent are manufactured in a seven-day cycle. This strenuous production cycle requires immense planning, execution, monitoring, and documentation in order to achieve the required production quotas in a smooth process. This demanding task was not made any easier by the company s paper-based documentation system. Bulla realized the pressing need to develop a secure, reliable, and efficient manufacturing execution sys-» With this new MES, we can enhance our output by having a more detailed understanding of the impact of running various products on the line at various times. «James Downey, operations manager, Bulla Dairy Foods 12 process news

3 Key points Bulla Dairy Foods maximized its plant performance by installing Simatic IT MES. Simatic IT increases operational excellence through standard KPI measurement, optimization, and exception handling. Simatic IT provides product safety and traceability, as well as realtime interoperability, to standardize processes and exchange information across the manufacturing operation. All photos: Bulla Dairy Foods The new Simatic IT system at Bulla Dairy was welcomed for its ease of use from management to plant operators and maintenance staff tem (MES). This system would streamline the documentation process, convert all systems to electronic format, and provide data for strategic business management, enabling operators to easily manage production. Upgrading the system would also minimize disruptions and problems. Upgrading production efficiency Bulla Dairy Foods had already used Siemens technology in 2002 to automate its state-of-the-art chilled dairy plant. Because Bulla was extremely satisfied with Siemens programmable logic controllers and service, the company chose Siemens again to deliver the new MES. In particular, Bulla wanted to integrate the existing factory control system with the new MES system planned for the production process and knew that Siemens suite of technology solutions would make this migration easy. Bulla was impressed with Siemens long-term view of the project. Siemens thoroughly assessed the company s entire production plant, with particular focus on long-term benefits, cost-effectiveness, and operational efficiency. Bulla found that Siemens detailed understanding of production philosophies was unparalleled in the industry. Initially, Bulla committed to a pilot MES project that concentrated on the plant s overall equipment effectiveness. If this pilot was successful, Bulla intended to use the software across the entire plant. The Simatic IT MES is a key means for manufacturers to optimize production while efficiently managing and improving the complete supply chain. More important, it does this in real time. Simatic IT harmonizes and integrates all production processes by synchronizing and simplifying them so that they are more flexible and effective. Using Simatic IT also reduces island solutions, paper-related methods, and nonstandard processes, while providing a seamless connection between production and business processes. It creates useroriented key performance indicators (KPIs), making the production process more effective. Versatile and easy-to-use reporting options After a smooth installation, with Siemens providing on-site support and the flexibility to make lastminute changes, Bulla Dairy Foods was more than pleased with its new, world-class system. The new system was welcomed by everyone from plant operators to maintenance employers and management for its ease of use. The newly installed Simatic IT system provides practical and useful reports, such as Top Five Downtime Causes by Reason, as well as customized reports specific to Bulla. One such customized report monitors production output against targets on a secondby-second basis, enabling the plant to identify areas of high and low production. Another mimics the former paper-based system so that enterprise resource planning-related data can be maintained. With the completion of the pilot system, Bulla Dairy Foods was able to identify and rectify many longstanding downtime causes that had been hidden for years. The company managers can now see detailed and macro trends in their facility, which allows them to better identify problems and facilitate solutions. info contact daraius.battiwalla@siemens.com process news

4 Rubrik Technology Unterrubrik Manufacturing Execution Systems Baxter Healthcare, Ireland Paperless Manufacturing Elan Software, recently acquired by Siemens to strengthen its MES portfolio, implemented an MES solution for paperless manufacturing for Baxter Healthcare in Ireland. 24 process news

5 With the acquisition of Elan Software Systems SA, based in Toulouse, France, Siemens reinforces its manufacturing execution system (MES) portfolio with process industry software. Elan Software Systems, an international software supplier for MES in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, has excellent manufacturing process know-how in these industries, where it has been a recognized partner and preferred software supplier to many well-known companies for 20 years. Elan Software s business activities ideally complement the Siemens process industry portfolio, such as the Simatic IT MES portfolio, the Simatic PCS 7 process control system, and the Comos lifecycle management systems added in 2008 through the acquisition of Innotec. Particularly for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, the XFP software suite supplements the Simatic IT MES portfolio. Going paperless in the pharmaceutical industry One company that is already reaping the benefits of working with a solution developed and implemented by Elan is Baxter Healthcare in Ireland. With approximately 46,500 employees worldwide, Baxter Healthcare applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. Baxter Healthcare operates in three main businesses: bioscience, medication delivery (MD), and renal. This case study focuses solely on the MD and renal divisions that manufacture intravenous (IV) solutions and administration sets, premixed drugs and drug reconstitution systems, prefilled vials and syringes for injectable drugs, and electronic infusion pumps, in addition to other products used to deliver fluids and drugs to patients. The type of products that the MD and renal divisions manufacture cannot be reinspected or reworked, Baxter has eliminated more than 90 percent of the paperwork from the process. The e-batch system is the front line of the Baxter production process The business benefits Right First Time (RFT) ratio higher than 99 percent Production schedule reduced to 30 minutes before target time Batch-release cycle time reduced from days to hours US$250,000 saved due to reduced discards Improved compliance with manufacturing procedures Investigations reduced from days to hours which poses a serious challenge for Baxter: products need to be manufactured right the first time. In 2003, Baxter s European MD and renal divisions were eager to implement an electronic batch system, with the principal objectives of cost reduction, increased quality compliance, enhanced flexibility, and acceleration of batch release. They implemented Elan s XFP software suite to manage all production operations, from the entry of raw materials into the workshop to the transfer of finished goods to the warehouse. The XFP implementation included material flow and inventory management, weighing, counting and dispensing, directed manufacturing, daily equipment checks, mixing, printing, filling, sterilizing, electronic batch records, batch testing and reviews, packaging and labeling operations, and data warehousing. All data are stored in a central repository available for use and review, enabling Baxter to perform trend analysis, such as laboratory trends, and scrap analysis and to measure manufacturing output and scrap. Electronic batch recording offers multiple benefits The e-batch system, as it is known internally, guides operators through the complete process, acting as an electronic router with controlled task execution and automatic calculations while also recording all actions. With this system, human error risks have been significantly minimized, and quality has increased. It is now possible to manage more volume with fewer resources and better quality. In addition, less storage space is required. Thanks to the traceability, electronic signature, and security features, the system helps ensure total quality compliance with any industry regulations, including those of the US Food and Drug Administration. Finally, the new system has led to the reduction of batch release time and, of course, cost. All data are gathered in one batch report, which is accessible at any time. Reviews are performed only on exceptions, which translates into significant time and cost savings. Baxter / Healthcare info contact cmorel@elansoftware.com process news