Maintenance and CMMS for the pharmaceutical industry

The demands of the pharmaceutical industry make it a world of precision and traceability

At the end of the chain, patient health demands absolute rigor. This is why, from R&D laboratories to manufacturing and packaging workshops, precision is omnipresent. In the traceability of inputs to maintenance operations; in hygiene standards, inevitably high in hybrid rooms where work is carried out in clean clothes; in metrology, whether used to calibrate machines or check the size of a tablet; in the allocation and processing of maintenance, production and intervention tasks. Meticulous attention to detail in the service of speed and quality, because thousands, even millions of doses are needed to produce a medicine that must be as safe as possible.
The corollary of such demands is procedures and traceability. Maintenance is specific to each plant, and the people involved are qualified and authorized. Their interventions, tools and parts are traced. A perfect world for CMMS!

Using CMMS to manage the maintenance of a pharmaceutical production plant with high production rates

Here, high speeds are the norm. The presses and assembly machines turn fast, the lines have many small conveyors, lots of robotization and automation. And almost as many reasons for malfunction. That’s why they’re equipped with sensors, monitoring tools to detect problems or anomalies, and ejection systems for miscalibrated products. The CMMS is connected to this information system, which provides it with what it needs to identify and qualify breakdowns, and consequently requests for intervention. It is at once the data collection tool – the mini-maxi, for example – the system that associates a cause with a symptom and a remedy with the cause, and the editor of processes and intervention documents.
Above all, it’s a learning system that should enable predictive incident management, supported by Artificial Intelligence. Imagine a conveyor belt vibrating and a part needing to be tightened before the production line breaks down. First incident, human intervention. Second incident, the CMMS reminds him how he intervened. It avoids the third incident by sending him to intervene at the first vibration. It will then send him to tighten the part again, without needing any warning signs. More reliable, the production line will be more available. The key word is efficiency.

CMMS for collective memory and intelligence

More than anywhere else, the pharmaceutical industry appreciates instructions, codifications and operating ranges, with a constant concern to ensure that staff skills are upgraded, so that each problem, however specific, is matched by a highly qualified person. This requirement extends to various checklists, from the PPE to be worn for a given intervention to the cleaning of parts, from the protection of surfaces to the anticipation of over-problems… not forgetting the validation of the intervention, granted (or not) by production, which does not restart the production line without the right metrology controls!
Understandably, everything can take longer and be more meticulous than elsewhere, which is all the more reason to ensure that the memory and intelligence of critical situations are shared – via training – and accessible – via CMMS. Everything a technician needs to intervene in the most meticulous, hygienic and safe conditions is accessible via the CMMS mobile application.
In this high-stakes sector, where international standards and certifications are paramount (such as FDA 21CFRPart11), CMMS enables auditors to check traceability, equipment identification, history and parts flows. As a result, it can be used to justify compliance with procedures in the event of a problem. And to serve other imperatives, such as site security against malicious intrusion or patent infringement.
“Data, hyper-precision, rules, controls, an obsession with quality and the challenge of getting things up and running as quickly as possible, despite all these constraints! CARL Berger-Levrault and the pharmaceutical industry are made for each other, and our many customers in this field testify to this convergence of requirements and quality”, concludes CARL Berger-Levrault’s Product Marketing Manager.

Our CMMS solution for the pharmaceutical industry: CARL Source Factory

CARL Source Factory is our solution of CMMS dedicated to the industry sector. It has been designed to guarantee you the best operating conditions for industrial equipment, associated structures and the safety of your personnel. It allows you to manage your maintenance activities in real time, new works and regulatory diagnostics, monitor your service providers and manage your contracts while reconciling quality and budgetary control. Designed in partnership with major industry players, this solution allows you to addressing the challenges of Industry 4.0.