Executive Summary
68% of defects in industrial production are caused by humans. Even in interconnected and smart Industry 4.0 environments, human activities are a blind spot
There is a next-gen technology entering the market: Video-based AI error recognition technology makes the production process more reliable: It supports individuals in complying with hygiene, safety, and quality requirements by spotting irregularities in real time
In a highly regulated industry where minute errors can lead to high follow-up costs, video-AI error recognition, operating as invisible Cobots (electronical partners) prevents production delays, downtimes, recalls, recourse claims, material waste and accidents, this way significantly reducing error-related costs Video-based AI error recognition will considerably facilitate compliance with GMP requirements and improve margins.
“Image recognition is about pixel by pixel analysis in order to recognize a particular object. A new technology
is entering the market: Video-based AI Error Recognition recognizes anomalies and patterns in video data
and interprets them just like a human eye and brain. This new technology has the potential to disrupt
how errors on the shop floor are prevented, recognized and corrected.”
Marc Vorderman, Director Europe, Novatek International
Pharma 4.0
There has been an escalating need for an uninterrupted supply of drugs globally with new discoveries of diseases and persisting chronic illnesses on the rise. These emerging global needs will require optimized efficiencies within each function in the pharmaceutical industry, especially within manufacturing.
Clearly, the time is right and the industry is well equipped to face the upcoming challenges. A multitude of technological innovations is currently changing the nature of manufacturing across the globe and in all sectors. The promise of Industry 4.0 in pharma – Pharma 4.0, describes a smart factory: highly automated, adaptive devices and facilities, governed by control systems that integrate, monitor and analyse all parts of the manufacturing process with sensors acting as “organs of perception”
AUTOMATION FACILITATES GMP
Pharma manufacturing is a highly regulated, demanding environment with zero error tolerance. Minute production irregularities,
non-compliance to safety and hygiene requirements can have serious consequences. In order to ensure the strength of the active
ingredients as well as quality and purity of the final products, high standards need to be maintained throughout the entire production
process. Flaws and irregularities can lead to substantial production losses and severe planning and logistic issues, even resulting in
reputational damage.
It is obvious that increasing automation will support pharma´s constant search for perfection. Sensors measure parameters like
position, velocity, pressure, vibration, temperature. They will become increasingly important to streamline and monitor the production
process and provide real-time data for further processing and analysis. In this whole framework, optical sensors play an important
role. These expert cameras typically analyse and verify objects that have a constant shape, texture and form, by comparing objects
in a 2D setting; pixel by pixel
HUMANS IN THE PHARMA MANUFACTURING PROCESS: A MIXED BLESSING
While Industry 4.0 has its clear focus on machines, humans still perform nearly three in four tasks on the production floor-while
remaining almost invisible to analytics. Therefore, what´s missing from the automation conversation – though not from the production
floor – is humans. Despite their clear benefit – humans bring reason, creativity and problem-solving skills and continue to add the majority of the value in manufacturing operations. Their contribution however has one significant disadvantage: they introduce variability, which opens the door to errors and defects. According to the AT Kearney study: “The state of human factory analytics” , 68 percent of defects are caused by humans.
Traditionally, error mitigation strategies have been training and supervision. However, training cannot fully eliminate human errors. Supervision by humans is error-intensive, biased and insufficient. Minute safety and compliance errors can cause huge follow-up costs: material waste, production delays, recalls, reputational damage as well as health risks.
What brings human intelligence and the required scrutiny together? Cobots might be the answer to the high standards that pharma manufacturing sets forth: rather than replacing, Cobots augment the human skillset and take over the repetitive, accuracy, availability part in the equation
ABOUT ALEXANDER DEMMER
Global Research Director, Digital Transformation
Alexander Demmer heads up Digital Transformation at GBR and is responsible for orchestrating the content & connectivity on IIoT, Digital strategies, Indus try 4.0 and Future Technologies segments.
Contact: alexander.demmer@gb-research.com
68 Lombard Street, London,
EC3V 9LJ, England +44 (0) 203 6969680 hello@gb-research.com
www.gb-research.com
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