Many industrial sectors now utilise the Internet of Things (IoT) to streamline their processes, but the IoT market has not seen the same level of growth in the pharmaceutical sector as it has in others. Here we explain how digital services can add value to the pharmaceutical production process.
According to recent estimates, the IoT market is booming and unlikely to slow down, with a projected value of £1025.08 billion by 2026.1 However, digital connectivity with the IoT has so far been underutilised by the pharmaceuticals industry. Over time, the high-risk nature of pharmaceutical manufacturing has created an understandable trust in traditional processes, and a corresponding hesitancy to embrace newer methods of working. In the context of equipment maintenance and service, this hesitancy has broadly been manifested as a reliance on existing monitoring arrangements and an unwillingness to streamline monitoring with technological assistance.
However, the most frequent justification for this reticence – that of the perceived security risks associated with IoT – is largely misplaced given technology companies’ acute awareness of the need for digital security in industrial applications. Organisations therefore have to be careful to ensure that an institutionalised aversion to IoT does not obscure the tangible economic and practical benefits which can be generated by its use.
Advantages of IoT in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
This economic benefit to pharmaceutical manufacturers is rooted in the practical advantages IoT can offer in the production process. Vital systems such as water treatment, purified water generation, and wastewater treatment can be equipped with a variety of instruments – flow monitors, pressure gauges, conductivity sensors – each designed to accurately monitor a host of metrics ranging from the chemical composition of water output to the mechanical health of the equipment itself. Connected in real time to a suitable monitoring software platform, this information can give pharmaceutical manufacturers a more accurate understanding of critical activities in the pharmaceutical production process.
Equipped with this knowledge, manufacturers can transition from reactive to proactive maintenance, and enjoy vital business benefits: reduced downtime, reduced waste from spoiled batches of product, and optimised maintenance costs.
Indeed, in contrast to these tangible advantages of innovation, an unwillingness to develop new methods due to perceived risks can generate actual risk for both the manufacturer and the end user. The consequences of unscheduled downtime or asset degradation can be severe, with an economic and potential human cost attached to production being interrupted or quality control being compromised. Equally, emergency repairs will always be more costly than those which can be planned in advance.
Introducing Veolia's Hubgrade Platform
Veolia Water Technologies’ own Hubgrade platform embodies many of the advantages which the broader IoT field offers for the industry. The cloud-based, fully secure Hubgrade Essential is an advanced cloud-based portal and remote management tool designed to maximise transparency control and increase operational efficiency. It seamlessly consolidates equipment performance data and service interactions into an easy to use, robust dashboard that can be accessed from any device, anywhere. It also provides regular trend reporting and alarm notifications as well as manual data entry for inputting information such as the microbial count, providing a holistic and integrated view of an entire water treatment system.
An extension of Hubgrade Essential, Hubgrade Assist offers manufacturers access to Veolia Water Technologies’ own team of expert engineers, who can offer timely remote analysis, support and technical assistance to make the most of the data generated by Hubgrade.
Ensuring Data Security with Hubgrade
At Veolia, we understand that data security will always be a key concern. For added peace of mind, Hubgrade solutions are designed to ensure a high level of end-to-end cybersecurity and align with globally recognised standards from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST). These include ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF). We also have a number of measures in place to protect the integrity and confidentiality of data including a strong encryption policy, regular cybersecurity audits, continuous vulnerability management and more, to ensure that all digital systems are protected from intrusion.
The take-up of IoT in other industries should act as an indication of the significant advantages available to companies who embrace technology in their processes. By utilising digital services, pharmaceutical companies can work effectively with water technology experts to reduce waste and unexpected downtime - and optimise maintenance costs which should save companies substantial OPEX costs.
Hubgrade is already being used by many pharmaceutical facilities across Europe to great effect.
Click HERE to read more about Hubgrade in practice.
