Honeywell to help B. Braun Healthcare double manufacturing capacity of life-critical products
Honeywell Process Knowledge System technology to drive production efficiency and manage quality at German nutrition factory
-- Manufacturing Business Technology, 6/3/2009 2:55:00 AM
Honeywell has been selected by B. Braun, a leading global manufacturer of healthcare products, to provide process control solutions for a new factory that will produce clinical nutrition and infusion therapy solutions.
The Leading Infusion Factory Europe (LIFE) Nutrition plant, now under construction in Melsungen, Germany, is designed to enable B. Braun to double production capacity of these life-critical products.
Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) will be used at the LIFE Nutrition site to control production processes, optimize production output and maintain quality control standards.
This is the second significant project undertaken by Honeywell for B. Braun; four years ago Honeywell was involved in the development of B. Braun's LIFE1 factory.
"Honeywell's proven technology and experience with LIFE1 made it the obvious choice for the LIFE Nutrition project, which represents an important and significant expansion of our business," said Thomas Gaebler, vice president Global Process Engineering for B. Braun. "The pharmaceutical and batch features within Experion PKS combined with Honeywell's ability to execute specific applications fit our requirements perfectly. We have also had strong service in the past from Honeywell's seasoned and skilled local team."
B. Braun will use Honeywell's Experion as the centerpiece of the LIFE Nutrition factory's production system. Experion streamlines production by allowing plants to unify process, production and business management. The system ties together critical plant subsystems, including process units and safety systems, and delivers relevant information directly to operators for improved decision making in the control room.
Working in tandem with the Experion system, Honeywell's Qualification and Version Control System will simplify system configuration by allowing B. Braun's plant operators to electronically manage and maintain the control modules. Meanwhile, Experion Batch Manager's embedded batch functionality will allow B. Braun to execute batches at the control level rather than using a separate server, making the system more reliable, less complex and easier to maintain. In addition, Honeywell's Uniformance PHD will help provide a flexible environment for the collection, storage, and analysis of process data. The PHD architecture allows data to be gathered from disparate control systems into a unified database for long-term storage.
Finally, Honeywell will provide B. Braun with a wide range of project management services and system training courses.
"The construction of the LIFE Nutrition plant will allow B. Braun to focus on producing world-class life-saving treatments," said Edwin van den Maagdenberg, vice president and general manager for Honeywell Process Solutions Europe, Middle East and Africa. "The manufacture of clinical nutrition and infusion therapy products is extremely complex and requires the right technology to do the job. Our experience in pharmaceuticals and existing customer knowledge will enable B. Braun to concentrate less on the manufacturing processes and more about growing their global business."
Honeywell provides more information about Experion and other Honeywell solutions that improve business performance.
- Edited by Mark T. Hoske, electronic product editor, MBT, www.mbtmag.com
