Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2021. Read them in this 13th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Lights-Out Automation and Industry 4.0 Will Reach New Levels in 2021
By Dr Chantelle Kiernan, Senior
Scientific Advisor - Innovation &
Digital Transformation, IDA Ireland
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the
world in various ways but one unexpected result has been hastening the movement
toward Industry 4.0, also called lights-out manufacturing, in the
biopharmaceutical and med-tech industries. Technologies such as cloud
computing, AI, SAAS, machine learning, robotics and advanced enterprise
software are facilitating this journey.
According to a 2020
McKinsey report, manufacturers are reconfiguring their
supply chains and their production lines to future-proof processes, with
some companies that were moving toward
digitization now taking an accelerated leap in that direction during 2020.
Just as working from home and using
electronic technologies to connect remotely have become hallmarks of the
current pandemic for regular professionals, digitally enabled factory
automation has begun increasing rapidly in many industries during 2020 which is
why Production
Machining reported that shops can begin lights-out
manufacturing without making a huge investment and improve continuously from
there.
Many
American companies have long-established operations in
Ireland such as J&J, Boston Scientific, Abbott, Pfizer and more. Med-tech has been an early mover towards
lights-out manufacturing because of its impact on driving productivity,
particularly in a discrete manufacturing environment through better connecting
systems and technologies. The sector
that can have bigger challenges is pharmaceutical businesses saddled with more
mature plants and processes. However,
the impact of Covid-19 has, oddly, been a rare blessing when it comes to
accelerating deployment of the factory of the future. Top technologies facilitating
this movement are AI, ML and advanced automation and robotics.
For
example, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen, a pharmaceutical
manufacturing company with an operation in Cork, is launching
a project
there aimed at increasing capability for some of the active pharmaceutical
ingredients ultimately used in tablets, creams or injectable dosage forms.
Janssen is implementing robotics and advanced automation in which they can take
data off the line to get better process understanding, applying smart data,
analytics and AI to predict how the line might run in the future. The result
will be increased throughput, efficiency and reduced inventory.
Another
example is Novartis
and Microsoft.
At the end of 2019, they began collaborating on ways to greatly short-circuit
the long, costly process of developing new prescription drugs, utilizing
Microsoft's advanced AI technology with Novartis' life-sciences expertise. The
companies plan to use the AI for drug development, from research and clinical
trials to manufacturing and operation. An early focus is new treatments for
macular degeneration and new gene and treatment therapies for acute
lymphoblastic leukemia. Using AI will make these activities less costly.
The
demand for digitally enabled manufacturing to drive agility, resilience and
efficiency has been noticed by countries such as Ireland. To meet the
emerging need for next generation production resources in 2021, a new Advanced
Manufacturing Center (AMC) will open in Limerick, Ireland. Given so many
firms are doing due diligence on the operational requirements to support advanced
manufacturing, the AMC will focus on helping companies understand where they
might implement emerging production technologies and digital platforms in order
to transition current manufacturing into new generation digitalized operations. Increased
collaborations across industry sectors such as technology, medical devices and
engineering will be critical in delivering next generation manufacturing
solutions and will require the availability of next generation skills. Centres
such as the AMC will provide a resource for facilitating such collaborations
and for upskilling the industrial workforce.
The
Industry 4.0 advancements taking place among life-sciences firms worldwide
herald a lights-out approach to manufacturing in which intelligent technology
and advanced networking with interconnected internal mechanisms transform
factory processes. It's ironic that a global pandemic helped hasten the move to
tomorrow's automated factories.
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About the Author
Dr Chantelle Kiernan is a senior scientific advisor in
innovation and digital transformation for IDA Ireland. In this role she
identifies new research, development and innovation (RD&I) based
investments for Ireland. In particular, she works with global companies to help
them identify and implement innovation and R&D projects in Ireland. She can
be contacted on: Chantelle.Kiernan@ida.ie