Continuous manufacturing was a game-changer for the ability to deliver life-improving and life-saving biopharmaceutical treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Automation made it possible to make manufacturing significantly more efficient, helping teams to coordinate a full value chain to drive peak efficiency. Now, that increased speed to market has created a new normal. Expectations for fast delivery of treatments are higher than at any point in human history.

So, what happens when a process is extremely efficient but the drive for increased speed continues to rise? As Bob Lenich explores in his recent article in Pharma Manufacturing, pharma organizations will continue to innovate. Bob shares how more and more companies are beginning the journey toward autonomous manufacturing,

“New control and data technologies, robotics, and system integration solutions have come together to move autonomous operation out of the realm of science fiction into an achievable result.”

Software is key

While it may be safe to say that truly autonomous, lights-out manufacturing is well over the horizon, companies are still making significant strides toward such an endgame with highly advanced automation. Technologies like robotics, automated guided vehicles, and more are all automating manual activities that significantly slow traditional manufacturing.

Yet, as Bob explains, these technology solutions do not work in a vacuum,

“While the tools exist to make these changes happen, these new technologies alone cannot support autonomy. Such a solution also requires precise orchestration, seamless data integration and mobility, and dynamic process simulation to ensure the integrated solution maintains the safety, quality, and efficiency necessary to continue delivering treatments on schedule.”

The key tool providing that orchestration is industrial software. Teams will need to be able to prove successful execution as they integrate new tools to speed their process—including artificial intelligence—not only to validate that they have a successful recipe, but also to prove that recipe was executed without error.

Some of those critical software elements are already in place today, and teams can take advantage of them both to improve their current manufacturing posture and speed to market and to prepare for the more autonomous future over the horizon. Technologies like Emerson’s DeltaV™ Process Knowledge Management (PKM) helps teams standardize and collaborate. Bob shares,

“As a recipe increases in complexity across multiple technologies, paper specifications are no longer a viable solution for teams that want to develop continuous manufacturing strategies, much less autonomous ones.”

From materials and equipment needs to key operating models, DeltaV PKM replaces manual methods with a structured repository and collaborative platform. Leveraging seamlessly integrated digital software, PKM facilitates global collaboration, efficient recipe scaling, and seamless integration with existing systems, empowering innovation in pharmaceutical companies.

Moreover, because DeltaV PKM is designed as part of Emerson’s Enterprise Operations Platform (EOP), it seamlessly integrates with other critical automation elements such as the DeltaV Distributed Control System, DeltaV Manufacturing Execution System, DeltaV Spectral Process Analytical Technology, DeltaV Real-Time Scheduling, library information management systems, and quality review management software. Connected via a seamless data fabric, these solutions eliminate complex custom engineering between software solutions, making initial engineering and ongoing orchestration far more intuitive and efficient.

So, why today?

If fully autonomous manufacturing is years away, why would an organization invest its resources into automation technologies designed to move in that direction? First and foremost, many of the key technologies are already in use at some sites today. Staying competitive means adjusting to this new normal. As Bob explains,

“Though a fully autonomous lights out plant may still be well over the horizon, moving from continuous manufacturing to autonomous manufacturing for some critical product lines is not an unreachable goal. Advancements in technology— particularly inline analytical testing and robotics— have made it possible for operations teams to prove that the critical steps necessary to dramatically increase automation and reduce variability and human error can be automated.”

While companies could wait for fully autonomous manufacturing to become the standard before implementing emerging advanced automation software, they would be missing out on critical incremental improvements along the way. As Bob shares,

“Every step incrementally improves existing operations. Starting that journey today provides a greater chance of capturing the competitive advantage inherent in autonomous operations, while delivering technologies that will transform a plant’s current operations for more efficiency, safety, and quality— a win-win at every stage.”

Bob digs deeper into the individual technologies that are part of an emerging autonomous manufacturing landscape and shares more insights into how software will impact biopharma organizations in the full article over at Pharma Manufacturing. Read the article in its entirety to gain even more insight into the exciting future just visible over the horizon.