Shane McLaughlin

All sections of the life sciences sector understand the need to evolve operations using the cutting-edge technologies, processes, and best practices that come under the smart manufacturing umbrella. However, it’s important to take a structured approach, with a carefully developed and implemented smart manufacturing strategy. In this blog, we’ll look at why it is important …

Smart Manufacturing Strategy Overview for the Life Sciences Sector Read More »

There are a number of challenges facing the pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing industries. Those challenges include labour shortages and developing supply chain resilience. There is also an increasing requirement to become more agile, where production facilities can react faster to changing demands and expectations. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies also have to deal with …

How Automation Can Address the Challenges in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing Read More »

Moving your business closer to becoming a Smart Factory is widely regarded as essential to continuing competitiveness and profitability. Driving efficiency savings, making productivity gains, dealing with skills shortages – these are just some of the challenges that manufacturers face, all of which can be considerably mitigated with Smart Factory solutions. How do you get …

The Essential Steps in Your Smart Factory Evolution Read More »

It is common to look at the trends that will impact smart manufacturing over the next 12 months and beyond at this time of year. We are in unprecedented times, though, making the manufacturing trends that will impact the life sciences sector in 2021 even more important. Here are some of the key points you …

Top Smart Factory Trends in 2021 for the Life Sciences Sector Read More »

Two concepts known as vertical integration and horizontal integration are key to moving your manufacturing facility closer to an optimised Industry 4.0 operation. We discussed the benefits of Industry 4.0 vertical integration in another blog. Here, we’ll look at the advantages and benefits of Industry 4.0 horizontal integration. Let’s start with a recap – what …

Advantages and Benefits of Industry 4.0 Horizontal Integration for Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Manufacturers Read More »

Vertical integration is about converging OT (operational technology) and IT (information technology) in your business, in addition to integrating processes and other systems across different departments and business units. In its most advanced form, it involves all aspects of the business, from factory floor systems and processes to the ERP (enterprise resource planning) platform, CRM …

Benefits of Industry 4.0 Vertical Integration – Where OT and IT Converge Read More »

In an Industry 4.0 context, horizontal and vertical integration offers substantial benefits to pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. These benefits include everything from improved agility and flexibility to enhanced productivity, decision-making, and competitiveness. Horizontal and vertical integration delivers these benefits by achieving unprecedented levels of alignment across entire organisational ecosystems, from the factory floor to …

Horizontal and Vertical Integration in Industry 4.0 for Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturers Read More »

In a previous blog, we outlined what the digital supply chain looks like in the Industry 4.0 era. To briefly recap, it is not just about operating digitally – communicating digitally, analysing data digitally, etc. Instead, it is about connecting all elements in your supply chain in real-time, providing you with simultaneous and instant communication …

How Developing a Digital Supply Chain Will Improve Your Business Read More »

Traditionally, supply chain management was a back-office function in manufacturing businesses. It was important, of course, particularly in regulated sectors like pharmaceuticals and MedTech, but it wasn’t central to the performance and management of the company. In other words, it wasn’t on the day-to-day radar of C-Suite executives – CEOs, CFOs, etc. This is changing …

The Importance of Industry 4.0’s Digital Supply Chain Read More »

Digital transformation is both an opportunity and a challenge for businesses in all industries. If you are in the pharmaceutical or medical device industries, what does digital transformation mean in the current trading and regulatory environment? What are the next steps you should take? Digital Transformation – the Goal for Pharmaceutical and MedTech Businesses Digital …

Embracing Digital Transformation in the Pharmaceutical and MedTech Industries Read More »

Digital transformation involves more than digitising various aspects and processes of your business. It’s not about adding cool new tech or feature-packed software programmes either. Instead, digital transformation is about digitalising your business, i.e. transforming your production facility into a digital business. This means interconnecting processes within the production line and in other parts of …

Using Outsourcing to Achieve Digital Transformation Success in the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Industries Read More »

Skills gaps can arise in your organisation for several reasons. You might, for example, have a project you want to complete to improve productivity, enhance OEE, or give you better management oversight. Regulatory changes, temporary staff shortages, issues that need to be resolved, new product introductions, production line relocations, and changes in business strategy are …

The Benefits of Third-Party Contractor Solutions for Manufacturers with Engineering Skills Gaps Read More »

Batch manufacturing is the tried, tested, and trusted approach for manufacturing pharmaceutical products. There is an increasing push, however, for the industry to switch to continuous manufacturing. A key driver of this push is the FDA – the Food and Drug Administration in the US. The FDA believes continuous manufacturing improves product quality, reduces medicine …

Continuous Manufacturing vs Batch Manufacturing in the Pharmaceutical Industry Read More »

One of the most important changes occurring in manufacturing at the moment is the convergence of IT and OT. This needs to be not only on your radar, but part of your current plans for improving your business today and helping you stay competitive in the future. In most manufacturing businesses, there are two types …

The Convergence of IT and OT – Giving You a Competitive Edge Read More »

Digitalisation (digitalization) is a process that results in the digital transformation of a business. It involves moving passed digitisation (digitization) – way beyond digitisation, in fact. With digitALISAtion, you don’t simply move from using paper-based systems to digital systems. Instead, you transform your business, blending the physical world with the digital world so they effectively …

The Business Opportunities of Digitalisation and Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Read More »

Like all manufacturers, companies in regulated sectors must innovate and improve their manufacturing processes to remain competitive. Driving efficiencies and increasing productivity levels are ongoing objectives. In addition to this drive to remain competitive, manufacturers in regulated industries must deal with the added burden of compliance. Also, requirements in many heavily regulated industries are changing …

A New Approach to Delivering Bespoke Software Solutions to the Regulated Sector Read More »

The way your manufacturing facility processes data is becoming more and more important. This is true of manufacturers in all industries as consumer demands increase and competition becomes more advanced. Data processing is particularly important, however, in heavily regulated industries, such as the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. In these industries, the benefits of automating …

Benefits of Automating Regulatory Compliant Data Processes Read More »

Turning factories into smart factories is a key consideration for everyone in manufacturing. After all, Industry 4.0 promises significant benefits in terms of efficiency savings, productivity improvements, and enhanced business intelligence. What next step can you take, however, that will help turn your manufacturing facility into a smart factory? TOTALsolution is the answer. TOTALsolution is …

Video – The Smart Way to Make Your Factory Smarter Read More »

How long do batch changeovers take on your production lines? These processes should not take longer than a minute or two. What about ensuring batch traceability? Are your current batch traceability systems inefficient, open to errors, and time-consuming? You should have an automated process that provides instant and full traceability on every product and batch. …

Video – Automating Batch Changeovers and Traceability Read More »

Data has never been more important than it is today. It is how you use that data, however, that will determine the success of your production lines in the future. It is crucial to have integrated systems so that data from one machine or process can be read and used by other machines. This should …

Video – Making Data Work in Your Business Across Multiple Manufacturing Facilities Read More »

Integration, automation, and making better use of data – these are items on the agenda of most manufacturing facilities in Ireland. They apply in all industries, but they are particularly important in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and food and beverage industries, not least because of compliance and regulatory pressures. Taking it a stage further, most …

The National Manufacturing Exhibition – Addressing Industry Challenges Read More »

It’s that time of year again – planning, prioritising, and setting budgets for your plant for the coming year. What are you going to budget for in 2018? You will, of course, have similar priorities that you always have in your yearly plans and budgets – productivity gains, efficiency savings, capital equipment investment, staffing and …

Staying Competitive – 4 Things You Need to Consider in Your 2018 Budget Read More »