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If you run a manufacturing facility, you need to know the difference between digitisation and digitalisation (or digitization and digitalization if you are reading this in the US). The difference is crucial to understanding Industry 4.0, plus it will help you develop strategies to transition your facilities into smart factories. The difference between the two …

Digitisation and Digitalisation – You Need to Know the Difference Read More »

Successful projects don’t happen by accident. Instead, they need carefully developed and well-established structures. At SL Controls, we use the QUAD approach. The QUAD approach for the successful delivery of projects is built on four pillars – Quality, Utilise, Accomplish, and Design. We are going to focus on the Design pillar in this blog. The …

Design – the Prerequisite to a Successful Project Read More »

There are machines, software solutions, processes, and equipment that can and will improve your production line output as well as the profitability of your business. There are also things that will cost money to implement but will deliver negligible improvements. Making a distinction between the two is the conundrum facing managers in today’s manufacturing facilities. …

Convincing Management it’s time for Machine Monitoring Software Read More »

The deadline for compliance with the new Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) is fast approaching. If you haven’t already taken steps to upgrade the systems and processes in your manufacturing facility, you should do so now. In most situations, this will involve an enterprise serialisation solution and an upgrade to your packaging lines. Below we answer …

Falsified Medicines Directive – Are You Ready? Read More »

At SL Controls, we have developed an approach called QUAD for the successful delivery of projects. Each of the letters in QUAD stands for an essential pillar – Quality, Utilise, Accomplish, and Design. We use the QUAD approach in the delivery of all our projects. This includes automation, controls, serialisation, and validation projects. QUAD has …

Accomplish – Executing a Successful Project 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 is central to almost all significant improvements your production line and overall operation will experience over the coming years. Industry 4.0, enhancing OEE, automating additional processes, integrating machines and platforms – all this and more relies on data. In simple terms, this means a machine putting out data and another machine or system acting …

Harmonising Data from Different Manufacturing Control Systems 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 »

You can improve OEE in your production line by up to 20 percent by introducing a new product from SL Controls, TOTALline. You can do this at a cost that is up to 50 percent cheaper than comparable solutions with similar features. In addition, TOTALline improves decision making as well as delivering business efficiency savings. …

Delivering OEE Improvements of Up To 20% – The TOTALline Journey 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 »

Serialisation in the pharmaceutical industry is one of the best tools society has to combat counterfeit medicines. What are the facts relating to this issue, though, and what do you need to know now about serialisation? Counterfeit medicines are a risk to public health. They are often not effective so don’t benefit patients. If that …

Serialisation in the Pharmaceutical Industry – What You Need to Know Read More »

Do you remember the dark days at the start of the financial crises in 2007 and 2008? It’s hard to believe it was more than 10 years ago when UK customers of the Northern Rock bank could not access their money because of a bank run. Then there was the “St Patrick’s Day Massacre” on …

The Boomtime for Construction Site Sparks Becoming Automation Engineers Read More »

You don’t have to look very far on the SL Controls’ website or any other material we produce to see we are vendor neutral. What does being vendor neutral mean, however? More importantly, what benefits does vendor neutrality bring to your business? What Does Being Vendor-Neutral Mean? Vendor neutrality is both a business approach and …

Importance of Being Vendor Neutral Read More »

Industry 4.0 is the undeniable buzzword in manufacturing at the moment. After all, it is easy to understand the potential benefits and get excited by the prospect of the smart factory. Making your plant part of the fourth industrial revolution, however, is much easier said than done. It is such a massive topic, in fact, …

Industry 4.0 – A Realistic Pathway to the Smart Factory Read More »

If you’re in a regulated sector like pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing, what type of software provider is right for your needs? Firstly, you need a provider that delivers bespoke solutions with complete flexibility. Secondly, you need a provider that has access to the right expertise and adequate resources. This means you need a provider …

Why the Regulated Sector Needs Bespoke Software Solution Providers That Are Not Too Big or Too Small Read More »

Serialisation is an important topic in manufacturing, especially in industries like pharmaceutical manufacturing. What is serialisation, though, and why is it important? Serialisation involves adding unique serial numbers to products during the manufacturing process. Those serial numbers must be globally recognised so the product can be tracked and traced and/or identified anywhere in the world. …

What is Serialisation? Read More »

SL Controls uses an approach it calls QUAD for the successful delivery of projects. This approach applies specifically in our field of controls and automation, but it can be applied to other software projects as well. QUAD stands for Quality, Utilise, Accomplish, and Design. Each of these elements is a pillar on which you should …

Utilise – Enabling a Successful Project Read More »

It’s Christmas and everyone is looking forward to the time off. All that’s left to do is to switch off all the equipment on the line, turn the lights off, and head home. How you do this, however, will have a major impact on what happens when you start up again in January. If you …

The Importance of a Controlled Christmas Shutdown Read More »

In the previous blog in this series, we outlined the four pillars of successful project delivery – QUAD. These pillars ensure major software projects, such as system automation and system control projects, meet expectations, complete on schedule and stay within budget. To recap, the four pillars are: Quality – the assurance of a successful project …

Quality – The Assurance of a Successful Project Read More »

Software projects that result in late budget overruns are never welcome. As a result, most companies take steps to keep tight control on costs, particularly in the early stages of a project. Therefore, the last thing they want to see is a big invoice during the initial scoping and design stages, i.e. before coding even …

How to Justify Early Extra Investment to Reduce Late Budget Overruns Read More »

Successful projects don’t happen by chance. They need careful planning, proactive management, proven quality control measures, effective design, proper resourcing, and more. At SL Controls, we use an approach to deliver projects that we call QUAD. It is implemented on all systems integration projects. It involves building each project on four essential pillars of success: …

The Four Pillars of Successful Project Delivery – QUAD 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 »

Successfully Managing a Consistent Supply of Contingent Workers There are a huge number of challenges associated with the successful management of non-permanent contingent workers. The high turnover rate of contingent workers has long been a thorny issue. At SL Controls, we have found a perfect balance and an excellent solution to retaining a contented workforce …

Blog: Valuing and Retaining Contingent Workers Read More »