UNIVERSITY OF SAN CARLOS OF GUATEMALA

FACULATAD ENGINEERING
TECHNICAL LANGUAGE 2

INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS

INTEGRANTES

CARNET

Erick Mijangos Cardenas

2011-14102

SUMMARY

This paper collects information on global trends in industrial process automation,

applied to the field of material transformation processes in the pharmaceutical
sector. The different levels of automation that can be of interest to the national
pharmaceutical industry and a reflection on the degree of progress for our
industry is selecting information on successful cases of automation carried out
from the academy to the sector arise.
Keywords:
automation,
processing, pharmaceutical.

manufacturing

systems,

material

INTRODUCTION

Automation has been understood as a technology in which mechanical,

electronic and computerized systems are applied in order to operate and control
production, physical consumer goods, also involves a variety of systems and
processes running with minimal or no human intervention (1-3).
Automation is classified in three different processes according to the
requirements of the production process, production volumes and variety of
products manufactured: a) fixed automation, are characterized by a unique
sequence of processing and assembly operations; b) programmable automation
or "batch", the sequence of operations is controlled by a program and changes
for different product configurations; c) flexible automation, where it is
possible to manufacture products of different specifications without loss of time,
attributable to changes and adjustments of the process equipment from one
product to another (Figure 1) (1).

Figura 1. Tipos de automatizacin en funcin de los volmenes de produccin y variedad

de producto.

CONTROL TYPES
Controls can be closed loop or open, in the closed loop control or
feedback - loop, the output variables are compared with the input parameters
and any difference between the two is used to correct the output according to the
input . This control system is the most used and is constituted by: input
parameters, process run, output variables, controllers sensors and actuators (4,
7, 8).
The input parameter of the system is the reference value or set point for the
output of the system and it represents the value of expected operation for
output. The sensor quantifies the output variable and closes the circuit. The
controller compares the output with the input and the required adjustment in the
process makes, reducing the gap between them. The actuators are physical
hardware devices that perform control actions (1, 9).
Figure 2 shows a diagram of mathematically closed loop control, where the
transfer functions of sending and return transfer, execute control activity on the
system.

Figure 2. Block diagram representing the closed loop control. (Y: controlled variable
represents the system output; x: reference value or specification, is the input parameter;
G: Shipping transfer function H: return transfer function.

AUTOMATING AN

INDUSTRIAL PROCESS

When the ability to automate a production process in the pharmaceutical industry

arises, it has been found that one of the critical points is the classification of
products; for this reason, it was considered that the products should be grouped
according to the similarity in the design and manufacturing process requirements,
except parenteral forms, which by their criticality, involve very specific
requirements for production (10-12).
To automate production processes in this industry, experts have used a
classification by production lines, as follows:

Solid dosage forms: in this group tablets, capsules, solid controlled release
forms, powders and granules, inhalable powders, pills and suppositories.
Liquid dosage forms: syrups, elixirs, oral solutions, suspensions and emulsions.
Semisolid dosage forms: ointments, creams, gels and pastes are.
Parenteral products include biotechnology products, injections, sterile fluids and
lyophilized.
Once the type of products produced a production plant and want to automate
processes are defined, you can select from the following options to systematize
and integrate the operations of the production plant is established:

Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS Flexible Manufa cturing Systems).

Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM Computer Integrated Manufacturing).

An FMS consists of a group of processing stations (especially CNC machines),
interconnected by means of manipulators automated storage equipment and
systems, which are controlled by an integrated system of a computer. The name
of FMS is due to its ability to process a variety of different types of parts
simultaneously, under a numerical control program on multiple workstations (1317).
The computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) helps the company in easing and
improving quality, reducing inventories, optimization of physical plant space,
reduced processing times and increased productivity through integration of
business functions such as: organization, planning and control (15, 18, 19).
Once you have selected and implemented the control system of a process, the
need to manage the data generated from this, the application of information
technology (IT) still needed, which allow you to create data structures an orderly
and accessible for use at different levels of the plant and / or organization (20,
21)

AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES USED IN

THE PHARMACEUTICAL

INDUSTRY
Worldwide , the use of these technologies by the pharmaceutical industry has
been classified according to the level of the organization where they are used,
either in administrative functions, integrated product and process design,
planning of production, or control this (10-12, 22, 23).
Group 1: management technologies that support the integration of the functional
departments of the company. Among these are: planning manufacturing
requirements (Material Requirements Planning, MRP), resource planning
manufacturing (Material Resources Planning, MRPII), just in time(Just in

Time, JIT)
technology
group (Group
Technology, GT
intelligence, AI), EDI (electronic data interchange, EDI).

),

AI (artificial

Group 2: technologies that support the activities of the plant design, planning and
control of the process and product. In this group they are: i computer - aided
design (Computer Aided Design, CAD), design and sketches assisted by
computer (Computer
Aided
Design
Draft, CADD),
computer -aided
engineering (Computer
Aided
Engineering, CAE),
process
control
computer (
computer
process Monitoring), aided
process
planning
computer (computer aided process planning, CAPP).
Group 3: based on the computer that are directly employed in the plant for the
production, handling and transport of materials and products technologies. Here
are: robots, machines , machine vision, numerical control machines (Numerical
Computer Control, CNC), programmable logic controllers(Programming Logic
Controller, PLC), automated material handlers (AMH), automated transport
systems (Automated Guided Vehicle systems, AGVS), automated storage and
retrieval systems (AR / AS).

REASONS TO AUTOMATE

PHARMACEUTICAL
MANUFACTURING PLANTS

The benefits of incorporating automation technologies in the pharmaceutical field

(11, 23-25), are reflected in:

Flexible production processes for the production of different products that

respond to the s current and future demands of the organization.

Decreased manual handling and intermediate storage of materials in

process.

Improvement and quality assurance and product reproducibility and

possibility of verifying this do the material in process; and reliability of the
information given.

Reduction concept JIT inventory levels, reduction in process inventory.

Increased
speed
and
efficiency
between process steps, increasing productivity.

for

transfer

Reduction in cleaning times and optimizing the use of critical support

systems.

Increased safety by eliminating cross contamination around and protection

for staff.

Eliminating product spillage contamination in the process.

Handling plant documentation efficiently.

Integration computer and control all production processes and operations

including storage and environmental control.

Decreased levels of accidents, for replacement of staff in high - risk tasks.

Improving the level of qualification of personnel operating technologies.

Although the reasons for carrying out a process automates tion in the industrial
pharmaceutical sector are sufficiently valid for some organizations the decision to
incorporate automation technologies into their production processes can be seen
conditioned by arguments like (11, 24, 25) :

The great variability is between the active and auxiliary early formulation
processed in different batches and the need to use the same equipment and
production line requires strict procedures for radical cleaning between each other
batches.

The type of batch production, characteristic of this industry requires the

analysis and quality control type "off line" between each of these.

The requirements in critical support systems necessary for the operation

d and technology, raise employment costs thereof.

In the case of the raw materials used in the production of solid lines, they
can present difficulties in handling equipment leading to radical changes in the
fo rmulaciones.

The equipment setup time in some cases are higher, because it is more
complex to set-up technologies.

The differences are often in the development of automated peripheral

equipment support, against the development of production lines, resulting in
differences in the production rates of the lines and very often to the generation of
bottlenecks in the production.

PHARMACEUTICAL

APPLICATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

The possibility of designing a pharmaceutical fully automated production plant,

allows operation with minimum participation of workers in floor material
movements in production facilities is carried out using automated transport
systems between each of the stages , the storage areas, packaging and dispatch
(26, 27).
The use of automatically guided (AGV), vehicles facilitates the transport of
containers or containers containing bulk materials in process and packaging

components, just to where required, on the basis of JIT concept; with this
temporary storage areas or transit areas are removed and the process and
improve flow paths in the plant material (28-30).
Containers devices, with standardized dimensions, are designed for the transport
and mixing of dry and granulated powders, between different stages, for storing
tablet and capsule filling. This development has led the simplification of
automated handling characteristics for transfer and adjustment processing
machines, loading and unloading, receiving stations, and container washing
material mixture. The containers may be provided with tickets of permanent
identification, which allow automated testing, using bar codes, identification and
tracking these in increasing security level, to risks of confusion and / or
cross - contamination between batches (26, 27, 31).
Containers with materials, are driven by the AGV in the workstation, using
pre - established routes, where they are positioned and automatic sealing station
is activated, ensuring a perfect fit between the discharge and the container where
it is received.
Automation production islands, is a concept that in this type of industry is
developed through the location of processing machines in individual clean rooms,
linked by discharges by gravity and return by vacuum containers dedicated to
download and stations reception respectively (32).
Each island automated production can be equipped with a programmable logic
controller (PLC), responsible for the process and automated control of other PLC
in that group. The master PLC, provides direct control for communication in the
system of the process plant.
This system handles all facets of production operations and directly controls the
low - level PLC systems, are integrated in this way and organize all production
operations (29, 32, 33).
A management system and process control (PMCS) directly controls the AGV
and computers wineries, emitting blocks transport orders and requirements of
production planning, also it allows to plan and implement production
requirements, data storage production , batch programs, monitoring of plant
materials, as well as the identification and verification of all stages of the process
(34-36).
Finally, the concept of quality that characterizes this type of production led to the
development of good practices automated manufacturing (GAMP), in which it is
oriented providers of automated systems development and maintenance
guidelines are presented for users on aspects related to personnel, validations
and quality assurance and software necessary to support the validation of these
systems (30, 34) documentation.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES USED IN DESIGNING

INTEGRATED PRODUCT AND PROCESS
Technologies of artificial intelligence (AI) are software development which aims to
incorporate knowledge of a particular domain in a computer system to perform
tasks in specific areas, which are generally performed by highly trained human
on the subject. These systems should take human expert information in terms of
the language used by this and make variables that can be processed
computationally; in addition, they are able to make the same decisions and
reach the same results and conclusions that a human expert (37, 38).
The integrated product and process (IPPD), design is the current trend to carry
out the realization of societal needs solutions in the form of products, including
integrated development of a product, since their need is perceived in the market,
until they meet the first functional prototypes of this (40).In the application of this
concept for the design is necessary to consider how as processing the
information generated in each of the stages (Figure 3).

Figura 3. Manejo de la informacin en el concepto IPPD.

Figure 3. Information management in the IPPD concept.

In developing a new drug delivery system stable, based on the known

pharmaceutical forms is sought; the process begins with the definition of an idea,

expressed in terms of design parameters and ends with the generation of one or
more formulations that meet the requirements (41, 42).
To advance product development activity within a production facility, are
alternatives in the field of automation that facilitate the work to the designer; Such
is the case of expert systems, neural networks and genetic algorithms, among
others.
Expert systems are constituted by computer programs which assist in the
decision making based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. The
development of this software consists of a database where information and
representative knowledge of the area and an inference engine which are
extracted and manipulate knowledge are stored in the database is stored,
simulating the process for resolution the problem (42-46).
Artificial neural networks are developing software that tries to emulate the human
learning process, based on the behavior of biological neurons. Neuronal unit
takes one or more inputs and produces an output. Neurons are organized into a
network architecture, consisting of a number of layers of neurons in which the
output of each neuron becomes the input to another neuron in the next
layer. Neural networks are trained with previous examples, this method is known
as "training algorithm" (38, 39, 42, 45- 47).
Neural networks are useful for modeling nonlinear relationships between
dependent and independent variables, so can be used successfully in fields such
as preformulation and formulation of drugs, where complexity between variables
hinders the rapid solution of a problem of development.
The advantages of neural networks are based on the possibility of
dealing with real - world applications, easy to work with fewer variations in the
data, ease of learning and adaptation ability to generalize, high tolerance for
failure, speed and efficiency , flexibility and easy maintenance.
Another alternative available in this area, genetic constitute effective optimization
technique used in cyclical processes, in which a sequence of actions are
executed quickly in an attempt to lead to the optimum search algorithms. When
genetic algorithms used in optimization, a function of "desirability" that provides
the optimal solution for a design specific formulation (39, 45) is established.
Genetic algorithms can use stochastic algorithms, in which the search for the
conditions that best meet a defined function is set; They are not susceptible
to the starting point, are fast and efficient, have the ability to find maximum and
minimum overall point within a set of information processing.Emulate the process
of natural selection and combination of different functions, leading to establish
the results approximating the best values.
The interaction between neural networks and genetic algorithms in modeling and
optimization of product formulations, can first create a model using neural

networks, it can be consulted or used for experiments , "if" conditional. The

model can be optimized using genetic algorithms, so it can beapplied to find the
best formulation within a range of possibilities (44, 59).

THE GUATEMALA INDUSTRIAL SECTOR, A LOOK FROM

AUTOMATION

In a study conducted in 2004 (48-50) was preliminarily investigated on the

degree of automation of the pharmaceutical industry Guatemala, representative
of the general behavior of the industry in the country and found that most
processes underway in the production plants are semiautomatic; this indicates
that some production lines have teams of high - grade instrumentation,
accompanied by operations performed manually, as in the finishing lines
(packaging and product packaging) and in the areas of supply of raw
materials. The picture is cupante preo because it was found that only 3.45% of
the study population, has fully automated production lines.
On the other hand from the academy (9, 24, 51-54), have advanced studies to
identify some specific solutions for the Colombian pharmaceutical sector, based
on industrial automation applications, not only for the management of the
production process, but for managing the information in them it is generated,
giving the possibility of including the components of a supply chain for the
pharmaceutical sector, which in essence is supported on two premises:
maintaining the concept of quality assurance and fluency of supply chain face of
increasing market pressures.
This situation has been reflected in the industry will be doomed to adopt new
technologies to boost the performance of the supply chain (55-58) while
optimizing the costs of their transformation processes.

CONCLUSION

From the above it can be concluded that automation should be seen as an

opportunity to improve production processes, while its correct application
contributes to the optimization of all the resources involved in a process of
transformation of materials.
In addition, it is noteworthy that most aspects of control in pharmaceutical
production are oriented towards documentation, compliance with good
manufacturing practices, and monitoring a production process for the generation
of products with defined specifications. Incorporating manufacturing execution
systems enables integration and sequential logic and production activities
organization as well as the possibility to continue the process and
keep it controlled, registering the execution of each of the operations carried out.
The implementation of control systems and data acquisition will allow
standardization of processes in the company meet quality requirements,
optimizing time and costs. In addition, there are advantages such as report
generation, data logging, handling of formulations, inventory control, reduced
duplication of information, constituting the opportunity to rethink the processes of
the organization and profiting on agility in making making at all levels.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MP Groover, "Production Automation Systems and Computer Integrated

Manufacturing", Prentice Hall International Inc., New Jersey, 1987.

G. Moreno, "Automation of industrial processes , " Editorial Alfa Omega,

Mexico, 2001.

Piedrahita R., "Engineering industrial automation" Editorial Alfa Omega,

Bogota, 2001.

Four.
A. Mora, "Technology of industrial process control", Faculty
of Engineering, National University of Colombia, Bogot, 1987.

Creus, "Industrial process control", Editorial Alfa Omega, Marcombo,

Mexico, 1999.

ATTACHMENTS