How do you find the machinery that meets your requirements? It isn't always the latest and greatest machinery available, say experts. The capital budgets are, of course, a factor, and may make your wish list more realistic.

There are some qualities you just shouldn't do without, they aver. For easy integration into packaging lines, your machines need to be dependable, flexible, easy to validate, efficient, and compatible with other machines.

Dependability

Dependability and reliability are paramount in a packaging line. If you cannot produce consistent product with minimal machine stoppage, it doesn't matter if you can operate at high speeds or not.

Another key to dependability may be quick problem resolution. A diagnostic menu on the machine's control panel can help operators identify problems by pressing buttons corresponding to machine elements, such as a seal bar or a vacuum valve. Once identified, operators can replace the part and immediately bring the machine back into production, reducing downtime.

Flexibility

Greater flexibility in your packaging machinery is very critical. Slightly more than 59 per cent of its sample reported plans to order packaging machinery this year to gain greater flexibility in handling a greater variety of products and package sizes. Also, 61.3 per cent of the machines ordered by the sample in 2003 are the result in some way of a need to gain greater flexibility.

But what does such flexibility really entail? Easy changeover is part of the equation. In addition, some experts say that flexibility depends upon a machine's ability to communicate with other equipment on the packaging line.

Quick changeover requirements and minimum changeover times appear more and more in specifications these days. The firm provides cartoning, case packing, blister card, and other machinery along with system integration services.

Flexibility may also mean having a contingency plan in place. If your packaging line has four machines, each with 95% reliability, that means your line is 80% reliable. If that's the case, which it often is, you've got to have a contingency plan in place, experts suggest. With four units on a packaging line, for instance, you may need the ability to divert product from one machine should it fail.

Validatability

Rredundant sensors help machine users during validation. Time is also an issue. Delaying the introduction of a drug to market costs money, so you want machinery that can be validated in a short period of time.

Efficiency

Speed is important. Expensive drugs cannot have a lot of scrap, so you must have systems in place that operate at high yields. Flexible machines are not always known for their speed. But they could be more efficient than faster machines. Machines designed for rapid changeover may not be as fast, but they could outperform more dedicated machinery because they require less setup and conversion time. They could fulfill diverse inventory needs, which may be the efficiency your operation needs.

Compatibility

Compatibility could simply mean that the new machine fits into your line. There are lots of details you can ask your machine supplier to adjust, like height and footprint. The design and configuration should line up with your existing units.

Compatibility could also mean that a machine communicates well with other machines. The use of open architecture and controls also makes machines more compatible with one another, easing integration.

Source: P&MP News