Pharma companies are looking to embrace technology and prepare for the future by moving to paperless systems which reduce the administrative time of operators, time which can be spent instead on process improvements and problem-solving.
ANT systems allow pharma companies to increase overall capacity & productivity, reduce non-value adding paperwork and improve MTTR & MTBF, ensuring accurate data and analyses, a common view on production activities, reporting off all packaging stoppages, improving performance dialogue and empowering supervisors, operators, and technicians. Example of 1-year ROI:
An example of administrative savings made thanks to ANT is how one pharma plant with 10 packing lines saved up to 4,000 hrs by removing the need to complete OEE performance sheets and instead rely on ANT Digital Performance Management.
The automatic packing lines require a high level of input and service from well-trained operators. This is especially important today where companies face growing complexity due to the growing complexity of market mix and larger portfolios causing an increase in SKUs meaning more changeovers and more administrative burden. The less time the operator needs to spend on records keeping, the more he can be focused on machine operation, which simply results in higher OEE. The ANT system supports the operator throughout the entire packaging process. From production order selection, through changeover, cleaning, tooling assembly, primary and secondary packaging, to batch documentation. The production is automatically registered, and collected data helps in the analysis during interactive shift meetings.
Taking some of the best lean practices from FMCG and adapting them for the GMP regulated pharma environment can allow companies to maintain higher and stable efficiencies with the help of ANT Pharma Suite.
Manufacturing is a discrete process that consists of subsequent operations, like manufacturing of the tableting blend – dosing and mixing, granulation, hot-melt extrusion, granule lubrication, and finally tablets pressing and coating. Digitalization of the entire solids manufacturing process, including automated batch recording as well as real-time progress monitoring, ensures the highest efficiency and time predictability of the production of tablets. ANT Pharma Suite digitalizes the entire bulk manufacturing process.
The high standards in sterility required in injectable manufacturing can limit the operator interaction e.g. limited movement, contact, communication. The system must be as automated as possible, acquiring the most data from machine PLCs or external sensors. A large panel and camera with gesture recognition may be an example of the interaction solution with an operator. ANT systems enable improvements while meeting tough requirements.
10 bln tablets produced and packed yearly
4 bln ampoules and eye drops filled yearly
1,3 bln tubes of creams and toothpaste filled every year
90 packing lines with ANT System
ANT FMCG Suite is a solution dedicated to the beverage, food, brewing, spirits, tobacco, cosmetics, household chemicals, hygiene, and other similar industries.
Today’s FMCG companies are looking for solutions that improve the efficiency of processes and bring savings.
High-volume production became more complex. The number of SKUs grows permanently and the volume of the single series becomes lower, which requires even higher reliability in production planning and execution.
Most often, the savings are obtained by reduction of the stoppages, minimization of material waste and rejects, optimization of the number of line workers or by the implementation of paperless solutions.
ANT FMCG ensures reliability and repeatability of operations which results in predictable OEE. Example of 1-year ROI:
The beer bottling line of capacity 60,000 b / h, pours 100 hl per shift more. This is the result of the implementation of the ANT system, which made the line work is smooth, the number of downtimes is much smaller, and the response time of operators and maintenance technicians is much faster.
ANT FMCG Suite ensures uninterrupted operation of the bottling line and timely execution of orders, changeovers, CIP and maintenance. The system monitors the entire filling process on an ongoing basis and informs in advance about potential interruptions, enforcing preventive actions, such as delivering of empty bottles or cans, carton caps, and labels, unblocking of bottle jams, switching the tank due to low product levels or requesting urgent collection of ready pallets. Operators confirm every task and operation in the system, which guarantees repeatability and compliance with procedures. ANT System ensures that every production order is completed due to schedule.
Waste elimination is a key strategy to improve efficiency in the food industry. A simple ROI example: The cookie baking line generates losses when the waste exceeds the level of a few percent only. Blocking of the packaging machine may result in the rejection of baked cookies, and even worse, in the rejection of the cookies enriched with chocolate. The baking process cannot be stopped, but monitoring of the buffers between machines allows the system to return the dough before the oven, and even before enrichment. At the same time, the monitoring of overweighting allows the system to adjust enrichment settings. Only these two example solutions bring significant savings during the year. ANT FMCG Suite allows you to limit the losses.
Production of cosmetics, as well as the production of household chemicals and hygiene products, becomes more and more similar to pharma. The list of products manufactured in accordance with GMP regulations grows permanently. The companies implement ANT FMCG Suite to meet the regulations and to keep the highest efficiency as well as the expected margin. The packaging process in cosmetics is usually a little bit more complicated. The lines consist of a higher number of machines, performing advanced operations to pack the products into elegant boxes. ANT FMCG Suite is a proven solution in toothpaste, creams, shampoos, gels and wet wipes manufacturing.
Stop the stops! Every minute, the cigarette making machine produces 10,000 cigarettes. The one-minute stop is equal to 500 packages less. ANT Tobacco Suite with the MicroStops Collection Subsystem was implemented on 500+ SMD and FMD, OTPs, SNUS and pouches lines. The phenomenal, double-digit increase in efficiency, results in rapid growth of the ANT systems in the tobacco factories around the world.
ANT FMCG Suite in the flexible packaging industry covers the entire process, from the production of the basic semi-finished product in reels, cutting, longitudinal cutting, rewinding, punching, printing, surface treatment, to forming of finished packaging. Production volume is calculated in meters or square meters and is assigned to reels of different widths, which requires flexible conversion options. A different approach is required for injection molding, can pressing, and glass bottle production. Production is quantified per piece, but many pieces can be made in one cycle, depending on the type of form and availability of nests. High-volume production, high speed, continuous and stops-sensitive processes, quality control on-the-fly and a large number of custom end-product presentations (SKUs) are the example challenges we are overcoming.
“Glass manufacturing is a high-temperature, energy-using activity which constitutes a constant economic and environmental challenge for the glass industries to keep energy use to a minimum. It provides a natural incentive towards finding the best innovative energy-efficient manufacturing processes as energy accounts for a significant share of production costs.” source: glassallianceeurope.eu The production of glass containers can be optimized thanks to the ANT FMCG Suite system, which oversees operations, starting from forming to cold end processing. The goal of the system is to ensure the highest OEE for bottle production to maximize the utilization of energy consumed in the glass melting process.
2 bln cigarettes produced daily
100 mln bottles of spring water shipped monthly
360 mln bottles of spring water poured monthly
600 mln cookies baked monthly
500 cigarettes production lines with ANT System
ANT Automotive Suite is a solution dedicated for plants producing parts for the automotive and aviation industries.
Such plants are characterized by a variety of processes. It can be discrete production, automated assembly lines, manual stations or their combination.
In this case, the system must be flexible and should support production standards such as: WCM, TPM, TQM, IATF, SIX SIGMA and Lean Manufacturing: Kaizen, Kanban, SMED, 5S, Poka Yoke, OEE, JIT, VSM. Example of 1-year ROI:
Reducing to zero of the changeover time by sending recipes in-flight increased the production capacity of the plant by 10%.
Interaction with the operator plays a key role in the monitoring of manual or semi-automatic operations. In ANT’s system, the operator’s touch panel is always deeply customized to the specific machine, ensuring real-time monitoring of production progress while maintaining maximum operator performance. Depending on the process, the operator scans the product barcode or RFID tag, confirms each operation (including POKA YOKE) or manually confirms only NOK. The system can also count the machine’s cycles automatically or ask the operator to confirm production progress, by displaying the expected quantities every 15 – 30 min. The operator’s application clearly displays the production orders, machine parameters, and settings, as well as the instructions and product drawings. ANT Automotive Suite enables the traceability of manual operations, making them really efficient and predictable.
ANT Paperless System is an ideal solution for manual assembly of complex products, such as car and aircraft seats, engines, mowers, gearboxes, electronic devices and so on. The system displays on each assembly station, drawings, component lists (BOMS) and assembly instructions. The control sheets can be filled manually or with remote measuring devices. Each assembly line cycle is triggered by the system. In case of difficulties or delays, the operator pushes the ANDON button to get the support of the leader. The ANT Paperless System ensures the correctness and efficiency of the entire assembly process.
ANT Smart Machine Suite ensures uninterrupted operation of the assembly line and timely execution of orders, changeovers and maintenance. Best performance right after startup. ANT Smart Machine is a software system for monitoring and production management of any type of assembly line that guarantees the highest OEE as well predictable lines work, every shift and every day. The State of the art system was designed to ensure smooth operation, configuration, and maintenance of the line and to support operators in correct problem-solving. ANT Smart Machine is a complete line control system supporting all operations and operators activities.
950 mln OEM, TIER 1 and TIER 2 finished products packed and shipped yearly
750 mln metal sheet pressed, lasered, welded and cut yearly
10 mln shock absorbers yearly
12 mln LPG, CNG and H2 tanks tested yearly
750 work centers and 60 lines with ANT system
Companies that produce equipments which we meet every day in our households need individual production guidance to ensure that the shipping product is complete and at the highest quality.
The main focus is laid on digital operator instructions with step-by-step activities and 100% paperless solution. With machines communication, production executes with automatized tests, which leads to achieve better quality and shorter tact time.
ANT Smart Factory provides a much faster production launch and better process control. ANT quality gates make sure that the products are tested and complete.
Electronic devices manufacturing is performed in the automatic or manual assembly process, with additional, parallel sub assembling and confectioning processes. The same plant can also realize specialized services like, reworks, repairs, refurbishments, reprogramming.
420 mln cycles on bending machines yearly
65 mln electrical tests yearly
650 mln shipped finished goods yearly
1,3 mln chosen laser programs yearly
Every second on the line is precious, while thousands of products are being produced at the shift. Finding the root cause of each stop is essential to optimize the process to improve performance.
MES with Advanced Productivity Management are the products of ANT Smart Factory that focuses on finding and categorizing micro-stops to provide real data about stoppage reason and to find the bottlenecks. Digital communication between production and laboratory helps faster production resuming after done quality inspections. The solution optimizes better components usage.
ANT Smart Factory brings new quality to monitor production, its OEE and hints on how to improve efficiency. While production lines’ availability is critical, ANT supports faster maintenance notification on mobile devices.
150 mln km winded wires yearly
550 mln packed bottles yearly
200 mln produced packages yearly
60 mln kg consumed material yearly
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