Metronik a partner of the PharmaTalk 2019
We are proud to be one of the partners and the participants at the PharmaTALK EU 2019 sold out event. Conference to be held on 4 and 5 June 2019 at Titanic Chaussee Hotel in Berlin, Germany.
Metronik's state-of-the-art solutions have been recognized by pharmaceutical manufacturing community as being able to significantly improve operational excellence, manufacturing efficiency, production data integrity, process management and control, regulatory compliance and help to achieve business goals through Industry 4.0
More about the event: PharmaTalk is a leading annual meeting which brings together some of the most influential senior executives across the world’s Pharmaceutical Manufacturing community. The Talk will look at how companies and leaders are driving change within the industry to achieve manufacturing excellence.
Metronik a sponsor of the Russian Pharmaceutical Forum 2019
We are proud that Metronik made a presentation as a sponsor at the Russian Pharmaceutical Forum 2019 (The foremost gathering of CEOs of international and local pharmaceutical producers, distributors and retailers). Conference was held on 15 and 16 May 2019 at the Corinthia Saint-Petersburg Hotel in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
Metronik presented its innovative and state-of-the-art solutions for automation and digitalization, which help its partners in pharmaceutical industry to increase their competitive advantages through improved management and control of their processes, identification of cost-saving opportunities and development of optimization initiatives.
More about the event:
http://www.russianpharma.com/
Metronik participates in the development of continuous biotechnological processes
Biological medicines are among the most significant achievements in medicine, since they are more specific, have fewer side effects and are able to cure previously incurable diseases. Slovenia has also had some success in this area: the first biomedicine approved in the USA was developed by Lek and the National Institute of Chemistry.
The main challenge in the manufacturing of biomedicines is their complexity; they are namely proteins produced by genetically modified cells in controlled environments - bioreactors. The smallest of changes in the cells, the manufacturing environment and the conditions can significantly affect the final quality and efficiency of the medicinal product. Even though biopharmaceutics is one of the most promising branches with the estimated market value of USD 190 billion in 2019, it is currently facing the lack of manufacturing capacities and the difficulties related to the transfer of technology from laboratories to the production level.
Metronik cooperates in the activities of the BioPharm.SI programme, which connects the top-level Slovenian companies and research organisations, as a consortium partner. The main goal of the programme is development of stable, high-quality and reproducible biomedicine manufacturing processes. The programme is based on the excellent possibility of launching the developed products on the global market, also via the Novartis network.
The foundation of the research programme will be the development of stable cell line, regular monitoring of the process parameters with newly developed methods and devices, IT and analytical support, modelling and simulation of processes that will be able to predict and regularly direct the manufacturing flow. Furthermore, the programme will comprise the development of a continuous process in which large amounts of medicines can be produced with small reactors on an on-going basis.
With its innovative solutions, BioPharm.Si will put Slovenia on the biopharmaceutical global map; it will stimulate the transfer of the research results to the market and offer competitive advantage to companies. Its principal outcome will be the patents and innovations, new products, services and technologies, more private investments in research and development, new companies, increased added value and jobs with high added value.
Metronik a sponsor of the AIG ’19 Conference
Metronik made a presentation as a sponsor at the AIG ’19 (Automation in Manufacturing and Business) Conference was held on 9 and 10 April 2018 at the City Hotel in Maribor.
The main topic of that year’s conference was Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing.
You could visit us at the exhibition area and/or attended interesting lectures at the conference, one of them was given by Milan Dobrić, Metronik's expert in digitalization technologies and solutions from Metronik, who will give a lecture entitled What will the OPC UA standard mean in practice and how it will help in digital transformation of enterprises.
Digitalization is the lever that can improve industry
The technical and business transformation of domestic industry is in progress. Dr. Saša Sokolić, member of Metronik's management board, believes Slovenian companies are on the right track, but could run even faster and be more productive and profitable. Read more about digitalization of industry and its impact on productivity growth in the attached interview.
Read the interview:
Interview - published in the Časnik Finance magazine - supplement Industry 4.0
GE Day 2018: Process data - the key for the digital transformation of companies
On 15 November 2018, Metronik organized the expert meeting GE Day 2018: Process data - the key for the digital transformation of companies, at the Hotel Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana Mons; together with the partners GE Digital and GE Automation & Controls they presented the technologies and tools for automation and the digital transformation of companies.
Metronik focuses on how to help our business partners to increase their competitive advantages with the help of modern solutions. This event presented methods and cases of good practice of how companies can increase their competitiveness in the market with processes of digital transformation based on advanced solutions provided by GE.
Krka awarded factory of the year 2018
Krka’s pharmaceutical factory Notol 2 received the prestigious Factory of the Year 2018 award from the Časnik Finance magazine. The Factory of the Year project highlights production practices and connects the production community. Good practice from production and business digitalization, the Internet of Things, production efficiency and energy efficiency are presented in the context of this project. Časnik Finance magazine explained that the expert commission awarded this prestigious title to Krka for its Notol 2 factory because among all the finalists this factory was most advanced technology-wise and compliant with the principles of Industry 4.0.
We at Metronik are proud that we as Krka’s business partner participated with our automation and digital transformation solutions in the construction of the Notol 2 factory.
Congratulations to Krka for this award!
Metronik successfully completed an extensive IoT project for Telekom Slovenije
Together with Telekom Slovenije, Metronik designed and built a state-of-the-art remote control system for telecommunications equipment of Telekom and roaming telecommunication operators; the equipment is installed in 191 facilities around Slovenia.
To ensure the smooth operation of the telecommunication network, all sites must be equipped with power supply, suitable air conditioning, uninterrupted power supplies, and a continuous control of the systems; in case of failures or problems this must be immediately reported to the service personnel.
The control system is designed on the territorially redundant iFIX SCADA software equipment which, to increase security, continuously collects data from all sites at two control centres located in Ljubljana and Maribor. Both centres have a redundant Historian for continuous data collection and long-term archiving; the data are then made available through the WEB server to the maintenance department which is dispersed throughout Slovenia.
Via the telecommunications network, the data from each site are then provided by 191 distributed PAC R1 controllers manufactured by the American company Opto 22; the advantages of these controllers are their high reliability, protection from electric disturbances and highly efficient communication options. In addition to the measurements of climate conditions in the premises, the PAC R1 controllers report also information about the consumption of electricity by site depending on the renter and supervise the operation of UPS systems and other devices, for example air conditioners, diesel generators, inverters, local batteries, access systems and door locking.
The entire system continuously captures over 40,000 measurements and data from all remote sites; these are then sent to Telekom’s supervision staff by means of a well-organised SCADA control system. The maintenance department receives warnings about any failures or problems in real time at any of the 191 sites; therefore, it can promptly initiate the required steps in case of an alarm and eliminate failures much faster than before. The system significantly increased the reliability of operation of the telecommunications network and ensured an overview over energy consumption for individual network renters.
The system uses the potential of dislocated devices for connecting and transferring data to the centre following the principle of Internet of Things (IoT); this is a good example of how added value can be created for users by means of modern technologies.
OPTO 22 presented a new generation of control systems, groov EPIC
Opto 22 presented a new generation of control systems, groov EPIC. Groov EPIC (Edge Programmable Industrial Controller) is a modular control system that combines the characteristics of a modular controller, a display panel and a communication device that allows secure connecting into the IIoT (Industrial Internet of things) network. The IIoT technology represents a revolution in connecting systems in automation, as it enables the direct safe exchange of a large amount of data between industrial systems and the IoT information infrastructure through the internet.
The basis of the groov EPIC control system is a powerful quad core processor with two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and two USB interfaces for serial communication. The processor is extended by a high-resolution touchscreen that can function as a display panel or a system diagnostics display. An additional HDMI output allows the direct connection of an additional external display.
The controllers are programmed by means of the PAC control software with flow diagrams and provide support for script language for more complex applications. The support for the IEC 61131 software system is planned and will be available later. Connectivity with other automation systems is provided by the Ignition Edge and OPC UA technology that is integrated in groov Edge; connectivity with cloud-based IT systems is possible with the Node-RED software environment and the MQTT/Sparkplug protocol.
The controller base is made of stainless steel and can accept up to 16 input-output modules in addition to the charger and processor. At the presentation of the controller Opto 22 provided a complete set of input/output modules with a signal density of up to 24 points. The modules allow a HOT swap exchange during operation, and the 20-bit resolution of the analogue modules ensures high measurement precision. The robust design of the control system allows operation in the temperature range between -20 and 70 degrees Celsius.
Swedish Ikea chose Metronik to build its automation system
Ikea, one of the best-known manufacturers of household items, will shortly begin to build a new commercial complex in Ljubljana. From the strong international competition in the contractor selection process they chose Metronik as the best provider for its automation system and the supervision and control of the electric and machine energy technology.
In addition to the excellent technical solution offered and the credit rating, the size and experience of the Metronik engineer team and many successful references in similar building automation projects played a key role. Metronik’s solution will be based on the globally recognised premium equipment and technology from Honeywell (More about the equipment), one of the best providers and manufacturers of equipment and system solutions for building automation. The devices will be linked into a comprehensive central supervision system to automate heating, cooling and ventilation. The use of state-of-the-art technologies will enable the control of all energy parameters of the complex.
The high functional level of this solution will allow Metronik to fulfil the demanding standards of Ikea regarding user/buyer comfort and ensure efficient building management and energy saving. The Ikea project helps Metronik to strengthen its position as a regional leader in building automation.
