From concept to completion
In a complex manufacturing environment, all the elements of the production process must be fully integrated. This is an area that Proscon has made its own.
In a complex manufacturing environment, all the elements of the production process must be fully integrated. This is an area that Proscon has made its own.
The company offers turnkey integrated solutions covering integrated process technology, automated design, control systems, modular construction, information technology and validation solutions, and has 200 employees in offices in the UK and Singapore as well as Cork and Dublin.
ProsCon has the capability to take a project through from concept to completion: from design, evaluation, selection, integration and construction of the optimum process system, through project management and commissioning to construction management, start-up and lifecycle support. Its design capabilities include intelligent 2D and 3D design with integrated database linked documentation. Three-dimensional laser scanning technology, hydraulic and pipe stress analysis enable clashes to be detected automatically, while clients can take a 'virtual tour' of the new facility and make changes as they go.
The supply of pre-assembled plant and equipment modules is one area that the company aims to develop, according to Ron LeBlanc, process business manager. These can encompass cleanrooms, pilot plants, laboratories, solvent recovery and process skids, both for new builds and for retrofitting into existing installations. The benefits include reduced build time, minimal disruption to existing operations, validation prior to shipment and the ability to incorporate last-minute changes to the design. And in the case of retrofitting into existing plant, Proscon can also integrate the process and control systems.
The company is a specialist in pharmaceutical control system solutions, offering DCS, PLC and SCADA platforms. It can undertake system design, engineering, simulation and integration, as well as full GMP and FDA testing and validation. It can also fabricate panels in-house.
The final part of ProsCon's business is IT solutions, covering MES, enterprise production management, electronic batch records, data historian/plant information system implementation & integration, and interfacing automation to business layer. The benefits, says LeBlanc, are paperless, right-first-time manufacturing; GMP and 21 CFR part 11 compliance; the ability to optimise process and identify trends; and using plant information to improve decision-making.
Among its recent projects are the supply and installation of a solvent recovery system and tank farm for a large Danish pharmaceutical company; and the implementation of a large automation project in the UK for a multinational pharma company. The company has also submitted a planning application to build a new office building in Cork.