In PMMI’s recently released “2014 Trends in Robotics Market
Assessment,” the authors noted that:
Leading the way for innovative uses
of [robotic] vision sensor technology are pharmaceutical manufacturers, who are
applying the technology to help with serialization. During the past decade, the
pharmaceutical industry has been working to implement item-level serialization
and e-Pedigree data transfer for end-to-end tracking and tracing capabilities -
starting from when the product comes off the packaging line to when it reaches
a merchant.(1)
The study points out that while only about half of all
robotics installations currently include vision technology, that number is
expected to increase significantly over the next five years. (2) As
a packaging machinery manufacturer for the pharmaceutical industry and a FANUC America robotics integrator, ESS has already seen a marked increase in interest
for these types of systems. Beyond the ergonomic advantages of reducing
repetitive motion for human workers, robots also provide error-proof inspection
and aggregation in track & trace serialization applications.
Robotic case packers and robotic pallet cells easily integrate with
track & trace systems from OEM suppliers. Faced with impending track &
trace compliance mandates, pharmaceutical manufacturers are turning to integrators
like ESS to provide vision-enabled track & trace serialization for packaging
lines. These packaging systems integrate scanners, cameras, and PC-based
software, supplied by the track & trace OEM, to read the unique aggregate
code on each unit they manufacture and send that information to a track &
trace software package. In a robotic case packing application, a robot
facilitates the process by holding an aggregated pack pattern over a vision
inspection system to verify the coded units before loading them in the case.
Once the aggregation is verified and the units case packed, the track &
trace system may also have the capability to print a label that itemizes the
contents of a case.
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| Robotic Case Packer With Integrated Vision Inspection for Track & Trace Serialization |
Track & trace robotic pallet cells work in a similar
fashion. The case labels printed by the track & trace system may include a
unique code for the case as well as information about the case contents. Or
alternately, the unique code may be applied on a separate label. In either
case, this unique code can also be vision-inspected while the case is conveyed
to the robotic pallet cell, or the robot could be programmed to pick the case
and hold it up to a vision inspection system prior to palletizing. The track
& trace software can also keep track of the pallet’s contents as cases are
loaded, and a pallet labeler can be integrated to print and apply the pallet
aggregation information.
The recent passage of the federal Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA, H.R. 3204) has given pharmaceutical manufacturers a clear direction
forward regarding the implementation of track & trace serialization in
their manufacturing and packaging processes. Many pharmaceutical manufacturers,
anticipating the need to comply with California’s now superseded e-Pedigree
laws, have already begun to specify, purchase, and install robotic, automated
track & trace packaging solutions. Experienced packaging machinery OEMs and
integrators offer an excellent resource to pharmaceutical manufacturers,
providing insight and practical solutions for meeting these emerging drug
packaging standards.
(1) PMMI. (February 2014) “2014 Trends in Robotics Market Assessment,” page 8.
(2) Ibid.
