Smart RFID couplings 'best way' to verify fluid line connections
manufacturing operations is the safest way to protect brand
integrity by capturing fluid and product data from point of origin
through point of use, according to a top Colbert expert.
In a presentation entitled "Embedding RFID in Products and Processes," Rick Garber, a six-year veteran at Colder, praised the value of radio frequency identification (RFID), stressing it makes operations smarter and helps pharma companies minimise error, avoid costly mistakes and reduce liabilities.
"RFID will become a necessity in pharmaceutical packaging due to the increased prevalence and sophistication of drug counterfeiters," he told In-PharmaTechnologist.com.
"The introduction of industry regulations will require that manufacturers incorporate tracking capabilities into their production and packaging processes - RFID will be the de facto solution for them."
Garber, who is credited with building the company's RFID engineering and marketing departments and establishing its Smart Technology Business Unit, believes the market is still in the process of developing standards in the distribution, and the lack of regulation has impeded the adoption of RFID.
"The pharmaceutical companies will need to endorse the technology quickly to keep up with counterfeiters and new industry regulations," he said.
"Further, RFID tags won't withstand gamma levels associated with sterilisation."
Garber's Smart Coupling Technology is based on the automatic exchange of information across a quick disconnect coupling at the exact time and location of fluid connections.
An RFID tag is incorporated into a package where data can be stored referencing date codes, batch codes, filling sequence, product identification and product parameters such as viscosity and particle size.
A tag reader is then incorporated into a quick disconnect coupling using wireless technology to obtain data from the tag and then transfer it to a control system.
"There is an ongoing industry trend toward smaller equipment and tubing sizes, therefore, the challenge is to reduce the size of quick disconnect couplings in order to conform to these new standards," Garber said.
"Colder has addressed this with the introduction of a new coupling for microbore tubing and a new non-spill connector designed for making leak-free connections where space is at a premium."
Increasing concerns about safety make manufacturing traceability and lot traceability critical for pharmaceutical manufacturers, particularly as the number of counterfeits drugs rises, yet the cost of the technology has kept big pharma lukewarm about RFID.
"The price for a quick disconnect coupling varies depending on its characteristics and Colder manufacturers over 6,000 different couplings," Garber said.
"In applications where clean, safe fluid management is critical and where RFID enabled connections provide value, quick disconnect couplings are a cost-effective solution."
