The packaging systems firm claims its new TIPS Advisor technology is capable of pinpointing manufacturing line inefficiencies and therefore can address recipe management, change-over times, component reconciliation, item-level serialisation, custom reports, and communication with business systems.
To create this new solution, the company said it has integrated Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) standards - a framework for measuring the efficiency of the manufacturing process, by breaking it down into three constituent components (the OEE Factors).
Pharmaceutical companies lose $15bn (€12bn) each year due to manufacturing line inefficiencies and, according to Systech, some are struggling to maximise productivity and performance while minimising downtime across multiple facilities.
The company also said that the efficiency, availability and performance of the packaging line impacts the entire manufacturing process.
"As a leader in packaging execution systems for the pharmaceutical industry, Systech recognizes the value of metrics such as OEE," said Joseph Ringwood, the firm's vice president of sales and operations.
"Systech OEE is geared toward the realities of pharmaceutical manufacturing and empowers these organisations to clearly identify the factors influencing productivity and quality, which are then more readily addressed."
Furthermore, Systech claims that because it includes OEE, its solution requires less training, maintenance, and equipment on the line.
In practice, the firm claims that Systech OEE is able to identify the key factors of downtime events, illustrate real-time production rate information, and classify and categorise rejects, in order to provide a clear view into the inefficiencies in the production line.
However, Systech did warned that optimised packaging line efficiency cannot be achieved by OEE alone.
"Continuous line monitoring and control is the only way to stop inefficiencies before they happen," the firm said.
"Long before a problem shows itself in the OEE analysis, it happens on the packaging line."
Systech claims that its new TIPS Advisor, unlike other currently available solutions, ensures "in-time" notifications of issues, so actions can be taken in time to anticipate events that would normally negatively impact line efficiency and drive OEE down.
"It is only this combination of big-picture OEE analysis and constant line vigilance that can deliver optimal line performance," the firm concluded.