One of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical companies discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets leading prescription medicines for humans and animals and many globally recognized consumer brands. In the United States, at one of their five primary research sites, they also manufacture and package a family of non-prescription dietary and nutrition products for both the American and international markets.
Problem:
The company’s production of dietary supplements requires the use of molded plastic Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) to store and transport product between mixers and tablet presses. Over time, the inlet necks of the IBCs had become damaged which led to an imperfect seal that caused dusting during charging. Additionally, the clearance height under the two mixers and the IBCs was different. This caused interference between the IBC and the charging units.
Because the company has established a commitment to operations excellence, they did not want to take temporary or stop gap measures to relieve the problem. They wanted to eliminate the issue by resolving the problem the right way the first time. Company philosophy also encourages manufacturing support procedures that reduce delays and cycle time and therefore increase productivity. The entire team, led by a Senior Project Engineer, was dedicated to handling the matter in a timely and cost effective way. The manufacturer turned to Gemco Valve, with whom they have a longstanding working relationship, to assess and address both of these issues.
In order to maintain optimum productivity while solving these problems, we worked with the company and decided on a two step plan,” Gemco President, Jim Lenihan said. “The first step was to address the damaged IBC inlet necks and stop the dusting problem. The next step would be to remedy the difference in clearance height of the two mixers.” Each phase was planned to be executed during consecutive regularly scheduled maintenance shutdowns so as not to interrupt the production line.
The resulting downtime spent on adjustments and cleaning caused bottlenecks and reduced productivity. This increased inefficiency affected production supervisors, setup workers, maintenance reliability engineers, instrument mechanics, maintenance management and production engineers—all of whom are integrally involved in equipment reliability issues.
Solution 1
To compensate for irregularities in the IBC inlet necks, Gemco Valve designed and manufactured a retractable sleeve and inflatable seal. The new inflatable seal was retrofit to the charging mechanism along with a retractable sleeve. Gemco Retractable sleeves are pneumatically operated and designed for the dustless transfer of solids from one processor to another. These two components working in concert, compensated for the existing damage to the charging necks of the IBCs, therefore eliminating dusting and improving efficiency. Completed during the scheduled December 2010 shutdown.
Solution 2
In order to resolve a clearance height discrepancy between the two mixers, Gemco Valve designed a custom built shorter valve to replace one mixer’s existing discharge valve. With the newly installed inflatable seal and retractable sleeve in place, the new shorter valve completed a redesigned discharge system. The new system resolved both the mixer height and inlet neck damage issues and eliminated the interference between IBC and charging units. Gemco Valve worked with All Aces Construction on the installation and commissioning of the new discharge system. Completed during July 4 2011 scheduled shutdown.
Value Added Services
Gemco Valve provided Cleaning and passivation of the equipment with Citrisurf®.
Sanitary wrapped and delivered by dedicated truck.
Custom designed vacuum dust collector as integrated part of equipment.
