11 Ways To Increase OEE And Productivity By Automating Pharmaceutical And Medical Device Production Lines

By ESS Technologies, Inc.

Companies in all industries seek ways to increase their "Sustainability Advantage" as today's eco-aware consumers more often base their purchasing decisions on such considerations as a company's efforts to reduce their carbon foot print, incorporate re-usable or recyclable packaging, and increase their use of renewable energy sources. Any sustainability initiative should include the evaluation of a production line's overall equipment effectiveness or OEE, which describes, as a percentage, the performance, availability, and quality of a machine, a production line, or even an entire production plant. Growing competition in the pharmaceutical and medical device markets has caused manufacturers to rethink their assembly and packaging processes to reduce cost, increase productivity, and increase OEE. Many manufacturers have turned to robotics integration to accomplish these goals. Robots have experienced considerable cost reduction in the recent past, and they provide high speed efficiency and manual dexterity for machine loading and unloading, product collation, product assembly, product packaging, case packing and palletizing. By robotically automating one or more elements of the assembly or packaging line, manufacturers can increase productivity and OEE while enjoying a low total cost of operation (TCO) and quick return on investment (ROI).