Retrofit of an Existing Process Cell with S88

Overview:

Retrofitting a working process cell that must manufacture medicine using the S88 standard presents unique challenges. Engineering solutions are not simply driven by cost-benefit analyses when working in a GMP environment. Gathering true user requirements for a system that has been in use for 10 years is not nearly as simple as one would expect and educating developers, management, and engineering technicians on the effective implementation of the standard in a design that is user-friendly requires more time than engineering the solution. Configuration management and revision control of nearly 70 modules in the development process while working with multiple vendors requires careful planning and a defined set of processes before starting the project. The business realizes many benefits from the delivered flexible system, but there is a price in ongoing documentation management.