White paper: A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for

Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0

“Internet of Things” (IoT) and “Industry 4.0” (I4.0) are buzzwords in the process manufacturing and
automation world, with far-reaching benefits understood by most at a high level. But, what relevant and
practical data and understanding can I4.0 bring your company in everyday operations, such as monitoring
compressed air consumption, process optimization, enabling energy efficiencies, and providing preventative
diagnostics?

This article will examine simple installation of IoT in a pharmaceutical production environment that will help
with energy conservation efforts, provide predictive analytics for machine and manufacturing processes, and
help pharma companies reach ISO50001 targets.
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Compressed Air’s Role In Automation And

Manufacturing

Compressed air is a necessary component of automation in a Scharnhausen Technology

modern pharmaceutical facility that end users need to carefully Plant
manage. It is considered a clean, safe, and readily available source This is an actual example of the
of energy for automation and as such is commonly used in principle in action; many of the
pharmaceutical, biological, and cosmetic production. From an aspects of Industry 4.0 are already
environmental standpoint, electricity is required to generate a reality in the technology plant.
compressed air and therefore contributes to the environmental For example, employees cooperate
footprint. Responsibly utilizing compressed air only as necessary, in safe interaction with a flexible
when necessary, is a best practice for “green” operations. robot, which takes over assembly
tasks that are ergonomically
disadvantageous. A holistic energy
transparency system will mean that
all energy flows and consumption
in the factory can be tracked in the
future. And for service engineers,
alongside their usual tools, the
tablet represents the principal
working tool: with the help of an
app, they are able to detect and
rectify machine faults as soon as
possible and directly on-site.

Visit the link here: http://bit.ly/

scharnhausen

Typical Pneumatic Schematic

From a revenue standpoint, compressed air generation does have

an impact on utility costs. Efficiency and benchmarking usage
ensure control of future utility requirements over a facility’s lifetime,
which is financially responsible.

Further savings can be found in ensuring there are no compressed

air leaks in your systems that lead to wasted air, equipment
maintenance and downtime, and drops in productivity — more on
this in a moment.

The standard convention for monitoring compressed air has been

with pressure sensors on the air preparation units. When the
compressed air pressure drops below levels required, the unit sends
an alert to the programmable logic controller (PLC or DCS) letting
the end user know a problem exists. From there, the system reacts
and often shuts down; engineering or maintenance departments
examine the equipment, diagnose the problem, and perform
corrective actions. From there, production can resume.

White Paper “A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0” © Copyright 2019, Festo US
 3

However, measuring air pressure only addresses part of the

equation. Air flow rates and volumetric consumption have been
widely ignored within the industry. A new component, the E2M
module from Festo, brings air flow monitoring and measuring
capabilities to process manufacturers, furthering current
proficiencies and delivering new opportunities for efficiency, as well
as enhanced energy and revenue savings.

Two Innovations Combine For Smarter Use And

Monitoring
E2M Module

The E2M seamlessly integrates with any existing or new

manufacturing equipment requiring compressed air to operate. The
unit serves as both a pressure sensor and flow sensor for
compressed air, measuring the real-time flow rate and the
volumetric consumption over a defined period. Over time, this data
can be used to enhance machine efficiency and reduce compressed
air consumption.

Festo E2M Module

For instance, in a given manufacturing setting, the E2M shows a

system uses 27 liters of compressed air at standard atmospheric
pressure for a specific, repeatable process, establishing a baseline.
Down the road, the E2M shows the same process using 33 liters of
compressed air per minute. Though the system hasn’t failed, it’s
easy to deduce that the compressed air circuit has been
compromised, the system is leaking air, and this is also an excellent
indicator for predictive maintenance. Often leaks are hidden,
causing inefficiencies that worsen over time, which can eventually
become an unplanned equipment shutdown. The E2M provides the
data required for predictive diagnostics regarding air flow and
consumption, stopping manufacturing inefficiencies from growing
into catastrophes.

The E2M is also capable of performing leak checks downstream

between cycles. The unit will pressurize the pneumatic circuit and
measure pressure degradation to determine if air is leaking and the
rate of the leak. Further, while the system is idle or shut down, the
E2M acts as a master on/off valve, preventing air loss through
trickling.

White Paper “A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0” © Copyright 2019, Festo US
 4

CPX IoT Gateway

The IoT Gateway integrates into the Festo CPX electrical terminal
and brings the data from the E2M module, as well as other
components and modules, onto a standardized, cloud-based
dashboard for easy monitoring and benchmarking. Trends can be
analyzed, early warnings can be issued, and incident notifications
can be set up.

Festo IoT Gateway

The dashboards can be securely accessed in a web browser from

any device with internet access. Simple traffic light indications, as
well as graphic depictions of energy use, performance figures, and
historical data are available on standard predesigned dashboards.

Data flow for E2M to Cloud

Festo Cloud

OPC UA Optional

AMQP

E2M Module IoT Gateway 3rd Party Cloud

Internal within CPX terminal

The Gateway will automatically discover the E2M on the ethernet

network. Safeguards for security are taken, such as a manual
switch to control data flow to using secure protocols. It will
aggregate the data and send it to the Festo cloud using the industry
standard AMQP protocol. The dashboard is available by
subscription from the Festo cloud and can be shared further to other
dashboards.

It should be noted that the Festo E2M module can also directly
interface with other third-party clouds, such as Siemens Mindsphere
and Rockwell’s Factory Talk/Shelby platform.

The result is a true I4.0 solution that can bring immediate benefits
to a pharmaceutical, biological, or cosmetic facility.

White Paper “A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0” © Copyright 2019, Festo US
 5

Two Practical Installation Concepts

An important attribute of the IoT Gateway for pharmaceutical
installations is that it does not receive inputs from the cloud. It is
pushing data only, so there is no risk to a validated process or skid.
Based upon this, there are two installation concepts:

A Stand-alone Installation – outside the existing PLC/DCS, just

gathering and pushing information to the cloud. This is ideal to
realize the energy efficiency and preventative diagnostic benefits
with no impact to an existing validated process.
In this case, the E2M is installed in front of the process, skid, or
plant, usually directly before the air preparation unit responsible for
the pressure regulation and filtration of the compressed air.

It can be powered directly and is connected to the IoT Gateway (GW)

via Modbus/TCP, which will automatically recognize the E2M and
configure the data to be pushed to the cloud. The IoT Gateway is
installed in a stand-alone CPX terminal operating in an autonomous
mode.
Example of Stand Alone Installation Concept
Tablet
Computer

Festo Cloud Ethernet

HMI Festo Cloud

PLC/DCS
Single Direction

HMI
Data Flow

Fieldbus
i.e. Profinet, Ethernet/IP

Valve Terminal

Air Prep
(FRL) Pneumatics for valves,
actuators, etc.
E2M Module
Existing Validated Equipment

In this scenario, because it is not connected to the PLC or DCS, some

benefits of the E2M are not fully realized. The air leakage function
that measures the air loss between processes cannot be triggered
and the automatic air shutoff when the equipment is idle will not be
realized.

The benefits are in the simplicity of the installation, which does not
impact the validated processes and equipment, and it provides an
organization with a risk-free way to evaluate data collection on
operational efficiencies. There are no programming or
commissioning changes required at the PLC/DCS.
White Paper “A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0” © Copyright 2019, Festo US
 6

A Fully Integrated Installation – connecting to the PLC/DCS, this

brings additional functionality to the E2M and, in addition to the
cloud dashboard, data is available at the PLC/DCS for local
processing and analysis.

Ideal for new designs, this can be set up with an autonomous CPX
electrical terminal or with a full-featured CPX terminal that includes
operational modules for things like electrical I/O, IO Link, or
pneumatic valves. In the latter case, it is connected to the PLC/DCS
using standard industrial ethernet protocols like Ethernet/IP,
Profinet, and EtherCAT. Function blocks (FBs) and Add-On
Instructions (AOIs) are also available to quickly access E2M data
and capabilities in the control software.

For plants with a decentralized automation concept, having these

electrical terminals close to the process is very common. The
integration of the IoT Gateway in a new design is not very
complicated.
Example of Fully Integrated Installation Concept

Ethernet

Tablet
HMI

PLC/DCS Festo Cloud

HMI Computer
Festo Cloud

BiDirectional Data Flow

E2M Module Integrated into

Air Prep (FRL)

Pneumatics for valves,

actuators, etc.
When setting up and commissioning the CPX terminal on the
network, considerations must be made for the IoT solutions.
Walk-through guidelines for this are available from the Festo
website. Installing this into an existing facility would require
validation review, so this needs to be considered.

The benefits are the same as the autonomous installation, with

some additions: measurement of pressure changes and automatic
shutdown when the system is not in production or process. These
are configurable parameters, accessible from the FB or AOI, that
allow customization for process requirements. The HMI can also
have access to all the energy and diagnostic data for local
dashboards and fault handling.

White Paper “A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0” © Copyright 2019, Festo US
 7

IComparing E2M/IoT Features for both

Installation Concepts

Installation Concept
Benefit Stand Alone Fully Integrated with PLC/DCS
Ease of installation in existing validated
equipment, no PLC/DCS changes. Pushes
data only. Yes
Data viewable on cloud via Festo
predesigned dashboard Yes, with subscription Yes, with subscription
Raw data suppled to PLC/DCS via
fieldbus Yes
Data viewable on cloud via Rockwell Yes, with Rockwell subscription
FactoryTalk predesigned dashboard and Hardware
Data viewable on cloud via Siemens Yes, with Siemens subsciption
MindSphere predesigned dashboard and hardware.
Supply data to other 3rd party cloud
Yes, with subscription Yes, with subscription
Paramaterization E2M via Festo software Yes Yes
Paramaterization of E2M via PLC/DCS
over fieldbus Yes
View Asset Management Data (model,
revision, serial number) on dashboard Yes, with subscription Yes, with subscription
Access historical information with time
stamp on dashboard Yes, with subscription Yes, with subscription
Access historical information with time
stamp at PLC/DCS Yes

Measure current flow rate Yes Yes

Measure current pressure Yes Yes
Monitor pressure change Yes Yes
Measure volumetric consumption for a
define period/cycle Yes Yes
Measure volumetric consumption for a
day Yes Yes
Limit monitoring of pressure, pressure
change, and flow rate Yes Yes

Detect standby condition and shut off air

supply automatically. Yes
Automatic detection and notification of
leakages Yes
Will replace airline pressure sensors and
electrical on/off valve Yes Yes

Supports IoT protocols AMQP and MQTT Yes Yes

Connect other Festo devices via OPC-UA Yes Yes

Will support digitalization strategy of

company Yes Yes
Will support energy conservation strategy
of company Yes Yes

White Paper “A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0” © Copyright 2019, Festo US
 8

Industry Trends Driving The Solution

Monitoring and measuring compressed air is a relevant and
practical avenue for using IoT/I4.0 in pharmaceutical
A Successful Implementation
manufacturing. Many large pharma companies’ production
of ISO50001
initiatives — generating and using data for GMP, energy
Vetoquinol is the ninth largest
consumption and conservation improvements, operational
veterinary pharmaceutical company
productivity and efficiency, and improving revenues and margins —
in the world. It has completed a
directly correlate to compressed air use.
successful implementation of
ISO50001 in its Lure, France
facility. Read this press release to
learn more about the social and
economic benefits realized from its
efforts in 2019.

http://bit.ly/vetoquinol

For details on ISO50001 Energy

Management program, please visit

https://www.iso.org/iso-50001-
Sample Festo E2M Dashboard energy-management.html

ISO50001 is a recent standard that defines requirements, with

guidance, for an energy management system. The standard is
based on establishing, maintaining, and improving energy usage.
This is being adopted and integrated into most major
pharmaceutical companies. The ability to measure, detect, and
report air consumption trends and losses is a critical part of
achieving this standard and improving the energy performance of a
company.

The Benefit Is Easy To Achieve

The E2M fits directly into existing air preps and filtration units of
both new and existing process manufacturing equipment. The IoT
Gateway module fits directly into valve terminals, the Festo I/O
module, or a combination of both. Both products work over fieldbus,
HMI, local networks, Festo cloud, and third-party clouds, and in
unison to address manufacturing inefficiencies while providing
useful and meaningful data.

Easy and real-time access to compressed air consumption data

paves a smooth path to improving environmental footprints,
lowering energy costs, improving efficiency through predictive
maintenance, and, ultimately, bolstering bottom lines. Another long-
term benefit is that this is a simple I4.0 application for data Publisher/author:
Festo US
collection to understand operations holistically. It will help Craig Correia
organizations identify and quantify real value and allow further Director of LifeTech & Process Industries
E-mail: craig.correia@festo.com
digitalization strategies and investments to be effectively defined.

White Paper “A Practical Energy Efficiency Solution for Life Science Utilizing Industry 4.0” © Copyright 2019, Festo US