Industries

China-based WuXi PharmaTech has announced construction of a new, 145,000-square-foot cGMP facility in Philadelphia, Pennyslvania, for the manufacture of cell therapy products. The new facility will be WuXi’s third cell therapy manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, when it becomes operational by mid-2016. It will provide single-source contract development and cGMP manufacturing capabilities to support the rapidly […]

Worry About Workload

by Bill Fester on March 17, 2015

in Industries, Jobs, People

Are your engineers exhausted? By Dirk Willard from: Chemical Processing “I work over 60 hour a week. It’s a contest to see who leaves the parking lot last around here,” I was told with a smile. I was interviewing for a job and the young engineer I was speaking to was the third person to […]

Position Responsibilities: The IT System Analyst position combines Supply Chain knowledge and IT system knowledge with an understanding of best-practices in supporting the Global Serialization Program. The role requires a strong technical and analytical background as well as the ability to design and develop appropriate business solutions. Recommend, implement and deliver technology solutions based on […]

The OEM Conundrum

by Bill Fester on March 17, 2015

in DCS, Industries, Systems

Committing to an expansive strategy around data, information, and advice How much should OEMs concern themselves with the performance of the other guy’s machine, on which the performance of their machines might depend? Minding your own business is wisdom passed down from the ages, but it might not pay in the brave new world of […]

Overview: This white paper analyzes the Dragonfly cyber campaign, looking at its targets, its methods of attack, its impact and what it means for defending operations from similar attacks in the future. This paper is designed to help the owners and operators of manufacturing companies better understand the nature of advanced cyber security threats against […]

This demonstration shows how advanced features in DeltaV Virtual Studio provide for high availability and disaster recovery. Varying levels of availability protection in this demonstration show how DeltaV Virtual Studio ensures your system stays up and running or minimizes recovery time in a disaster event. Watch and learn more.  

What’s Your Story?

by Bill Fester on September 26, 2014

in Industries, Jobs, People, Uncategorized

In reading job description after job description and resume after resume for decades now,  I’ve come to the realization that most fall far short. The job descriptions in most cases have no relationship to what someone is going to be doing on any given Wednesday afternoon. There’s plenty of vague talk about teamwork and good […]

Current available opportunities

by Bill Fester on September 11, 2014

in DCS, Emerson DeltaV, Jobs, Pharmaceutical

Current needs for DeltaV applications and programming include: Three opportunities for a DeltaV programmer with experience in creating code for pharmaceutical processes. Requires someone familiar with batch code writing on a DeltaV system with a very strong preference for someone with previous pharmaceutical experience. This is a contract role and my last for six months […]

Automation and Control in the Plant of the Future

by Bill Fester on September 11, 2014

in DCS, Industries, Systems

Sept 11, 2014 “It’s an interesting time in our industry, and not an entirely happy one,” said Walt Boyes, principal, Spitzer & Boyes, to open his keynote speech today at the Yokogawa Users Group Conference and Exhibition in Houston. “Changes are coming; changes are here, and all at once. Our traditional slow movement in adopting […]

What’s Old is New Again SCADA system helps Merck KGaA, the world’s oldest pharma firm, meet new European and U.S. regulations at its Merck & Cie plant In the pharmaceutical industry, the chemical integrity of compounds relies on the strict control of hundreds of variables from air humidity and freezer temperatures to mixing times. Compounds […]