Sirio Pharma’s “smart factory” optimizes nutraceutical production with AI and IoT tech

19 Nov 2020 --- China-based Sirio Pharma is finalizing a “smart factory,” touted as the world’s first nutraceutical manufacturing site run on automated processes and powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT) technology.

Sirio says its adoption of the technology, installed at its site in Ma’anshan, China, allows for unprecedented levels of reporting, manufacturing control, production efficiency and automation.

The smart factory brings “the fourth industrial revolution” to nutraceutical production.

“This technology enables enhanced deliverability for smaller production runs and partners – something many nutraceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations are unable to accommodate,” says Rui Yang, chief scientific officer at Sirio. 

“It also means we can better adapt and flexibly support smaller volumes of products and deliver them expeditiously to customers – or alternatively to scale up quickly.” 

“We are several years ahead of our competitors, but intelligent production management is the future of nutraceutical manufacturing,” added Yang. 

The 24,000 square meter Ma’anshan factory uses machine learning to continually optimize its processes. Smart factories of the future
The introduction of AI and IoT technology to the factory, which is being constructed in phases and will measure 240,000 square meters, allows for a number of advantages in the manufacturing processes, says Sirio. 

First, customers can monitor their products throughout the production process in real-time. The computer system also provides detailed analyses for individual batches and production efficiency. 

The IoT system gives customers measurements for final pass yields, equipment utilization rates, cost monitoring and order delivery. This can also allow for schedule changes and unforeseen alterations in manufacturing automatically, as well as changes in labor costs and materials. 

Second, the technology can optimize workforce output, materials and financial resources, says Sirio. By using computer automation, the margin for human errors is significantly reduced, as is production time. 

A primary example of this is through the use of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), also known as pallet robots. 

The AVGs are self-charging and fitted with collision avoidance technology, meaning they can overcome existing difficulties associated with the manual control of warehouse logistics. 

This, in turn, helps lower existing logistical costs by improving storage density, expediting transfer times and reducing the incidence of lost items, says Sirio. 

A side effect of this increase in precision and efficiency is reduced emissions and energy waste.

“Rather than build a conventional factory setup, we have taken the lead in the nutraceutical industry to look ahead at how connected technologies can augment quality, manufacturing and logistics,” explains Yang. 

Brave new nutraceuticals 
The smart factory comes amid a surge in developments of  “the fourth industrial revolution” that could revolutionize public and individual healthcare.

This year, US-based healthcare company Abbott flagged key spaces in which technology such as AI will create pivotal changes. 

Innovations range from personalized medicine to electronic health records and implanted medical devices. 

New technology is taking the form of everything from ingestible gas-sensing capsules that monitor gases produced within the gut in real-time to in-store genetic tests that encourage shoppers to make healthier and more informed choices.

By Louis Gore-Langton 

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