Industry & business vol 1 issue 3

Vol 1 Issue 3

Promoting Manufacturing Excellence

â‚Ź3 billion investment in Irish pharma Life Sciences Food & Drink Lean Manufacturing Industry & Business Website:

Control & Automation Facilities Management Energy www.industryandbusiness.ie

I LIFE SCIENCES

€3 Billion Investment in Irish Pharma Capital investment projects valued at over €3 billion have been recently completed or are currently in progress across the Irish pharmaceuticals industry. reland has become a major global player within the pharma industry. Nine of the world’s ten leading pharma companies have chosen to establish operations in Ireland and twelve of the top selling drugs are manufactured here. Overseas sales from the sector currently account for about half of Ireland’s total exports. Indeed, Ireland has become the eighth largest producer and the fifth largest exporter of pharmaceuticals globally.

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Announcing Alexion’s expansion in Ireland were (from left): Leonard Bell, MD, CEO, Alexion; Taoiseach Enda Kenny; Julie O’Neill, General Manager of Ireland and Senior Vice President, Global Manufacturing Operations; and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.

the pharma sector here continues to invest in future growth with the emphasis on biopharmaceutical manufacturing, high end chemical synthesis and product and process development.

Recent and ongoing investment projects are of two types – expansions to existing operations by companies present in

The Irish pharma sector currently encompasses about 120 companies and over 55,000 people are employed directly and indirectly.

Established in the 1960s, initially manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), the Irish pharma sector currently encompasses about 120 companies and over 55,000 people are employed directly and indirectly.

In recent years, Ireland has been the beneficiary of strong investment in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The country has attracted investment in R&D, Global Business Service Centres and High Value Manu-facturing. Indeed, capital investment of over Eur3.6 billion has been announced for the biopharma industry in Ireland since 2012.

New Wave of Investment Despite the impact of the ‘patent cliff’, which has reduced export sales from Ireland and prompted industry consolidation globally,

Pfizer employs approximately 3,200 people at six sites in Ireland across manufacturing, shared services, R&D, treasury and commercial operations and has invested $7 billion in its operations in Ireland since 1969, including recent investments of $330 million.

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GE Healthcare is investing $40 million to double manufacturing capacity at its facility at Carrigtwohill. Pictured (left to right): Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton TD; Paschal McCarthy, Managing Director, Global Supply Chain at GE Healthcare; and Barry Heavey, Head of Life Science, IDA Ireland.

recently opened its new $300 million state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Dun Laoghaire.

Pfizer is investing Eur145 million at its Grange Castle site in Dublin, which is one of the largest biotech manufacturing sites in the world. Pfizer employs approximately 3,200 people at six sites in Ireland across manufacturing, shared services, R&D, treasury and commercial operations and has invested $7 billion in its operations in Ireland since 1969, including recent investments of $330 million.

Another company that is increasing its investment in Ireland is Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a leading science-driven biopharmaceutical company. Regeneron is investing an additional $350 million in its Limerick Industrial Operations and Product Supply (IOPS) bioprocessing campus, bringing total investment to $650 million by the end of 2017.

Regeneron acquired the former Dell Computer facility in Limerick and achieved planning approval in April 2014 for its first IOPS site outside of the United States. When the investment was initially announced in December 2013, a $300 million investment was planned for delivery by the end of 2016. With this expansion of scope, the Limerick IOPS campus will house the largest-scale bulk biologics production facility in Ireland.

Ireland for some years, and greenfield developments by new entrants to the Irish pharma sector. The expansions to existing plants are often for further product or process development.

However, other projects are designed to facilitate advanced biopharmaceutical manufacture, such as the recently opened synthesis plant at Pfizer’s Ringaskiddy facility.

Elsewhere, MSD at Ballydine recently established a state-ofthe-art product development facility co-located with its chemical synthesis plant following investment of Eur100 million, and Abbvie completed an expansion at its pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Sligo at a cost of Eur85 million.

High Value Projects Recently announced high value projects within the Irish pharma sector include a Eur722 million state-of-the-art, large-scale biologics manufacturing facility planned by Bristol-Myers Squibb at its Cruiserath site in County Dublin; and Eli Lilly’s Eur330 million investment in a second biomanufacturing facility at its Kinsale campus.

Capital investment of over Eur3.6 billion has been announced for the biopharma industry in Ireland since 2012.

Amgen recently opened its new $300 million state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Dun Laoghaire.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is constructing a new state-of-the-art, large-scale biologics manufacturing facility at Cruiserath that will produce multiple therapies for the company’s growing biologics portfolio. The investment reflects the increasingly important role that biologic medicine is expected to play in BristolMyers Squibb’s future. Bristol-Myers Squibb has maintained a significant manufacturing presence in Ireland for fifty years. The new facility, which will be on the grounds of the company’s existing bulk pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, is expected to be operational in 2019.

Also in County Dublin, leading biotech company, Amgen 2

Meanwhile, Allergan is spending $350 million on a new biologics facility at Westport. The investment will expand existing manufacturing capacity and also develop a manufacturing base for the next generation of biologic products currently being developed by Allergan.

In Cork, GE Healthcare is investing $40 million to double manufacturing capacity at its facility at Carrigtwohill.

Newcomers Alexion is a newcomer to the Irish pharma industry. Alexion intends to invest Eur450 million in a new biologics manufacturing facility in Blanchardstown, Dublin, in one of the largest investments in healthcare in the history of the Irish state.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is also making its debut in the Irish pharma sector by constructing a Eur50 million manufacturing and development facility in Athlone. This marks the company’s first ever construction of a manufacturing facility anywhere in the world. I

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I FOOD & DRINK

Irish Food and Drink Exports Reach Record High of €10.8 Billion Bord Bia estimates that the value of Irish food and drink exports increased by 3% in 2015 to exceed €10.8 billion for the first time.

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he Irish food and drink sector recorded its sixth consecutive year of export growth in 2015 as increased output in key sectors, favourable exchange rate developments and better returns for beef, seafood and beverages, helped to offset a considerable weakening in global dairy prices.

Aidan Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia, comments: “Irish food exporters registered record growth, increasing exports by some Eur355 million in a period when global food commodity prices declined by approximately 19%, the Russian market was effectively closed to EU food exports, and consumer sentiment remained sluggish across the Eurozone. This year will present further opportunities for growth in most sectors notwithstanding challenges from continued global dairy price pressures through the early months of 2016.”

Strongest Categories The strongest categories in terms of export growth were beverages (+10%), beef (+6%), and seafood (+4%). The sustained growth in exports of Irish whiskey, up by an estimated 18%, was the most significant driver in the beverages category. The growth in dairy exports, up 4%, occurred in the face of an exceptionally adverse trading environment and reflects the strong growth in the volume of specialist nutrition powders, which increased by 25% overall and by 40% to China alone.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney TD comments: “The food and drink industry has been a driving force in our economic recovery since 2009, delivering cumulative export growth of 51%. Irish producers and companies have yet again demonstrated in 2015 their ambition, innovativeness and ability to meet buyer and consumer needs in highly competitive and complex trading environments.”

Significant Developments There have also been some significant developments in the market distribution of Ireland’s food exports last year. The US consolidated its position as our second largest market after the UK, with exports growing by 40% to an estimated Eur755 million, on top of higher exports of dairy and beverages. Exports to China grew by 16%, maintaining its position as our fifth most important market and our second largest for dairy and pork. Exports to the Middle East grew by 12%, but exports to Russia and to the African region were weaker.

Michael Carey, Chairman of Bord Bia, says. “I’m delighted to note that the newly defined prepared consumer foods category, which includes a range of value added foods and beverage products, rose by 7%. When the added value components from all other sectors are included, this redefined category was worth Eur2.5 billion in 2015.”

New Strategy Bord Bia has also published its new Statement of Strategy, 2016–2018, ‘Making a World of Difference’. The document sets out the key forces driving change in the marketplace and the strategic pillars that will guide the agency’s activities in the period ahead.

It includes a renewed focus on routes to market and the importance of building its international market presence.

“My Department along with Bord Bia and industry will continue to seek out new markets and new products to guard against the inevitable challenges facing a small open economy exporting 80% of the food we produce” points out Minister Coveney. “For this reason I am delighted that Bord Bia is to open new overseas offices in Singapore and Warsaw to offer support and insight to exporters targeting South East Asia and Eastern Europe.”

Bord Bia has also announced the establishment of a new Insight Centre which will become operational in the early months of 2016.

‘The Thinking House’ will be located at the organisation’s Dublin offices and is designed to help companies successfully underpin new marketing and brand initiatives by ensuring the consumer is at the heart of everything they do. I

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I LEAN MANUFACTURING

Maintenance an Operational Performance as a Key Enabling System of Enterprise Excellence

By Peter Willmott and John Quirke As concepts of true sustainable enterprise excellence evolve it is not surprising that the emphasis has focused on what we have always known. True enterprise excellence consists of sustaining and enhancing the engagement and interest of our people in the work they do every day to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations. asily said but the focus now becomes, what are the system in the business we need to focus on to enable this lofty aspiration? What are these critical systems and how do leaders design and manage these systems to enable and support the appropriate behaviours and highlight instances where they cannot or are not, supported.

In any asset based enterprise the effective and efficient operation of your assets is a critical factor in the consistent delivery of customer value. Therefore we can consider our ability to maintain and optimise the performance of those assets as one of the critical systems within your business.

As a maintenance operational or continuous improvement professional you will still strive to increase the effectiveness of asset performance. Whether that is a single constraining asset or a linked sequence of assets on an assembly line or a service utility. The bottom line is that you will almost certainly need to do more with less.

In the Maintenance sense, this all has to be achieved in parallel with yet more pressure and demands on increasing environmental conformity, increasing energy costs and of course, zero accidents.

This article will address these perennial and topical issues by setting out to answer the following two questions:• What is the current perception of maintenance and asset performance in our business today?

• What do we mean by Maintenance Excellence and what can it contribute to the Enterprise Excellence agenda?

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Enterprise Excellence and Maintenance Excellence – Perception of Maintenance One of biggest problems still facing many of today’s maintenance functions - and hence its managers and professionals- is (still) one of poor image and perception.

Let’s imagine for a moment that you are the engineering director of a significant ‘manufacturing plant’, you go into the boardroom for the monthly site leadership team meeting and mention the word ‘maintenance’. Does the chairman look at his watch and tell you that you have just three minutes to talk about this (frankly boring) subject?

Does the sales and marketing director simply look out of the window, because it’s nothing to do with him or her? Does the finance director scowl at you as he or she sees it as an unneces-

sary evil and damaging cost burden, and does the production director get ready for a slagging match because he or she sees Maintenance (or the lack of it) as the root cause of most of the company’s production problems?

Is this an exaggeration? Well may be so, but sadly in far too many cases it may still ring some bells.

So why is there this poor perception?

Maybe it’s because the ‘engineering director’ have never sat down with his maintenance manager and thought long and hard enough about: • who is our Customer?

• who are our Key Influencers?

• how should we go about changing these existing poor perceptions?

The first two questions are relatively easy to answer: The customer is the manufacturing process and its supporting services. The key influencers are your ultimate sponsors- the production director and the finance director, quality director and ultimately the managing director.

The essential first step to change these perceptions is for the maintenance function itself to reflect and define its own purpose/objective and hence contribution to the business drivers of the particular plant within that plant’s enterprise excellence journey.

These outputs then need to be clearly articulated to the above key ‘Influencers’- NOT just in terms of maintenance efficiency (cost down) but also maintenance effectiveness in terms of what it can deliver via the elimination of waste in all its forms (typically the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) classic 6x equipment based losses, plus energy, environment and safety performance) to the business by aligning maintenance’s contribution to the company’s enterprise excellence journey.

The key point is that you can be apparently very efficient in your maintenance cost management but totally ineffective in its relevance to delivering the business drivers. You have to be excellent at both!!

What can maintenance bring to the enterprise excellence table?

Let us first take a look at what Maintenance can bring to the enterprise excellence goals.

Enterprise excellence system thinking’s impacts directly on

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the maintenance function and its delivery: • Traditional manufacturing (in theory) made it easier to release equipment for maintenance • However, Lean Manufacturing requires equipment to be available on demand -so the successful adoption of Lean will lead to the revision of the traditional maintenance process • The Maintenance function needs to implement plans to integrate and evolve its methods to meet the new demands placed on it by the enterprise excellence goals • Enterprise excellence can help the Maintenance Department to deliver improved performance, lasting change and raise the profile of maintenance as a value adding function rather than an overhead/cost.

Enterprise Excellence recognizes there are three main categories of work as follows:• Value adding activities (Activities which, in the eyes of the customer make a product or service of value). The Maintenance Response needs to be directed at stabilising and extending component life by controlling contamination and causes of human error • Non value adding activities (Activities which do not provide product or service features which the customer uses-this includes the 7 classic wastes.) The Maintenance Response needs to promote Focussed Improvement to analyse and remove unnecessary preventative maintenance, waiting time, and other equipment based wastes • Necessary non value adding activities (Non value adding activities which are difficult to remove but are essential to the running of the operation). The Maintenance Response needs to engage Operators in routine, front line Asset Care and early problem detection. Also to improve ease of inspection and reduce time to repair.

The key message to recognise in all this is that enterprise excellence and maintenance are both essential and tied partners Maintenance must excel in its ability to improve value adding

capability by delivering: • Stabilised process/ equipment performance to reduce unplanned events and waste • Optimised performance to reduce quality defects, cost and delivery lead times • Engage the frontline line team with the equipment and process.

Ideally getting people ‘geeky’ about the equipment and the process.

Enterprise Excellence can help Maintenance by the application of its proven tools and techniques to target the reduction of waste and non-value added activities by:• Stabilising and extending component life through controlling contamination and minimising human error • Analysing and removing unnecessary maintenance procedures • Developing standard countermeasures to common problems • Reducing the time to respond and repair • Engaging operators in front line Asset Care • Improving ease of inspection and early problem detection • Tapping in to an energising team based ‘can do’ culture

What are the Ideal Behaviours that support Effective Maintenance?

So in summary, the maintenance leadership team needs to redefine their traditional thinking to one of aligning effective maintenance to the enterprise excellence agenda, and then present it to its customer (Production) as an essential ‘Partnership for Change’.

There is no question that if we think through the above requirements thoroughly, there is a good chance that the ‘I operate you fix ‘mentality and the implied ‘I add value, you cost money’ perception will be consigned to history books once and for all!

Where are you now with your Maintenance Strategy and its role as an enabling system in the business?

In order to position where you are now in your maintenance excellence journey it may be a useful task to complete the following exercise as a joint evaluation with operations – namely your internal ‘customer’

We recognise maintenance excellence when we see it! (Image courtesy of

Molex Shannon).

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Maintenance Assessment Exercise Whilst we have developed structured, detailed and apparently, cost effective, approaches to our Maintenance Programmes here at our Plant, we still suffer from significant back-logs and resultant unacceptable performance, risks, losses and costs. Why is this the case? Maybe the following ten statements can give us an insight: So, from your own experience, based here at your operations, please rank each of these ten statements as follows:

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There is also strong evidence that revisiting the same exercise two to three years down the road of pursuing a systemised and relevant Total Productive Maintenance/Manufacturing (TPM) programme, the scores move into the five to eleven range and even one or two in the one to four range. We have yet to come across a string of ten zero scores!

Focused improvement programs such as TPM addresses each of these ten fundamental reasons for the gaps in our existing maintenance practices and recognises that it is the person carrying out the tasks who is the key, and the way in which he or she is supported is vital to achieve true cost effectiveness. Such programmes also firmly positions (maintenance and) asset maintenance as a key enabling system with the business.

For further information on the synergies between TPM and enterprise excellence please follow the links below to a series of videos and case studies. http://www.sapartners.com/videos/definition-of-tpm-bypeter-willmott/ http://www.sapartners.com/events/total-productive-maintenance-practitioners-workshop/

Developing System Thinking around maintenance and operational performance In our experience, many companies initially fall into the top two ranges if they conduct the exercise with real honesty and healthy debate with both the maintenance representatives and their internal customer colleagues representing production / operations.

A systematic model for developing an effective System of Maintenance.

About the Authors Peter Willmott - Peter is a world-renowned and respected authority with over 25 years’ experience on the application of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and has written and published two books on the subject. Peter has been working with S A Partners for over three years developing the relationship between effective TPM activity and Enterprise Excellence.

Peter’s list of TPM clients extends to over fifty international businesses including BAA, BNFL, BP Exploration, J&J DePuy, Lake Region Medical, Leo Pharma, Molex, Moy Park, Pfizer, Zimmer and Rolls Royce, Peter is an external lecturer for the University of Buckingham MSc degree in Lean Enterprise where he delivers the TPM, 5S and precision changeover Modules.

Partner S A Partners - John Quirke has worked with a number of blue chip pharmaceutical and life science corporations with responsibility for lean six sigma implementation across multiple sites within mainland Europe and UK. John is a certified Shingo Institute Facilitator and Shingo Consultant where his focus is on principle based system improvement.

John has significant experience in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical device industries where he has supported systems and process improvements and root cause investigations. Over the last three years John has been working with Peter Willmott to develop Peter’s systematic process of TPM implementation and align it to principles of Enterprise Excellence. I

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I CONTROL & AUTOMATION

Integrated Automation Solutions at National Manufacturing Exhibition 2016 Manufacturing and production industries are set to see significant change as automation systems become more and more integrated. nd users are increasingly demanding better quality products, almost immediate availability and more product variants. There is also a growing need for traceability, energy efficiency, resource management, and coordination across multiple production sites.

Mitsubishi Electric will be demonstrating their solutions to these manufacturing and production industry challenges at this year’s National Manufacturing Exhibition (Citywest, Dublin, 26th January, Stand 25).

To stay competitive in the long term, operations are increasingly looking for opportunities to increase efficiency in production while at the same time reducing energy consumption. The timely collection of accurate transparent data is also crucial. As one of the world’s largest automation companies, Mitsubishi Electric is able to respond to the market demand for innovative technology with many of their own in-house technologies and solutions. These include PLCs, servo motion, robotics, inverters, Human machine interfaces (HMI), related energy saving technologies, predicative maintenance solutions and their e-F@ctory concept. All of this, and how automation and communication can be brought in line with development towards an Industry 4.0 future, can be seen on their stand.

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Energy Savings Mitsubishi Electric offers a wide range of user-friendly products which can help plant manufacturers to reduce their energy consumption, CO2 emissions and costs. These include, for example, their tried and tested frequency inverters which generate maximum output with minimum input, thus reducing the energy consumption of an installation compared with conventional solutions. The feature responsible for this is an Advanced Optimum Excitation Control function (AOEC) which ensures that the connected motor receives the exact magnetic flux required for maximum efficiency during operation. This enables savings to be made on energy costs, especially at lower speeds. The FR-A741 frequency inverter also has an integrated energy recovery function which makes it ideal for applications with cyclical acceleration and deceleration, for example; Lift and hoist applications.

Robots in the Production Area Another product line that can dramatically increase production are the industrial robots from Mitsubishi Electric. The new F-series is characterised by a high level of performance and compact design combined with low power consumption thanks to the use of the latest Mitsubishi Electric actuators. Their precision, speed and longevity have made processes more flexible and cost-effective.

Mitsubishi Electric will be showcasing an exemplary robot from the F-series range on their stand at National Manufacturing. With their cycle times of 0.29 seconds, these robots can significantly increase the productivity of an installation and reduce cycle times due to their flexibility. The robots from the F-series can be put into operation quickly and easily and enable reliable operation within confined spaces with optimum repeat accuracy due to their fully enclosed design. As a result, they can also help to reduce energy costs in the production industry. Robots can be ideal, for instance, in Pick-and-Place applications. In one biscuit production line in the USA, daily production was increased from 12 tons to 20 tons of biscuits with the help of robotic technology. Gentle handling by the robots reduced waste and increased quality by 20%.

Predictive Maintenance The optimising of machine running times by predictive maintenance is a major issue in the any processing industry. For example in the food and Bev industry if a machine suddenly fails, an entire batch is usually lost. This is expensive and damaging to productivity. Modern control platforms, and sensors with integrated functionalities as well as flexible maintenance and repair concepts such as the SmartCheck solution or the MAPS Life-Cycle-Software tool from Mitsubishi Electric provide the necessary data transparency for simple implementation of predictive maintenance concepts.

The SmartCheck solution for example recognises and reports the first vibrations of a system long before any noise is generated. The

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It reduces the time spent in the engineering and pre-production stages by automatically managing data relating to areas such as I/O schedules, PLC and SCADA tag configuration etc. so that information is always up to date, accurate and complete. Once production has started MAPS continues to collect and interpret comprehensive data to assist with management scheduling, maintenance and plant upgrades.

reaction time before machine failure is therefore substantially longer. The maintenance cycle can be adjusted to production at an equally early stage. Machines can be easily retrofitted with the SmartCheck solution. In any batch based system, for instance, it could be retrofitted to the loading system, mixer or conveyor belts.

Data Transparency Integrated shop floor automation can also be connected to higher level control systems such as SCADA, ERP and MES. The integration can go even further, with connections to suppliers, distributors, customers and end users so that the entire manufacturing value chain is interconnected and managed as a whole. This is increasingly close to the vision of Industry 4.0.; an integration of both physical and cyber-based systems across multiple sites and organisations so that performance is optimised at every stage of the value chain.

To assist with this Mitsubishi Electric and e-F@ctory partner Adroit Technologies have developed MAPS (Mitsubishi Adroit Process Suite), a life-cycle software tool that brings together all phases of a production project, from the earliest design concepts to the actual operational stage, so that they can be managed as a whole integrated system.

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e-F@actory Mitsubishi Electric is constantly developing its technologies so that they are always state of the art. However, each application is different and may require different levels of expertise. Mitsubishi Electric addressed these market demands through its e-F@ctory concept.

Mitsubishi Electric’s e-F@ctory Alliance is a partnership of specialist automation companies, whose expertise can be called upon whenever it is required. Each partner is an expert in a particular field and any number of them can be brought together for a given project, thus delivering the best possible skill set. The partners are able to act in perfect harmony to produce the optimum solution in the minimum time to reduce total cost of ownership and provide truly seamless integration of multiple systems and subsystems.

For more information on Mitsubishi Electric Integrated Automation Solutions visit them on their Stand 25 at the National Manufacturing Event. I

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I CONTROL & AUTOMATION

Automation Specialist KUKA Expands in Ireland KUKA, the global automation group, is expanding its presence in Ireland in response to increasing demand for its systems and solutions, and will open new offices at Brewery Business Park, Ardee Road, Dundalk, on 1st February 2016. ased at Augsburg, Bavaria, in Germany, KUKA has global sales of around Eur3.0 billion and employs about 12,000 people worldwide. KUKA offers its customers automation solutions ranging from components and cells to fully automated systems. The company is one of the world’s leading suppliers in the fields of robotics, automation and systems engineering. In addition to the headquarters at the production and development site in Augsburg, KUKA is internationally represented with about 100 companies worldwide.

KUKA is the largest manufacturer of industrial robots in Europe and offers the broadest range of robots available to meet individual customer requirements with payloads from the 6kg Agilus all the way up to the 1000kg KUKA is the largest manufacturer of industrial Titan and with special models for specific robots in Europe. industrial applications such as the medical device, food/beverage, electronics, metal fabrication and plastics markets with cleanroom and washdown versions available.

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Technology Leader KUKA is a leading pioneer in the development of Collaborative Robots – regarded by many as the most significant technology leap forward in robotics and automation for decades. Collaborative robots are designed to work alongside and in collaboration with human operators without the requirement for safety guarding, which is the traditional means of protecting operators from industrial robots.

With the launch of the LBR iiwa Collaborative robot in May of 2014, KUKA became the world’s first serial producer of sensitive robots suitable for human-robot collaboration.

In terms of emerging technology, a major

KUKA is a leading pioneer in the development of Collaborative Robots.

cornerstone for the ‘Factory of the Future’ is intelligent, networked industrial production and logistics processes on the basis of cyberphysical production systems and KUKA has been leading the field in these areas for many years. Indeed KUKA has been combining IT with conventional automation technologies since the early 1990’s.

Local Presence KUKA has three operating divisions in the UK/Ireland - KUKA Industries, KUKA Robotics and Swisslog with offices located in Halesowen, Wednesbury, Newton Aycliff, Redditch in England and Dundalk employing 300 people.

“With more than 20 years robotics experience in the Irish market in all industry sectors and with customers from small indigenous Irish companies to large multinationals, KUKA are perfectly placed to advise and deliver on our Irish customers automation requirements,” points out Brian Cooney, General Manager – Ireland, KUKA.

Brian Cooney, General Manager – Ireland, KUKA.

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Key Market Trends Irish industry is becoming increasingly automated as robotic technology becomes more sophisticated and affordable. Brian Cooney explains: “When I started out in robotics in Ireland 20 years ago, robots were little used and were the domain of large multinationals that were already using robots in their parent facilities. Over the years that has completely changed and now every manufacturing com11

pany small or large, Irish or foreign owned seek to automate their manufacturing processes to increase flexibility, reduce the cost of manufacturing, increase throughput and improve quality.”

He elaborates: “Consumer demands mean that manufacturers need to cope with smaller batches, faster turn around and shorter product lifecycles, all of which require flexible automation to meet these ever increasing and onerous demands. Irish customers have been quick to predict and adapt to these requirements which is also reflected in the amount of reshoring of manufacturing over the recent years.

“Additionally, developments in collaborative robots, sensitive robots and high accuracy robots means that automation is now possible in areas of manufacturing such as medical device and consumer electronics that were previously only possible with human operators due to the sensitivity of the assembly process or the dexterity required. KUKA recognised this need many years ago and invested heavily in R&D to develop the current range of sensitive and collaborative robots and continue to lead from the front with our R&D and dedicated technology centres.”

Laggard Despite this progress, Irish industry still lags behind much of the developed world in its installed base and uptake in robotics. Asia is the world’s largest user of industrial robotics followed

by North America and the major European engineering powerhouses such as Germany.

“However Irish industry has certainly now embraced robotics and it is a very strong growth market which is mirrored by the resurgence of Irish manufacturing in general,” he says. “The recent recession has also increased the focus on the use of automation to Irish industry is becoming increasingly improve manufacturing automated as robotic technology becomes competitiveness in a global more sophisticated and affordable. market.”

Major Projects For instance, 2015 saw a number of major KUKA robot installations in Ireland including the introduction by an Irish pet-food manufacturer of new production lines using KUKA robots for both de-palletising and palletising operations, bringing the number of KUKA robots on site to eight. Also in 2015, an Irish window manufacturer installed a fully automated glass line using KUKA robots for loading and unloading and also a robot routing system for deburring and creating openings in household and industrial doors.

Other major KUKA robotics projects are ongoing. For example, a leading US pharmaceutical and medical device company is in the process of installing a large number of KUKA robots in its Irish manufacturing plant to a line of plastic injection moulding machines producing parts for medical devices.

An Irish automation company is in the process of building the world’s first automotive style assembly line for prefabricated bathrooms for the modular building of hospitals and hotels using 20 KUKA robots for welding, assembly, plaster-boarding, tiling and grouting. The entire line will be delivered to a customer in Dubai in early 2016.

Benefits According to Brian Cooney there are many key benefits for businesses in Ireland from using KUKA robotics technology. These include: 12

KUKA will open new offices at Brewery Business Park, Ardee Road, Dundalk, on 1st February 2016.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Increased productivity; Improved consistency and product quality; Reduced rework and rejects; Elimination of hazardous and dangerous tasks; Reduction in use of production consumables; Reduced product unit costs; Flexibility to adapt to product design and process changes; Simplicity of operation; Short payback periods; World class reliability; Superb customer support.

Payback Periods Payback periods vary from project to project depending on the measurement criteria used, which could include calculations based on the number of shifts engaged in the process, increase in throughput, reduction of rework, reduction in cost of consumables, elimination of downtime due to absenteeism, elimination of personal injury claims, and so on. “As a general rule of thumb most payback periods range between 6 months and 36 months. In many cases robotics are implemented strictly as a health and safety measure and are not necessarily measured on commercial payback,” he remarks.

Local Focus Although a global operator, KUKA understands that in order to serve a local market to the fullest extent it must also act local. As part of its strategy to develop its presence in the Irish market KUKA has been strengthening its base of local System Partners and will continue to add strategic partnerships specifically aligned to the needs of the Irish market. The global automation giant’s soon to be opened new offices in Dundalk will support sales, customer service and training for all of its Irish customers. I

Plastic Injection Moulding robots supplied by KUKA.

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I FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Facilities Management Ireland 2016 – RDS in Dublin – 8th & 9th March 2016 Facilities Management Ireland is a free to attend Conference and Exhibition which has been launched in direct response to the growth in the Irish companies looking for information and solutions to improve their efficiency and reduce the cost of running their business environment. he event is being held at the RDS in Dublin on 8th and 9th March 2016. Now in its eighth year the show continues to meet the needs of those responsible for maintaining and managing commercial, industrial, retail, educational, government and other large facilities and working environments.

We all know that facilities represent the biggest cost after salaries for most organisations. But simply doing things more cheaply isn’t the whole story. Every aspect of facilities management ultimately contributes to people’s well-being and productivity – which shows up on the bottom line, too.

FM Ireland is the only event that covers the entire spectrum of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ FM services and products.

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Conference Programme The Conference programme is organised in specialist streams, making it easy for delegates to find sessions and content directly relevant to their practical and professional needs. Presented by leading experts from

industry and academia, the Conference is comprehensive, authoritative and interactive, giving visitors more reasons to attend, and stay longer.

Why You Should Visit Now more than ever, you need to be sure you’re getting the maximum return from every euro and minute available to you. By putting all the products, people and knowledge you need in one place, Facilities Management Ireland offers the best possible return on your investment.

So if you only have the time and budget to attend one event this year, make it this one.

FM Ireland is the complete event for those involved in managing, maintaining and operating facilities of all kinds. The free Exhibition features the largest range of products and services assembled in one place in Ireland this year. The free Conference content will address your day-to-day concerns.

The event will also provide a chance to talk to real people about real products, problems and practice. It offers in-depth advice on products and services from the people who make and supply them. I

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INDUSTRY & BUSINESS – VOL 1 ISSUE 3

I ENERGY

Ireland Still Heavily Dependent on Energy Imports Costing €5.7 Billion in 2014 reland is still heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels according ISustainable to the ‘Energy Security in Ireland’ report published by the Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The report shows that in 2014, we still import 85% of our energy, at a cost of Eur5.7 billion to the country.

In 2014, 97% of imports were fossil fuels; oil (56%), natural gas

(31%), and coal (10%). The remainder was electricity (2%), and biofuels (1%). Indigenous energy production in 2014 comprised of peat (47%) renewable energy sources (44%), natural gas (6%) and non-renewable wastes (3%).

Dr Eimear Cotter, Head of Low Carbon Technologies with SEAI, comments: "In 2014, 15% of our energy came from indigenous resources with renewable energy now starting to make a significant contribution. However the remaining 85% of our energy requirements came from abroad, costing us more than Eur15 million every day. This is a lost opportunity in terms of keeping this money here in Ireland and further developing our abundant renewable resources. The transport sector in particular relies almost entirely on imported oil. Options to reduce this dependency include reducing energy demand by being smarter about how we use transport and using clean fuels including bioenergy."

Dr Cotter continues: "Ireland's energy security is affected as oil and gas production in the EU declines and imports come from outside the EU such as from North Africa and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, we have plentiful clean and renewable resources here in Ireland. Maximising these resources will reduce our dependence on costly imported energy and improve Ireland's standing as a sustainable and self-sufficient economy.” I

Major €3.7 Billion Data Centre Influx Projected For Ireland significant list of global and indigenous companies are set to A establish data centre operations in Ireland over the coming years and the current pipeline of proposed projects could constitute overall investment of Eur3.7 billion, according to a new report compiled by Callaghan Engineering, specialists in the sector.

According to the report, which includes analysis of EirGrid data including applications for connection to the Irish electricity grid, companies seeking to develop data centre operations over the next five years include Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Vodafone, eBay, Yahoo, BT, Eircom, EMC, Equinix and a number of other international firms.

Entitled ‘Data-Centre Implications for Energy Use in Ireland’ and commissioned by the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA), the report maintains that a significant increase in electricity supply is required to meet the projected demand from new data centres with an additional 1,136 MW of electrical capacity already in line for integration over the next five years. This represents an approximate 18% increase on Ireland’s current electricity demand.

With data centre companies increasingly looking to power their operations using clean and renewable power sources, the increase in electricity capacity required to meet the demand of new data centre developments is expected to be met by Irish wind and renewable energy, which would result in an approximate Eur1.36 billion investment in Irish renewable energy infrastructure, representing almost a third of the overall investment.

Kenneth Matthews, CEO of IWEA, comments: “As Apple, Facebook and others have shown globally, renewable energy and data centres make natural partners, and we expect Irish based data centres to continue their commitment to clean energy to fuel their considerable electricity demand, constituting a massive economic opportunity for Ireland, which has renewable energy in abundance, particularly in wind energy. By meeting the new demand required to power the projected data centre influx, while also meeting our binding EU 2020 climate targets, wind energy would bring a total saving of at least Eur43 million per annum on electricity prices for both domestic and industrial consumers, equating to at least Eur26 per household by 2020.”

The new report finds that commitments by companies to power their data centres by 100 percent renewable energy and Ireland’s national target of achieving 40% of all electricity produced by renewable energy by 2020 will require each MW of data centre capacity to be matched by one MW of renewable energy. I

INDUSTRY & BUSINESS – VOL 1 ISSUE 3

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