What is a Building Management System?
A Building Management System is an integrated solution to monitor, control, and operate various equipment, critical in maintaining a pharmaceutical facility or building environment from a centralized location. It consists of different components, such as software, electrical systems , and instrumentation to perform its function.
The heart of BMS is a centralized control system that collects, processes, and acts based on different baseline configurations or threshold values. This allows personnel to control environmental parameters with highest possible accuracy resulting in a quality manufacturing process and compliance.
The BMS in the pharma industry centrally controls all environmental equipment, such as AHU, Chiller, and Hot air equipment. This eliminates human involvement and adjusts parameters for optimum area parameters.
Another main feature of BMS is its ability to digitally operate and control the entire portfolio of area equipment. Rather than individually controlling and adjusting each equipment to cater for area requirement, it utilizes control components to adjust entire suite of equipment. It can also be integrated with modern technologies such as intelligent factories and IIOT.
Components of a BMS
Components of BMS are the individual building blocks that help shape and perform its function. These components are standardized and remain the same for all industries, including the Pharmaceutical.
The components of BMS can be divided into three subcategories, defined as
Hardware
Software
Communication
Hardware
It includes different components that exist physically and require dedicated space in the operational area, control panel, or any other dedicated zone. They deal with the collection, transferring, and processing of different electrical & electronic signals, and include sensors, actuators, controllers, and various other components. Their selection depends on the application requirement and area under monitoring,
Let's briefly discuss these hardware components
Temperature Sensors
Temperature sensors are hardware components that measure temperature of a given area. It can produce voltage or current values corresponding to the area temperature.
The temperature of different areas in the pharmaceutical industry plays a vital role in the product and manufacturing operation's success and is critically monitored and maintained. Regulatory guidelines also require pharma manufacturers to maintain temperature values within acceptable ranges.
Temperature sensors are installed in all critical areas and departments, and are monitored centrally. Additionally, temperatures values are also displayed on a local display in the operational area allowing working personnel & operators to monitor them in real-time.
The BMS can also generate alerts if temperature drifts from acceptable limits. In such case, maintenance staff or relevant personnel can solve the issue or adjust, if required
The application of temperature sensors in the pharma industry depends on many factors, including process, product, and compliance requirements.
Humidity Sensors
Humidity sensors measure the humidity level in a room, area, or department. They then convert them into voltage or current values.
Humidity sensors are also critical parameters of an environment, like the temperature values, and are controlled explicitly throughout an area or department. If its value exceeds its limit, it can result in microbial growth in an area, damaging the product and process in the area. They are monitored for sections such as manufacturing, filling, and warehouse.
BMS enables humidity levels to be centrally monitored, controlled, and adjusted from a single location. It can display the humidity levels of all d...
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