Grantek Enhances Code and Optimizes ASRS and Pallet Conveyor System at Greenfield Pharmaceutical Facility
January 31, 2025

Overview
A pharmaceutical manufacturer in North Carolina enlisted the expertise of Grantek to support the launch of a new greenfield manufacturing facility. With a rapidly expanding global presence to meet the increasing demand for weight loss and diabetes medications, the client sought automation support and staff augmentation. Specifically, they needed assistance in qualifying, refining and optimizing the coding for an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) and a pallet conveyor system purchased from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Grantek was specifically hired to provide Automation Services given their in-depth knowledge of pharmaceutical manufacturing; Grantek brings it all together.
Challenges
As an output of the qualification phase and several road-mapping sessions, Grantek identified opportunities to enhance the OEM’s system design, which was not initially tailored for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Key challenges included:
• Enhancing code to address design gaps to meet industry standards.
• Modifications to systems to meet both performance and business requirements.
• Identifying and resolving software bugs.
• Enhancing the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for better usability by production operators.
Drawing on 45+ years of experience in pharmaceutical and life sciences manufacturing, as well as expertise in ASRS and pallet manifest solutions, Grantek implemented a qualification program to validate corrections. The team also led on-site remediation efforts and incorporated stakeholder recommendations to further refine the system.
Solutions
To tailor the ASRS and conveyor systems to pharmaceutical manufacturing, Grantek expanded beyond the initial scope, implementing crucial updates to the OEM-designed solution. The project involved:
• Optimizing a system with approximately 500 motors/servos and 20,000+ I/O points.
• Managing and navigating large data volumes efficiently.
• Implementing modifications that aligned with the client’s high-speed expansion needs.
• Delivering rapid code enhancements to maintain the project timeline.
The results were highly impactful. The client successfully brought the facility online as planned and met their aggressive production goals. Beyond appreciating the performance improvements, the client was particularly impressed with the speed and efficiency of Integrator’s work. As a result, they are now considering replicating this project at future greenfield sites.