SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2013-15

People Overview Self Managed Teams Mechanisation Safety Overview The Parivartan     Journey Progress on     Roadmap Incident Statistics Robust Governance Standardised     Processes Enhanced Awareness Capability Building Safety Infrastructure Safety Audits Quality Overview Top-down    Accountability Quality by Design Quality Culture     Transformation Quality Assurance Quality     Best Practices All Time Audit     Readiness Availability Overview Strategic Sourcing Risk Management Product    Rationalisation Success stories Environment Overview Roadmap Energy Management Emissions Water Waste Case Study KPIs Community Overview Focus Areas Education Livelihoods Healthcare Infrastructure     Initiatives Creating Change     Makers Productivity Overview Productivity Streams Case Study PACE Update Initiatives Engineering Excellence Overview Digitisation Automation Mechanisation Lean Manufacturing Capital Equipment Strategy Predictive Maintenance Continuous Improvement Overview Continuous     Improvement     at Work Best Practices Annexures GRI Index Acronyms Assurance Statement   Summary Report     ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AUTOMATION Case Studies Packing Efficiency and Quality    |    A Cleaner Way to Filter Carbon    |    Changing the Power Equation through Automation A Cleaner Way to Filter Carbon CHALLENGE In the pharmaceutical industry, carbon is used in various processes to remove impurities as well as influence reaction processes. Sparkler filters are used for filtration of carbon from reaction mass. Handling of wet carbon in sparkler filters is tedious and requires significant manpower.   ACTION We replaced Sparkler filters with a Fundabac® filter which provides ease of handling carbon and ease of filtration. Around 90 kg of carbon per batch is required in reaction mass for process of DL-acid. Filtration of the same requires two Sparkler filters. We undertook a trial and substituted the Sparkler filters with a lab version Fundabac® filter. The same was found to be satisfactory and after technical discussion with the supplier, a 15.7 m2 filter was installed.   OUTCOME It is a PLC based automated system and no manual labour is required for its operation. It is easy, as it can be controlled with the help of a HMI (Human Machine Interface) and safe, as it handles carbon in a closed manner.