E Tech Group to Detail Boston-Area Pharma Controls Upgrade

E Tech Group said on Nov. 5 that one of its engineers will present a case study on a pharmaceutical plant control system overhaul in the Greater Boston area at Rockwell Automation's Automation Fair, running Nov. 16 through Nov. 19 at Boston's Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, according to a company announcement distributed by PR Newswire.

Michael Roy, a principal engineering manager at the Ohio-based automation and systems integration firm, is scheduled to give the session twice, on Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. It covers the replacement of aging air handler controls in validated production areas at an unnamed drug manufacturing site in the region. Because the building management system serves areas governed by good manufacturing practice rules, the work had to meet reliability, data integrity and compliance standards while the plant kept running, the company said.

E Tech Group installed a redundant building management architecture built on Rockwell's PlantPAx platform, which it said can be extended to further upgrades at the same site. Roy said the goal was to meet the immediate need while setting up an approach that could grow as other systems are replaced.

The firm, which employs more than 900 people and operates in eight countries, will staff booth 745 at the event.

This story was first reported by PR Newswire.