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A forward-looking step for the process industry – NAMUR publishes new recommendations on modular production

  • 23.03.2023

Already in 2019, the two NAMUR working groups 2.3.1, “Batch Control” and 2.4.1, “Process Orchestration” merged. The goal here was to jointly survey the requirements for MTP and Process Orchestration and to further advance the previous efforts in the direction of MTP and Modular Production. This collaboration has resulted in two NAMUR recommendations, which have now also been published by NAMUR.

Developments to date in the area of modular production / MTP have focused on the realization and implementation of modular process units (PEAs). The orchestration of PEAs is crucial for the function and efficiency of modular production. A first in-depth work regarding the requirements for orchestration and the execution of the associated Process Orchestration Layer (POL) has now been published with February 2022 Guideline NE187 “Requirements for Processor Orchestration of Modular Production Systems”.

The recommendation of NAMUR NE185 “Requirements for the qualification of the PLT of modular plants in the GMP environment”, which was already published in August 2022, serves to provide manufacturers of modular production plants as well as PEA suppliers in the GMP environment with a concrete recommendation for action for the qualification of modular production plants in the regulated environment.

Future orchestration layers of the latest technology can be found in distributed systems and new IT architectures. They then make a significant contribution to the further development of today’s automation systems towards IT / OT / Digital Manufacturing. A paradigm shift is emerging here. Today’s control systems have aging monolithic architectures and are reaching their limits.

“We at SpiraTec are proud to have contributed to this step into the future of the process industry through our involvement in the two recommendations,” commented Michael Henter, Vice President Industrial IT Solutions and member of NAMUR AK 2.12 “Process Orchestration Layer” on the two publications.