Pharmaceutical Manufacturing - Tablet Granulation Basics

So you always wanted to know the ins-and-outs of Tablet Manufacturing, but were too busy to do the research?  Have you found yourself sharing war stories at that ISPE get-together and then suddenly feeling left out when they start talking about that spiffy article in this month’s Tablets & Capsules on Granulation Methods in Bovine Oral Contraception?  Well fear not, weary Automation Warrior!  We at the Avanceon Institute for Making Stuff Simple are here to help!  Today we will take the complex world of Tablet Manufacturing and, in a few simple steps, clear the air once and for all on how tablets are made. 1 First, let’s get something straight.  They are not pills.  Do NOT call them pills.  Ever.

Neal Collier Senior Engineer  LinkedIN Profile

If you remember nothing else, remember this one thing!  If you are trying to be cool and ‘Tablet-Savvy’ and all that, and the word ‘pills’ is in any sentence you utter, people will know you for the poseur that you are! OK, let’s get started.

Raw Materials

When a drug is made, and you don’t have the ingredients already in a powder form, a mixing tank is used.  Water is added to the mixing tank and then (usually) heated on the previous shift by Ray.  Your raw materials are then thrown into the tank by the Day Shift workers (these folks are identifiable by white coveralls, hairnets, facemasks, and blue booties – and bear a striking resemblance to the older and taller versions of Oompa-Loompas from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory).  The raw materials are made up of the active ingredients and some other secret stuff.  ‘What are the active ingredients?’ you ask… …sorry, but that info is also secret. 

Then a not-so-secret process of heating, mixing, blending, drying, and general merriment ensues.  Once that is done you have the raw materials in some kind of a powder form.  The raw materials are then mixed in with filler material.  The filler material is composed of inert materials that help the active ingredients (still secret) get where they’re going (hey, stomach and intestinal tract, do I need to paint a picture?  I thought not).  Typically the filler is two-parts refried banana peels mixed with one-part leftover Chia Pet food.

When making tablets, the trick at this point is to make sure that the active ingredients (No! And stop asking!) are mixed evenly with everything else.  Mixed evenly?  That’s great!  Go directly to the Tablet Press, do not pass GO, do not collect $2,031,042.00. ² If you cannot mix the ingredients evenly, then you need to get fancy - which means that the ingredients need to be granulated.  There are literally thousands of granulation methods.  OK I lied; there are only two main ones: wet granulation and dry granulation. 

Wet Granulation

In the Wet Granulation process a liquid ‘binder’ is used to lightly agglomerate the powder mixture. The binder is some kind of wet material used to bind the mixture of ingredients together into a homogeneous ³ mass… like syrup left on the table at a diner by the last patrons at the $5 breakfast buffet.  When the wet binding material (WBM) is used care is taken to not add too much, or you are left with a mess of hard granules bunched together.  If not enough wet binding material is used, the granules are a gloppy mushy mess.  The wet binding material can be water-based or solvent-based⁴.  There are lots of wet binding materials in use today.  Some examples are cornstarch, gum, gelatin (Yes! Just like Jell-O!), Dippity-Doo, Wild Root Hair Oil, and melted Swedish Fish.

Here are the basic wet granulation process steps:

1. The active ingredient, excipients, and other stuff are weighed and mixed (remember Ray and the Oompa-Loompas?) to create the start of the granulate.
2. The WBM is then added to the whole mess and the wet granulate is mixed. 
3. Mixing happens.  It can be sl-o-o-ow or it can be fast, and it all depends on your ingredients, product, budget, biorhythms and the DOW cap gains index… regardless, there is a whole ‘lotta mixin’ goin’ on!
4. At this point the whole thing looks like something from a giant E-Z Bake Oven recipe.5  
5. The gloppy mass is then forced through a large mesh apparatus, forming it into granules or pellets.  (For those of you with rabbits, hamsters or gerbils, I know what you are thinking and the answer is “yes”.)
6.  The granules or pellets are dried, either in a tray-dryer or a fluid-bed dryer.  A tray-dryer is exactly what you think it is.  A fluid-bed dryer is very strange, and we’ll take a side detour to talk about that in a bit. 
7. After drying, the granules or pellets are passed through another screen to create granules of uniform size. 

What the Heck is a Fluid Bed Dryer, Anyway?

The substance to be processed (we can call it bulk solid material if you like) is placed on some kind of screen or other surface that is chock full o’ holes.  Air is then blown in a column up through the holey surface and across the solid/blobby matter in a continuous and uniform manner.  If you picture Marilyn Monroe in that white dress standing over the subway ventilation grate, you get the idea (full disclaimer: I am a guy and that is the image that popped into my head.  I cannot think of a comparable image for the ladies out there.  If a female engineer can think of one, I’ll be sure to pass it on and alert Netflix so they can stock up).

The cool thing about the fluid bed drying process is that the air that is blown up through the bulk solid material can be used to moisturize, dry, heat or cool!  The amount of air flow coupled with the size, number, placement and arrangement of the perforations can also help control the rate of moisturizing, drying, heating or cooling; all of which make the fluid bed dryer a pretty versatile piece of equipment.  It can also make julienne fries and cut a tin can in half!

Dry Granulation

Sometimes the substance you want to make into a tablet is sensitive to heat or moisture.  When that happens, you’ll have to make do with dry granulation.  The good news is that dry granulation is done with simple crushers, rollers and die presses under light pressure that produce little ‘compacts’ which are then carefully and gently broken up to produce the granules.  There are a lot of different ways and means to get dry compaction with the right density and granule formation (read: cheap).  The bad news is that you end up with a lot of tiny little granules that do NOT have the active ingredient in them, which can be bad if you are taking a drug for a specific purpose and all you get are excipients.  (See?  I just used that word in a sentence and you did not even blink!  Nice!)  For this reason dry granulation needs excipients with cohesive properties.  You may even need to add some more molten Swedish Fish to get the granules you need. 

Granule Lubrication

Remember making waffles on a Saturday morning?  Remember what happens when the waffles stick to the waffle iron?  Not good, right?  We have a similar issue when getting ready to make tablets.  We have spent all of this time making these granules with ingredients so that they stick together, but when we put them in the tablet press we darn sure don’t want them sticking to that, now do we? For this reason one last lubrication blending step is performed on the granules - they are evenly coated with a lubricant (typically in a low speed blender).  Once this is done, you are ready for the tablet press!

Summary

We just went through the basics of getting ready for making tablets.  We learned about raw material mixing and granulation methods.  Stay tuned for the next chapter, where we will tackle the Tablet Press and tablet coating!

GLOSSARY

ISPE: Commonly known as the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers, but actually a bunch of know-it-all Pharma Geeks.

Granulated: When something is granulated it is mixed.  Granulation is a mixing process and NOT how happy you are when Grandma puts a five-spot in your birthday card!

Agglomerate: OK, I looked this one up.  You are NOT going to believe this.  If this word is used as a verb it means “to form or collect into a rounded mass”; if it is used as an adjective then it means “gathered into a rounded mass”; BUT, if it is used as a noun, it means either “a confused or jumbled mass; a heap” or “a volcanic rock consisting of rounded and angular fragments fused together.”  What?? Volcanic rock? 

Me: “Honey, this meatloaf tastes like agglomerate!”
Wife: “Why thank you, dear!  What a sweet thing to say!”

Excipient: An inert substance that, when added to a drug, gives suitable consistency or form to the drug.  When excipients are mixed with the drug, they become the ‘vehicle’ to deliver the drug.  If you look these up, you will find that excipients are usually termed “more or less” inert.  That’s fancy Pharma talk for “Side effects?  No way, man! Well, we’re pretty sure… maybe…”

Footnotes
1. OK, not really. You *will* actually have to do some studying on your own. But hey, look on the bright side: this will keep you from having to watch re-runs of The Real Housewives of Automation Engineers. And you know nobody wants that. I mean, did you SEE the second episode? What was up with Francine? OMG!
2. Monopoly was invented in 1934, so accounting for inflation that $200.00 amounts to about $2,031,042.00 in 2010.
3. Oh, I am SO disappointed in you! Looking for the cheap joke! For shame!
4. “Solvents?” I can hear you say. “Like that coffee can in the garage with the paintbrush in it from when we did the bathroom?” In a word: yes. But why does this worry you? Aren’t you the same person who sneaks a Tastykake, candy bar or a Twinkie every now and then? Puh-lease! The chemicals in those babies make the contents of that paint can seem like a wheat germ soda from a vegan foods store, so stop your whining.
5. My older sister had one of these evil torturous ‘toys’ from back in the day and I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about how sick I got eating a ‘Pumpkin Worm Surprise’ cake when I was 8.

We Haven't Seen Anything Yet

I don't think we have seen anything yet when it comes to the total digital integration of our society. Ford is now releasing a new line of cars with a unique WIFI integration hotspot. And yes, you guessed it, there will be an App For That.

Please comment, where will integration invade next?

Check out this video.

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) Functions in the Food Industry

What differentiates your company’s operation from those of the market leaders?  If your answer comes down to one of these, quantity, quality, or cost, I can suggest some very practical solutions that will help move your company out to the forefront.  One key approach I would strongly endorse is to utilize the many operational benefits of Manufacturing Execution Systems  (MES).

MES systems bridge the gap between business (ERP) and plant floor control systems.  With proper customized engineering and integration, they can furnish meaningful, real-time, useful information to management personnel and empower your plant operators. 

MES would permit more effective control of your operations through:

• Production Management – Coordinates all plant activities while monitoring all work in process (WIP).
• Scheduling – Queuing and optimizing production based on best-fit algorithms.
• Recipe Management – Incorporates formulations, set-up parameters, tolerances, labels, codes and prepositioning set points.
• Inventory Management – Tracks “receiving”, “work-in-process”, “packaging material”, and “finished goods”.
• Cost Tracking – Tied in with Production Management, adding overhead costs and manufacturing usage to deliver a true cost of goods sold.
• Total Quality Control – Tracks all material lots and manufacturing batches from receiving to for anin-line quality and lab analysis.
• Maintenance – Monitors equipment performance, tracks downtime, schedules preventive maintenance and manages replacement spare parts.

With a properly engineered MES system, you can begin with one or two of the more critical functions, and then add others as your operators gain experience and the system shows its value. For example - many manufacturers begin with Recipe Management, and follow later with Inventory Management and Scheduling.

You might be surprised at how fast and inexpensive it is for an implementation of MES functions to improve your company’s overall competitive position.  To discover how MES can work for you, examine the resources available at www.MESA.org, Avanceon.com, or feel free to contact me directly at mmichael@avanceon.com.

CSIA Certified Member     -     www.avanceon.com

Automated HACCP Data Collection

In the past few decades we have certainly benefited from many of the new materials, products, and engineering developments spun off from the NASA Space program.  One in particular comes to mind.  In 1959 NASA adopted the HACCP program with the cooperation of Pillsbury who had pioneered this approach to ensure the integrity of their food manufacturing processes.  NASA was searching for the most effective way to protect the purity and safety of the food supply our astronauts would live on throughout their space journeys.  The HACCP program filled the bill.

HACCP, as all food providers now know, stands for Hazard Analysis-Critical Control Points.  In a food preparation line, what and where are the entry points where something could go wrong affecting either the materials or the process itself?  Once these CCPs are identified and noted, then each point can be controlled and monitored to ensure compliance to set standards
For example, for a bread or dough manufacturing process  some of the CCPs would include the material storage silos, oven temperatures and timing cycles, along with CIP (clean in process) schedule compliance on the mixing, slicing, and packaging machinery lines.  For every delivery of flour into its silo, the magnetic detectors monitoring metal content would have to be read and recorded.  Each of the ingredient silos would be periodically monitored for foreign objects such as insects and mice droppings etc. Every batch would have its oven temperature and timing data recorded.  Then as each batch left the packaging line, records would be available to show that data was collected on every CCP and complied with the set targets.

As the FDA became aware of the potential benefits of HACCP to ensure the integrity of the food supply chain, regulations were introduced requiring this approach.  Fruit Juice was first (21C FR120) followed in 1997 with regulations for the fish and sea food industries (21CFR123).   The USDA, responsible for the meat and poultry industries issued regulations in 1997 first mandating the HACCP program in slaughtering establishments (9CFR417).  By 2000 all establishments involved with meat and poultry production were included in this regulation.

Briefly, these regulations require all producers to list the CCPs, their critical limits, the monitoring procedures and frequencies used, the corrective actions to be followed in response to deviation from a critical limit, and most importantly the maintenance of a recordkeeping system.  These records must be signed and verified by a responsible establishment official and stored for a minimum of one to two years depending on the food category.

Records are a necessary tool in all manufacturing industries but for companies in the food supply chain they are both mandatory and invaluable.  They provide the data to date product production, identify the source and arrival time of every ingredient, and a record of all control and process variables.  The variety of SCADA computer systems available provides a data collection option for all user companies, large or small, depending on their individual preference and needs.  The HACCP data can readily be incorporated into one’s existing system with a few modifications.
One problem that does arise is the HACCP data that must be collected and entered manually since sensors are not available for these specific measurements.  The visual reading of the magnetic sensor located in the flour silo would be a good example of this.  Another would be the visual check for animal droppings in the various storage bins.  If the monitoring procedures and frequencies required these readings to be taken with each flour delivery or perhaps once during an operating shift for other storage bins, what assurance does one have with the validity of the written check list.  Was the reading really taken at the time entered or could it have been entered after the fact, hours after the set schedule?  When data is automatically collected and stored from sensors (pressure, temperature, volume, time etc.) the accuracy is highly reliable and usually unquestionable.  Unfortunately we can’t guarantee the validity of manual entries.  Or can we?

In recent years technology has been developed  to vastly improve the validity and the confidence one has in manual entry data.  Using hand held wireless transmitters the data technician can manually update the SCADA computer with his/her identity, the time of each reading and the status involved.  Combined with all of the data automatically collected and recorded from process sensors, the HACCP record keeping system is now complete, and certainly more valid and reliable.

Avanceon* is one of the country’s largest and most experienced Control System Integrators, specializing in MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) for the Food & Beverage and Pharmaceutical markets.  They have furnished numerous systems to food processors of all sizes to help them comply with their HACCP record keeping requirements.  One of the major benefits of these systems is the complete elimination or a vast reduction in the paper storage requirements for past records.  All of the data is computer stored (with backup, or course) and the ease of searching for data on past shipments borders on being phenomenal.

To summarize, statistics show a remarkable percentage improvement in the reduction of Salmonella pathogens in the meat and poultry industries following HACCP guidelines.  Similar improvements have been accomplished to prevent botulism in the processed food industries.  Proper implementation of HACCP procedures combined with automated data collection will continue to protect the safety of our food supply in addition to providing opportunities for improved process efficiency.

*Avanceon is a CSIA Certified Member.  www.avanceon.com

Best Manufacturing Software Systems

One of the things we want to do with this blog is it to help our readers find relevant information that can help them to improve their business.  One good source I have found is a site called Software Advice.  MES, Supply Chain, OEE, or Quality management are all covered on this site.

Software Advice recently held a roundtable discussion on the state of the manufacturing software industry.  Teaming up with four industry experts, they reported on the leading trends taking shape in 2010. In general, they find this year to be more active than 2009. Buyer interest and purchase activity is up across the industry, from large sophisticated companies to smaller companies implementing an enterprise system for the first time.

They attributed the increased activity to two main reasons.  First, the 10-year anniversary of purchases made as a result of the Year 2000 (Y2K) date problem; and many companies are restarting buying processes that were deferred in 2009.

Interestingly, they find most purchase activity taking place among chemical, food and consumer packaged goods (CPGs) manufacturers, with aerospace, semiconductor and automotive manufacturers not far behind. Increased ERP software adoption among CPGs is fuelled by "the need to manage global supply chains, distribution networks and targets acquired through mergers and acquisitions activity," observes Jonathan Gross. While aerospace, semiconductor and automotive companies are "more active with upgrades, replacements and add-ons."

The report continues on with a discussion of activity in the software as a service (SaaS) market, how vendors are adjusting prices to compensate for the economy, how offshoring influences spending and whether manufacturers are implementing integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or best-of-breed applications.

To read the full report, visit 2010 Manufacturing Software State of the Industry Roundtable

High Rise Automated Alcohol Delivery System

It all started the day Bernie left.   In clearing out his cube, he found an AB PicoLogix controller he had received from a training class at some point in his career and gave it to myself and my friend Rob who was interning with us at the time (I had just gotten a full time job maybe a year prior).  We weren't sure what to do with it at the time, but it wasn't long before Rob had a stroke of brilliance.   "Why not build an automated beer bong out of it?" he exclaimed one day.  Being fresh out of college (or still in it in Rob's case), the concept of a beer bong was admittedly probably something that was taking up too much space in our collective brains.

For those not familiar with the concept, a beer bong is generally a funnel with a maybe two foot tube attached.  The concept is that by bending the tube upwards, one can load the funnel and half of the tube with a full can of beer.  The user then gets down low, puts the non-funnel end of the tube to their lips and by raising the funnel and bringing gravity to bear, can force large quantities of beer rapidly down ones throat. Is this concept and activity leading to the degradation of American society? Perhaps.  But is it an engineer's duty in life to take an existing idea and make it better? Absolutely.  And so we decided to take this immature idea to new heights, literally.

Our concept of the automated beer bong was one that grew rapidly as we started to get into it.  Originally the idea was to automate some valves so that we could lengthen the tube and perform a larger drop.  This began to manifest itself in a 3 story design that could be setup at the top of my townhouse (which is on the second floor) and the user could be on the ground outside of the basement.

As we moved into the programming phase, we decided to add more and more functionality.  I should also point out how the lack of requirements here led to some major scope creep.  First we decided that two people should be able to share in this joy simultaneously.  I mean, what's the fun of taking a 3 story beer bong when you don't have someone next to you that you can race in such an endeavor. So we created 2 tracks tied to a single start button so they would start at the same time.  We wanted the tracks to be selectable, so I could choose to race my friend or I could choose to go solo.  If I picked the later, I didn't want beer to come pouring down the tube that had no one waiting for it at the other end and spill all over the ground.  We then came up with the brilliant idea that we would want to control the amount of beer being delivered. Perhaps I'd only want a full beer or maybe I wanted to go crazy and try multiple beers.  So we decided to control the amount of beer being delivered, making it selectable between one and six beers in half beer increments.  Finally, we had to make sure that we keep the beer bong clean and functioning and to that end we needed a CIP (Clean in Place) mode that allowed the valves to stay full open so we could flush the lines with water and cleaning solution as needed.

Fabrication went quickly, although it was certainly not up to any NEC, UL or other code. In fact, in some ways it was fairly unsafe. Some of the different buttons and switches we mounted on a piece of plexiglass, but it was initially designed to be something that would be more of a wall-mount, such to say there was no back or enclosure around the terminal ends for those components.  In addition, we used those style terminal blocks that are DIN-rail mounted and open on one side (where you are supposed to use an end cap) except we had no end piece and so one side was completely exposed. In the end we threw a blanket over the whole thing and told people not to go near it (kind of like an SOP).  We did, fortunately realize one potential safety issue ahead of time and took action to improve the receiving end of the beer bong.  We recognized that the downward rush of beer was going to push a fair amount of air initially into the receiver's mouth before the beer shows up. To mitigate this we put a T-connector at the end with a one foot length of tubing sticking up to allow the air to release and to not be forced into the person's throat.

With our crude implementation complete, we set off to run some tests.  Needless to say, we were pretty excited about testing it out.  We had to dial in the beer measurement (based off of timers and average time to get a fixed amount of beer out) and adjust the length of the air relief tube at the bottom, but overall it ran pretty well out of the gate.  This was pretty fortunate since we were doing this initial testing about 30 minutes prior to the production startup which just happened to coincide with an unveiling party. In the end everyone had a good time and no one got electrocuted, although to be fair we didn't push the full design capability of delivering 5 or 6 beers at a single time.

I apologize for not having any actual pictures of the beer bong in action. For some reason, we were counseled by our lawyer-like conscious' at the time that it would be better if no photographic evidence existed, although now I wish we had it for posterity sake. It still makes for a fine story without any pictures though, so we'll make do.

So what kind of personal engineering adventures have you experienced?  Do you have any experiences where you have used automation around the house, perhaps getting a bit too involved or overly complicated?  We'd love to hear some of those stories.

Sustainability & Growth: You can't have one without the other

What is Sustainability?

At one point in American history, the whaling industry personified American prosperity. It employed thousands of workers, fueled thousands of homes & businesses and it created fortunes for many. There was just one problem: the whale stock was depleting, hunters continued harpooning and today nearly all the whales are gone. Within a few years, an industry that had thrived for a full century collapsed entirely. This example represents how a business can make their enterprise unsustainable.

So here is that word again, sustainability. What exactly is it?

The word "sustainability" originated in the 1980s when nations had to find ways to grow their economies without destroying the environment or sacrificing the well-being of future generations.

Today, sustainability has become the buzzword for a large variety of social and environmental causes, but in the business world it stands for a very powerful idea that a sustainable corporation is one that creates profit for its shareholders while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those with whom it interact.1

Sustainable organizations work towards preserving natural resources, including water, air, and all sources of energy.

An organization built on the principles of sustainability is built to last, and the only way to succeed in today's interdependent world is to embrace sustainability.
The Sustainability "Hot Spot"

"Sustainability is not about sending a check to a charitable organization, though there is nothing wrong in doing so," says Martin Michael, Vice President, Energy Solutions at Avanceon, whose headquarters are located in Exton, PA.

Martin continues, "The sustainable company conducts its business so that benefits will naturally flow to shareholders, customers, business partners, and the communities in which it operates."

Sustainability is the overlapping of the interests shared by your financial stakeholders and that common ground shared by your nonfinancial stakeholders. This common ground is called the "Hot Spot," where the goal of profits blends with the goal of the common good.

The best-run companies around the world are trying to identify and move into their own "hot spots," and they are discovering new ways of doing business in order to get there and stay there.

Take for example, a major company that started out in "everything electrical." In years past, this organization fought the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to avoid responsibility for polluting our rivers.

Today, this very same company has developed a new initiative that goes beyond compliance that will ultimately benefit society and the long-term health of the organization. Their main goal is to create clean technology to help its customers reduce their environmental impacts, primarily carbon emissions. This company announced it will double its annual investment by 2010 in clean energy technologies, and they project revenues from eco-friendly products to double as well.

The overlap between winning increased market share and supporting healthier lifestyle habits is also a hot spot for a major cola company. This major company, known for sugary sodas, purchased several "healthy product" companies. Subsequently, this "healthy-product" hot spot is the fastest growing segment for the cola company.

But healthy products is not all this company is doing. They are working on other hot spots, and they are working towards the goal of cost reduction such as improvements to reduce their energy, waste, and packaging. This social responsibility has helped this major cola company grow their earnings per share and in turn make their company more sound for decades to come.

"When companies try to be viable for the long term, they manage their business based on principles that will strengthen rather than undermine the company's roots in the environment, the social fabric, and the economy," says Martin. He continues, "A business that strives to fit as much of its activities into that "hot spot" zone should have real long-term advantages over its rivals."

"Avanceon is also working towards finding that hot spot, not just for ourselves but for other organizations as well," says Bill Fenn, Director, Energy Solutions at Avanceon. Bill continues, "Take for example, our iBoiler service, a total steam management solution which provides a benchmark for performance and helps keep a plant focused on operating with efficiency in mind. We can help our customer save 10% in fuel costs as well as reduce their carbon footprint by showing them how to optimize their boilers' performance."

"A company can spend down its capital for a while, but generally not for long. A firm that works on principles of sustainability is built to last, says Martin Michael. "We have seen a huge influx of interest in our iBoiler service, "he continues. "Companies today know that a good place to start their sustainability effort is to begin looking at their boilers which are a major source of heat production and power, but consume huge quantities of fuel and electricity."

Avanceon is an Exton, PA-based solution provider to industrial and manufacturing companies worldwide. Avanceon is a CSIA Certified Member. For information on how you can get started on your sustainability plans, please call Martin Michael, Vice President, Energy Solutions at 610-458-8700

Impact of volunteering on organization culture

At times investing time and money in social activities leaves a notable impact on the culture of an organization.  Getting your employees involved in philanthropic initiatives not only helps an organization fulfill its commitment towards corporate citizenship but also helps motivate its employees in general.  No one denies that it feels good to be a part of a noble cause.

The majority of people who wish to be a part of philanthropic activities, may lack the enthusiasm to take initiative on their own. But once they are presented with the opportunity, you may find that they will take up the responsibility excitedly and be filled with pride once the goal is achieved.

It’s common that people like to get engaged in such activities in the company of their friends and acquaintances, as social activities give them an opportunity to relax and unwind. In this lies a great opportunity for organizations to plan team building activities for their employees. We can expect wondrous results if an organization is able to plan interesting volunteer programs and encourage their employees to participate as teams. The volunteer programs can also be a lot of fun if planned well. 
One way is to plan excursion trips for employees to underprivileged areas where they can go and council young students living in suburban areas about choosing the right education and careers options.   First Aid Training can be made mandatory for all employees and visits can be arranged to an area affected by natural disaster or let’s say to a military hospital. You could also take your employees out for a tree planting campaign or arrange charity walks on a weekend. 

The activity based approach is much better than just making donations to charitable organizations as it greatly increases awareness of the cause.   At Avanceon we have tried and tested this method and it has helped us improve working relationships between various groups of employees.  One team was sent for a disaster management program.  The team came back happy and satisfied.   We were amazed to see they seemed to be more compassionate about their work commitments and the organization. 

In the end it’s all about the contributions we make.  So why not have more and more people help each other in doing good things?   When caring for the community becomes a part of an organizations cultur, everyone wins.

Beenish Rai

Marketing & Communications Associate 

Avanceon LP

email: brai@avanceon.com

Control System Integration Jobs: Hire a SWAN

Engineering is a very diverse discipline. At Avanceon we need thinkers and doers, inventors and implementers, designers and troubleshooters. Sometimes one person contains all of these skills, though more often a team comes together to complement each others' skills. The whole is greater than the parts.

When it's time to hire most of us look for the standard requirements, probably including some sort of specific experience or skill set. However, many innovative companies are now focusing more on an individual's personal attributes than where they obtained their degree or what their specific experience is

This successful practice is known as following the SWAN Model: Hiring employees that are Smart, Work Hard, Ambitious and Nice. Though hard to gauge at an interview, these qualities almost guarantee a decent worker. When hiring a non-entry-level person, the SWAN model, coupled with what they've done in the past, is a far better indicator of success than any resume.

Photo by: suvodeb

People at Avanceon share a common set of attributes: we are all SWANs! We have found that SWANs likely have what it takes both to help our clients and to be successful at our company. "SWAN" is an acronym for people who possess four qualities: Smart, Work hard, Ambitious, and Nice.

Smart

We are looking for people with keen minds who may have pursued a variety of academic interests and demonstrated achievement in their chosen fields. Once these people join Avanceon, they can turn their intellects on the problems facing our clients and develop creative, effective solutions.

Work hard

Being smart is not enough to succeed at Avanceon; you must also be willing to apply yourself every day. We look for people who have demonstrated their ability and willingness to work hard through academic/professional achievement and extracurricular involvement.

Ambitious

We look for people who set high goals for themselves and then strive to achieve those goals. Implementing our solutions allows us to validate our designs at an operational level, and it takes an ambitious individual to propose and then implement a system that could potentially change the way a company does business.

Nice

Many companies seek to hire people who are smart, hard working, and ambitious. Avanceon, however, has one additional requirement: you must be nice. Being nice is more than just a measure of one's integrity and character. We work closely both with each other and with our clients to solve problems and implement solutions. We encourage cooperation and sharing among all of our associates and one of the best ways to ensure this high level of cooperation is to hire nice people.

Stimulus Package and Saving Industrial Energy?

Trying to understand the so called "Stimulus" package and its impact on industrial business is hard to figure out around all of the hype.  I have found the government's own website at http://www.recovery.gov/ to be lacking in detail and mostly centered on selling the value of the stimulus package.

I recommend the web site for the Alliance to Save Energy at http://www.ase.org/.  I don't know if this site is always accurate but they appear to be a good source of information. 

Since energy is a big part the plan I looked around and found this article on Energy-Efficiency Home and Vehicle Tax Credits and found it very informative although it doesn't apply directly to Industrail Energy I thought it was worth sharing.

http://ase.org/content/article/detail/2654

Your thoughts and ideas on saving industrial energy are always welcome so please comment if you have something to add.