Asset care: How services support reliability in pharmaceutical sealing systems

The connections between asset care and equipment functionality, business results and reliable pharmaceutical processing are intuitive. However, how operators create and maintain those links is not as obvious.  

This blog will explain how to support the ongoing sealing function and maintain cleanliness, consistency and regulatory compliance, even while managing challenging media and cleaning routines.  

We also assess opportunities to extract maximum return and new value from existing technology assets. This is not about upgrades so much as making sure the equipment customers already have performs as it should. 

Maintaining uptime in high-frequency CIP/SIP environments 

Choosing the right vessel, mixer or agitator mechanical seal is a solid first step. Likewise, selecting the right support system is a sound strategic move. But in the pharmaceutical industry, exacting production schedules are just one issue. Frequent Clean-in-Place (CIP) and Sterilise-in-Place (SIP) routines are another connected challenge. 

Sterilisation processes, including cleaning to support stringent hygiene procedures, involve demanding pressure swings and extreme temperatures and everything puts sealing systems under stress. Additional support is needed. 

John Crane Performance Plus™ is the modular service framework designed to optimise the performance of the pharmaceutical industry’s rotating equipment and other assets.  

Robust service plans within this framework can help pharmaceutical process owners optimise the performance of their rotating equipment, reduce downtime, maximise uptime, improve reliability and boost efficiency.  

There are additional benefits. More efficient equipment reduces fugitive emissions risk, protects people, and lowers the total cost of ownership (TCO).  

Maintaining sterility through thermal cycling 
SIP and CIP routines expose mechanical seals and support systems to rapid temperature changes. Repeating these cycles can accelerate seal wear, reduce life expectancy and increase long-term costs, potentially compromising sterility. 

Managing aggressive cleaning chemicals 
In the same way as fluctuating temperatures can compromise seal integrity, CIP chemicals, a combination of caustic cleaners, acids and sanitisers, can degrade seal materials, affect performance and increase contamination risk.   

Product contamination and batch loss 
Merck Laboratories’ research shows that each batch lost to contamination can cost more than $2 million in raw materials and resources alone. Pharmaceuticals cannot risk microbial or particulate ingress from compromised sealing interfaces. 

Managing process variability 
The pharmaceutical industry processes challenging solvents, biologics and high-viscosity media in sterile environments. This diverse workload places different loads on the mixers, vessels, pumps and seals. 

Intense regulatory scrutiny 
The Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) quality assurance guidelines ensure consistent quality standards across the pharmaceutical industry. Enforced in the E.U. and by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), GMP expectations include documented, repeatable equipment performance. 

Cost and impact of unplanned failures 
Industry analysis shows that equipment failures account for over 40% of unplanned downtime losses. This disrupts batch sequencing, compromises sterilised environments and potentially disrupts medicinal supply lines. 

A modular service framework for reliability 
John Crane Performance Plus™ directly addresses the pharmaceutical industry’s challenges with an outcomes-driven framework of solutions and services. Every element can improve equipment reliability, stabilise processes and extend the life of critical assets. 

By combining diverse support services and remote monitoring solutions, pharmaceutical processing companies can create a fully integrated package of data-enabled monitoring, expert consultancy and targeted training that adapts to each facility’s operational needs.  

Backed by a global network of more than 200 engineering service centres, John Crane Performance Plus™ delivers local, on-demand support that aligns with the strict requirements of pharmaceutical production.