The project was to install a new coater within an existing coating suite in a Pharmaceutical facility including installing the ancillary equipment into the technical areas above the suite.

The old coater was situated within an existing building with limited access through a convoluted corridor.   This coater had to be removed prior to the installation of the new machine.  Access was along the main supply corridor for all coating and compression suites and production could not be disrupted.

The ancillary equipment, Deduster air handling equipment, also had to be positioned in the technical areas, again with minimal disruption to the production processes.

After a detailed review with the customer and the machine supplier of the access points to the suite, it was decided to take the old coater out through the corridors system, with delivery of the new machine through the same route.

The constraints on this method meant that the work had to be completed over a Bank Holiday weekend to allow maximum access to the supply corridor where the new machine would have to be taken in on its side, this being the only way it would go in without undertaking major civil works to the corridor.

The Air Handling equipment would be delivered by crane to a high level scaffold drop-down platform built at the access point to the technical area, then skated into position in the building.

The Deduster would need to be delivered through the roof to its correct position and the old equipment removed through the same aperture, prior to the new machinery going in.

Old machine removal was achieved by partial dismantling within the room (which was isolated from the GMP facility for the duration of the installation) prior to the shut-down and extracting through the corridor as the first task on the shutdown weekend.

The coater was supplied to site in the standard configuration. It was off-loaded and turned on its side in a set down area ready for skating to the room. Additionally, due to the problems of supporting the internal mechanisms with this method of delivery, the drum and drive were to be supplied independent from the case and re-fitted inside the coating suite.

The coater was delivered to the suite (negotiating three 90 degree turns in the corridor) and then the drum and drive mechanism were reinstalled in the casing after the shell was turned to the correct configuration. Due to the limited space within the suite, the gantries used to facilitate this had to be built in-situ around the coater in the room and the drum and drive were re-installed by the team, which also included the machine manufacturer’s engineers.  The machine was then positioned and bolted in place.

A suitable entry point was found by utilising a ventilation louver which allowed access to the technical area from an on-site road and the off-load platform was erected to place the AHU at the correct level for entry into the building.  The equipment was then skated to its final position and fixed.

The roof above the existing deduster was opened by our team and the old machine was removed via a crane lift and removed to a temporary store.  The new equipment was then installed and bolted into place.  The roof was closed and made good.  As the deduster was delivered at a later date, there were additional constraints in that due to the production requirements we had to work within a ‘small window of opportunity’ to complete the change when the other dust collecting equipment was shut down.

This project was undertaken in a town centre pharmaceutical plant who were working a 24/7 shift schedule.  The convenient date (Easter Bank holiday weekend) for the whole installation was also used by other disciplines to complete other necessary maintenance involving power shutdowns etc.