May 28, 2020 -- Honeywell announced Fast Track Automation, a combination of technology innovations for the life sciences industry that enables vital vaccines, treatments and therapies to move from regulatory approval to full production in as little as two months depending on process requirements. The solution incorporates process automation elements that can be configured in a virtual environment, then implemented once a therapy is approved and ready to be produced for public distribution. Fast Track Automation is a response to the global COVID-19 outbreak, which has highlighted the need to accelerate delivery of medical solutions and devices to patients by focusing on ensuring more efficient production and testing capabilities along with facilitating strengthened supply chain.
Fast Track Automation has been designed to be used in development applications in as little as two months, and then to help manufacturers scale up to full production immediately after the appropriate regulatory approvals are granted. Fast Track Automation leverages the the cloud, virtualization, batch software running in the controller, assignment of computing power, remote asset management from a data center, and lean project implementation. The technology prepares manufacturing automation designs in parallel with clinical trials to ensure production is ready to go once a medical therapy is approved. Manufacturers can use the system to digitize manual steps during clinical trials to better consolidate and analyze
data and more seamlessly prepare electronic submissions for regulatory body review and approval. Manufacturers can then use that data to prepare the final production automation design. Additionally, the system can be scaled up or down depending on needed changes and demand.