Onet Technologies is continuing its commitment to the medical sector with the replacement of the PLCs used to control the XOFIGO production line. The XOFIGO production line prepares and packages the radioactive compound of the same name, used in the treatment of prostate cancer.

 This operation was carried out at the same time as annual maintenance, so as not to impact production of the compound, whose very short half-life means that production has to be uninterrupted.

Who is the customer?

The owner of the Xofigo production line is Bayer, which has entrusted IFE, the Institute for Energy Technology, with the task of maintaining production at its KJELLER site in NORWAY. IFE is a major player in Norway, covering scientific research in a wide range of fields including energy, environmental technology, physics, nuclear safety and reliability.

What services does Onet Technologies offer?

Onet Technologies manages the various companies involved in production line maintenance operations, each with their own specific skills:

• SL ENGINEERING (English partner), which operates in the field of Electricity & Control for the design, supply and installation of hot cells.
• SYNTEGON (Austrian partner), supplier of the autoclaves used to sterilize the product, performs specific annual maintenance on the autoclaves, scheduled as part of the maintenance contract for which Onet Technologies is responsible.
• FLEXICON (Danish partner), supplier of the product vial filling machine, carries out two dedicated maintenance operations per year on the filling machine, which are also integrated into Onet Technologies' overall service package to ensure the necessary level of maintenance on this central piece of equipment in the process.

For its part, Onet Technologies manages all services, ensuring overall coordination of the project, and operates directly on the line, bringing its mechanical and ventilation expertise to bear on the main maintenance operation scheduled each year during the first quarter.

Working in synergy

Onet Technologies also offers its expertise by providing IFE and BAYER with line improvement solutions through EPCC projects implementing turnkey solutions to increase line reliability, productivity and ergonomics.

During the^1st quarter, Onet Technologies managed a delicate preventive maintenance operation: the replacement of the production line's PLCs, carried out in partnership with SL ENGINEERING in parallel with maintenance operations. This need had been jointly identified with BAYER and IFE through an analysis carried out by Onet Technologies to assess the risk of damage to the entire line due to the obsolescence of certain equipment.

Replacing this equipment, which plays a central role in the plant, was a real challenge for the teams. They succeeded in carrying out all the planned operations within the reduced time window imposed by production constraints. The success of this project is first and foremost the result of rigorous upstream work: the teams efficiently carried out design studies, procured and programmed the new equipment, carried out in-plant tests, and finalized the operating procedures required to carry out the work on site.

What's the best way to guarantee effective maintenance on this type of installation?

Onet Technologies must be able to react immediately to ensure continuity of production in the event of damage, but above all, the key word is anticipation. The methodology used to ensure a level of reliability commensurate with the stakes involved relies on regular investigations to detect and analyze potential points of weakness, as well as on the experience and skills of specialized companies working in partnership with Onet Technologies to offer our customers the best possible level of service.

Thanks to its alliances with partners who are leaders in their respective sectors, Onet Technologies is able to offer a global service based on preventive maintenance actions as well as the implementation of complete process improvement solutions to guarantee the reliability of production tools or improve the safety, ergonomics or productivity of the installations concerned.

Bayer and IFE have renewed their confidence in Onet Technologies with the award of recent contracts to improve the performance of the XOFIGO production line.