A Control Engineering technology Webcast provides guidance for how and when regulations influence manufacturing processes. Successfully producing sellable products on a global market can be achieved by producing them according to the rules of good manufacturing practice (GMP). Industries such as water and wastewater (Bioterrorism Act), and food and beverage (U.S. FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and Bioterrorism Act), automotive (TREAD) and pharmaceutical (21 CFR Part 11) have requirements that must be fulfilled by three technological topics: access security, audit trail, and archiving and retrieval.

FDA requirements, touching all aspects of engineering, can be met using GMP to

• promote operational security;
• encourage process integrity; and
• provide guidance on reducing risks of foreseeable pitfalls such as operational errors, mishandling, testing and calibration errors, tampering and outright sabotage.

However, the guidelines are only as good as their implementation. From a touch panel human machine interface to sophisticated Web enabled client server architectures and PC-based control, many solutions can assist integrators and engineers in becoming GMP compliant.

The Webcast featured industry experts and an interactive Q&A session, originally broadcast live on Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 11 a.m. EDT, the full presentation is now available on demand at www.controleng.com. It was sponsored by Siemens and moderated by Peter Welander, Control Engineering process industries editor. Panelists are Phil Aponte, product marketing – HMI for Siemens; Bob Meads, founder of IQuest; and Douglas A. Clark, manager, process controls & automation, Shambaugh & Son L.P. The Webcast teaches how to maintain control, minimize risks, and adhere to government guidelines.

www.controleng.com