Fisher BioServices deploys General Electric Wireless Mesh

Fisher BioServices used monitoring systems with General Electric Wireless Mesh to meet stringent U.S. FDA (Food & Drug Administration) regulations. Within a GMP (good manufacturing practice) regulated environment, environmental conditions must be monitored and recorded and data made available for FDA inspection. Traditionally this was a manual process with hundreds of chart recorders and paper records. Here's how it works with wireless....

By Control Engineering Staff August 1, 2008

Fisher BioServices used monitoring systems with General Electric Wireless Mesh to meet stringent U.S. FDA (Food & Drug Administration) regulations. Within a GMP (good manufacturing practice) regulated environment, it is a requirement that the environmental conditions are monitored, recorded and data be made available for FDA inspection.

Fisher BioServices connects its processes with the General Electric RF Mesh based Kaye Labwatch system.

Traditionally this was a very manual process with hundreds of chart recorders and paper records. Personnel often had to go around the facility to maintain the chart recorders and manually change the paper weekly. Alarming was problematic. Later, hardwired systems provided some relief from the labor to manage the paper system, and provided centralized alarming capability, but still forced a rigid non-configurable wiring layout on the facility manager.Fisher BioServices provides customized, turn-key solutions for specimen kit assembly and collection, lab processing and repository services for pharmaceutical, biotech, academic, government, and other life sciences applications. The company sought to provide secure and regulatory complaint facilities to meet stringent industry needs. It adopted General Electric RF Mesh based Kaye Labwatch system as the global monitoring and alarming system standard for Fisher BioServices.Adoption and use of radio frequency (RF) mesh wireless technology, provided by Dust Networks , has proved to be easier to install and maintain than prior systems. Future expansion and scalability of the whole monitoring solution makes the wireless system cost effective with a return on investment of significantly less than one year.Flexibility is the key to running a successful repository business; wired systems wouldn’t have allowed moving freezers, refrigerators and cryogenic storage units within a facility to meet the needs of business loads and individual customer requirements. Kaye products are among those offered by GE Sensing .Learn more on mesh via the Dust Networks provides the radios .

– Edited by Mark T. Hoske , editor in chief Control Engineering System Integration eNewsletter Register here and scroll down to select your choice of eNewsletters free .