Uhlmann Packaging Systems has become a member of the OPEN-SCS Working Group of more than 20 suppliers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, which is developing a communication standard for various serialization and aggregation applications together with the OPC Foundation.
 
OPEN-SCS (Open Serialization Communication Standard) members are working on specifications governing uniform interfaces to facilitate simpler data exchange between the various operation levels, e.g. between Level 2 (components) and Level 3 (line control), or between Level 3 and Level 4 (site management).
 
According to Kathrin Günther, Team Leader Sales Support Software & Automation at Uhlmann, “Every provider has used its own communication standard up to now. Pharmaceutical manufacturers frequently cooperate with different service providers at different levels. As a result, the interfaces always have to be adapted individually. Standardized interfaces will make life substantially easier for our customers. We want to make our contribution here.”
 
The OPEN-SCS Working Group was initiated in 2014 by the OPC Foundation, a union of over 450 companies, which defines common standards for industrial automation. In addition to Uhlmann, the group includes pharmaceutical companies and systems suppliers such as Abbott, Pfizer, Roche, and Teva.