Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lilly changed its approach to traditional clinical trials by implementing a Mobile Research Unit (MRU) program to overcome patients limited mobility in the pandemic. MRUs were driven across the US with data historized in the PI System. The integration of IIoT, Asset Framework templates, analysis, and alarm notifications enabled the nationwide team to proactively monitor data from the MRUs. PI Vision displays also permitted remote support and monitoring for the Indianapolis-based team. Inputs included freezer, refrigerator, and ambient temperature sensors within the MRUs. The latest generation of MRUs included discrete sensors to recognize door status and onboard alarms. The PI System proved to be efficient, easy-to-integrate, and scalable over an extremely short timeline.
Speaker
Kevin Baker
Kevin Baker is an automation engineer at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has 19 years of experience working with DCS and Historian systems, including DeltaV and OSI PI. Kevin has vast expertise in these areas, including software development, hardware platforms, standardization, and managing patching and upgrades. For the past year, Kevin has been working in the corporate automation team as an automation lead.