The pharmaceutical industry is subject to strict requirements in terms of quality, traceability, and environmental control. To combine regulatory compliance with energy performance, monitoring targeted KPIs becomes essential.
At Apcoria, we have developed Optimate, an industrial diagnostic software capable of measuring, analyzing, and valorizing data from critical PLC and HVAC systems.
Here are the 5 energy performance indicators we consider most relevant for a modern pharmaceutical site.
📉 Performance deviation between reference signature and actual operation
In the pharmaceutical industry, facilities are designed based on a reference energy signature corresponding to their validated optimal operation during qualification. But over time, deviations between this signature and field reality quietly accumulate, often without being measured.
💬 Field explanation :
In reality, a system’s consumption naturally drifts over time (fouling, overventilation, changed setpoints, etc.). Tracking this deviation allows anticipation of invisible drifts before they impact your costs or processes.
🎯 Business goal :
Reduce your energy costs by up to 15% by keeping your installations close to their optimal operating point, and document your energy efficiency actions for internal audits or certifications (ISO 50001, GMP)
🚨 Detection of energy runaway caused by disturbances
Pharmaceutical environments face many internal disturbances (production activities, airlock openings, cycle starts) and external disturbances (weather conditions, line restarts). These events can trigger uncontrolled regulation reactions causing uncontrolled overconsumption.
💬 Field explanation :
A simple setpoint change or disturbance in the building (open door, personnel in the area) can trigger a poorly controlled chain reaction, causing energy consumption to skyrocket.
🎯 Business goal :
Increase the energy resilience of your installations and guarantee continuous performance even during disturbances, while reducing costs linked to corrective interventions and non-compliance in critical environments.
⚙️ Idle or partial load operating time
In pharmaceutical buildings, some technical installations (HVAC units, pumps, compressors, chillers) operate continuously, including during stopped production phases, often out of excess caution or due to lack of reliable indicators.
💬 Field explanation :
Installations often run “for safety” outside useful periods, or at unnecessary partial load (pumps, HVAC units, compressors). These silent losses are frequent in pharma, where caution outweighs optimization.
🎯 Business goal :
Identify and eliminate hidden energy costs without compromising your regulatory requirements, while freeing up production capacity on your utilities.
❄️ Savings achieved thanks to freecooling
Pharmaceutical laboratories often have freecooling systems integrated into air handling or process cooling installations. Yet, without dedicated indicators, it is difficult to accurately quantify gains and prove the economic benefit of these solutions.
💬 Field explanation :
Freecooling is often present… but poorly exploited. Wrong thresholds, late activation, or poorly parameterized regulation: expected savings do not always materialize without clear indicators.
🎯 Business goal :
Justify your investment choices, maximize your savings on industrial cooling, and valorize these performances within the framework of Energy Savings Certificates (CEE), especially IND-UT-134.
🧠 Réglages inadaptés et gains énergétiques estimés
The proper energy operation of a pharma site largely depends on the accuracy of PID settings in control loops. Too often, these settings remain default or are changed on the fly without measured feedback.
💬 Field explanation :
PLCs are often delivered with generic settings. But in a pharma environment, a poorly tuned PID loop can not only consume more but also jeopardize the stability of a classified room.
🎯 Business goal :
Provide maintenance and automation teams with objective data to prioritize optimizations, demonstrate quick ROI, and stabilize your installations for consistent product quality.
🚀 Optimate: energy performance at the service of pharmaceutical quality
Optimate does not just collect data from your PLCs. It structures, logs, and transforms them into key decision-making indicators at the crossroads of your quality, energy, and maintenance challenges.
✅ Eligible for CEE – operation IND-UT-134
✅ Compatible with your existing PLCs (Schneider, Siemens, etc.)
✅ Designed for energy, maintenance, and quality managers