With 7 years as leading SME and responsible for the standard of all flowmeters  in the Lonza Site Visp, Schmid-tec has a broad understanding of most topics regarding flowmeters. Regular contact and exchange with suppliers, engineers, and end-users make it possible to stay up-to-date at all times.

From high-precision lab equipment measuring milligrams, to load cells covering multiple tons, everything is represented and needed in a microbial or mammalian production plant. As one of the most delicate instruments to ensure proper product quality, a digital connection to DCS or MES is mandatory. Countless hours with MSAT and supplier ensured flawless coverage for multiple products, and have paid off with no out of tolerance calibrations over years, for almost 100 scales!

With the rise and establishment of optical DO sensors as the industry standard, measuring DO has become easier and more reliable. This is important, as we have to make sure our microbes or cells are properly aerated with air/o2 for optimal growth. Yet challenges remain. What is the best way to install the probe to prevent unwanted influences? What is the best configuration/filter/moving average to provide a reliable but thorough signal? This and more have been established with different suppliers. Especially complex DO controls with combined gases can get difficult in the fast-growing microbial world, where Schmid-tec mastered multiple cases with outstanding results!

Especially in bioreactors, pH plays an elemental role. Highly accurate measurement with flawless control is crucial to avoid a negative impact on cell/microbial growth. Schmid-tec had the opportunity to work in-depth with multiple transmitters and sensors from different suppliers. Including the startup of new projects/products, that required optimal tuning with different control strategies (acid/base pumps, MFCs for gases). A lot of troubleshooting and optimizations in cooperation with suppliers/operations/MSAT give a lot of experience to look back to.

Especially in clean media (WP/WFI) Conductivity plays a major role in monitoring the quality of the water. But also as general feedback on how clean the lines are after CIP/SIP. Different suppliers, applications, and troubleshooting/optimizations were all part of my job for many years.

With almost 1000  sensors in only one plant, temperature is by far the most used measuring equipment in most industries. The very robust and accurate PT100 or PT1000 sensors  or RTD (Resistance Temperature Detector) provide great and reliable monitoring for all processes. 

Sometimes a bit delicate with their fragile membranes, careful work with pressure sensors is important. Especially since high pressure alarms are often needed for safety reasons.  A big range of pressure/temperature/media had to be covered with the accordingly right type of device.

Differential pressure, and also radar measurements were common for multiple applications, but also common for their fondness of making problems. From temperature sensitivity to dead room, to generally being fragile, installation and also troubleshooting during operation can be challenging. But not unsolvable.
However, in some cases, it should be evaluated if loadcells would be the better solution.

Continuous monitoring of the air is crucial for the cleanroom, especially in ISO Class 1/2, where open handling takes place.
A particle counter is a bit more complex and delicate than one might think, as it aspirates air and has to make sure it has a continuous flow, which is ensured with additional internal monitoring instruments. There is a range of disruptance factors that have to be considered for installation and operation of particle counters to ensure proper monitoring data.

Furthermore, there was work on RPM, Humidity, and UV to a certain degree.