How GlaxoSmithKline Used AR to Design a New Manufacturing Facility

When the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) began building a new Aseptic Manufacturing Facility, they needed to be certain that the equipment and plant being installed was a direct match for the design they had created. They needed the validation and assurance that the completed facility could secure the future of aseptic filling of vials and syringes and the handling of cold chain products for the next 10-20 years. They also needed to be sure that such a heavily serviced and highly complex facility complied with an equally complex set of industry standards.

The project’s Lead Designer found the solution in Augmented Reality (AR), creating a customized AR app which could be viewed using Microsoft’s HoloLens technology to quite literally bring the facility to life.

The technology enabled the team to project the 3D Building Information Modelling design model onto the plant space within the facility, allowing them to view and interrogate the actual plant and equipment installation against the model. This meant they could quickly and easily identify any potential issues with the build, which if not noticed early on a facility of this size and complexity would have had significant implications on program cost and delivery.

Learn the full story here