A CASE STUDY IN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

IMPROVEMENT OF MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS THROUGH A LEAN

MANAGEMENT APPROACH

PRESENTED BY:SANOBAR HANIF

LEAN

TARGET

QUALITYGROW

TH

ROAD MAP TO PRESENTATION

LEAN

CASE BACKGROUND

LEAN MANAGEMENT

THE CASE

CASE BACKGROUND

LEAN

The case study concerns the plant of a primary multinational company of the pharmaceutical industry. This plant produces pharmaceutical products in a solid form (pills, tablets, capsules, etc.). The company has about 400 employees and its annual production adds up to about 100 million packages sold in the European market and to more than 100 markets globally.

LEAN MANAGEMENT

LEAN

Lean Production’, or rather ’Lean Management’ is an intellectual approach consisting of a system of measures and methods which, when considered as a whole, have the potential to bring about a lean and, therefore, particularly competitive state in a company.

LEAN MANAGEMENT

LEAN

Different types of wastes

The pharmaceutical industry has been greatly affected by the 2008-

2010 global economic crises. Revenues are decreasing because

of competition from generic alternatives, while the costs of R&D

are rising for and competition is increasing. All these features push pharmaceutical companies to apply

methodologies for performance improvement

CASE STUDY

LEAN

PROBLEM STATEMENT

CASE STUDY

They are aimed

at:• Reducing set-

up tim

e

• Deleting non-

added

value

activities

• Minimizing

inventories

• Decreasing

balance

delays

OBJECTIVES

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The main

focus was on

achieving

efficiency

through improvement

activities i-e

THE LEAN

MANAGEMENT

.

BATCH RECORD

CASE STUDY

LEAN

• Total Pipeline Lead Time reduction• Throughput Time reduction• Layout re-design

• WIP (Work In Process) reduction

GOALSThe plant analyzed had beenchosen to produce ‘growing‘ products. A specific project that had been developed in two synergic ways in a pilot production flow: 1. Re-engineering of the production flow.2. Implementing a pull-based production system.

CASE STUDY

LEAN

TOOLS1. VALUE STREAM MAPPING

2. RE-ENGINEERING OF LAYOUT DESIGN3. HYBRID KANBAN-CONWIP SYSTEM

Eliminated various kinds of waste, such as:• Inappropriate processes-unnecessary processing or procedures• Overproduction• Rework• Inventory and WIP• Material transportation and handling reduction

CASE STUDY

LEAN

STAR

TDI

SPEN

SING

BLEN

DING

COMPACTING

SCRE

ENIN

G

PACKINGEN

DBOTTLENEC

K

RE-ENGINEERING

EXPENSION OF

CAPCITY

REDUCING

CYCLE TIME

Production machines were replaced with more advanced and smaller machines making the flow continuous.Reducing the walkthrough of product increased efficiency in utilizing the space.

CASE STUDY

LEAN

IMPLEMENTING THE PULL SYSTEM

HYBRID KANBAN-CONWIP SYSTEM

In a push system, the production order is scheduled and the material is pushed into the production line. In a pull system, the start of each product assembly process is triggered by the completion of another at the end of production line. This pull-variant is known for its ease of implementation.

CASE STUDY

Controlling WIP benefits are• It limits the amount of material released into the system• The amount of material that needs to be scrapped or reworked is reduced, and financial losses from sales of a now inferior product are diminished• It reduces cycle time variability• Production systems have a degree of flexibility that is lost when large volumes of WIP remain in the physical system

CONWIP (Constant Work In Progress) are pull-oriented 

production control systems. CONWIP systems are easier to

implement and adjust, since only one set of system cards is used to manage system WIP. CONWIP uses cards to control the number of WIPs. For example, no part is allowed to

enter the system without a card (authority). After a finished part is completed at the last workstation,

a card is transferred to the first workstation and a new part is

pushed into the sequential process route

Kanban is a scheduling system for Lean Production. It is a system to control the 

logistical chain from a production point of view, and

is an inventory control system

Kanban became an effective tool to support running a production system as a

whole, and an excellent way to promote improvement.

Problem areas are highlighted by reducing the

number of Kanban in circulation

CASE STUDY

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RESULTS

LEAD TIME REDUCTION

THROUGHPUT TIME REDUCTION

WIP REDUCTION

LAYOUT REDESIGN

TARGET

RESULTS

6 Days

5 Days

3 Days

2 Days

30%

37%

300 mt284 mt

The re-engineering of the production flow through Lean Management and the implementation of both Kanban and CONWIP led to the following results after 90 days

CASE STUDY

LEAN

CONCLUSION

The company has chosen to focus on efficiency improvement. The results show that it is possible to create a competitive advantage in this way. Practical remarks about the case study provide the opportunity to perform a continuous production flow instead of a batch flow in order to control the production flow.