Lean manufacturing principles are about reduction of waste and errors in manufacturing process and improvements in quality and customer satisfaction.
In pharmaceutical manufacturing product quality, efficiency and regulatory compliance have important roles. To maintain product quality and use manpower efficiently, lean manufacturing principles play an important role. Lean manufacturing principles can help to optimize manufacturing operations, reduce manufacturing costs and improve product quality while maintaining regulatory compliance. In this article, we will understand the key principles of lean manufacturing and how we can implement them in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
1. Value Stream Mapping
Value stream mapping is a tool to view and analyze the flow of material in the manufacturing process. Value stream mapping analyzes the flow of material from raw material to distribution of finished product. By this companies identify the activities that don’t have any value and areas of waste. This analysis finds opportunities for improvement in the process that helps to optimize the manufacturing process to reduce the processing time to enhance efficiency and productivity.
2. Just-in-Time Manufacturing
Just in time means the manufacturing of products as per the market demand which helps to minimize the inventory level and reduce waste. By implementing this principle, companies can control excess inventory and transportation costs. This also helps to utilize the resources properly and efficiently.
3. Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)
Kaizen is a continuous improvement process that is the foundation of lean manufacturing. According to the Kaizen principles, all employees should be empowered to identify and implement the changes to improve the process, equipment or workflow system. Establishment of a culture of continuous improvement, pharmaceutical companies can improve the quality, efficiency and productivity in manufacturing and quality control.
4. Standardized Work
Standardized work means the work should be defined in the sequence in which that will be done. Standardized work can be defined as standard operating procedures. It will help to complete the work consistently with quality and responsibility in different operations. Training of employees and periodic internal audits can also enforce best practices and continuous improvements.
5. Visual Management Visual management tools like Kanban boards, performance dashboards and Andon system provide process visibility and help to find out the problems in the process that can be rectified easily within the time. By using these tools pharmaceutical manufacturers can improve communication and process in the organization.
6. Total Productive Maintenance
Total productive maintenance is a productive approach that focuses on equipment maintenance and utilization to minimize equipment breakdown and maximum uptime. It is done by regular equipment inspection and training the operators to perform routine maintenance work. By this approach, companies can reduce the equipment breakdown time and maximize its utilization.
Implementation of lean manufacturing principles in pharmaceutical manufacturing finds opportunities to enhance quality, and efficiency and reduce errors and failures. Proper utilization of resources can be achieved by implementing lean manufacturing principles.
Difference between 6-Sigma and Lean Manufacturing
6-sigma is a data-driven management method that is similar to lean manufacturing principles that also help to eliminate the defects of processes to improve quality. Both methods help to eliminate the waste by using different approaches.
According to Lean waste is a product of additional steps of the process that the customer doesn’t provide value while according to Six Sigma, waste is a product of process variation or deviation.
With these differences, lean principles and Six Sigma can be combined to create a powerful tool called Lean Six Sigma.
Advantages of Lean Manufacturing Principles
1. It saves time and money by using resources efficiently and providing the products quickly to customers.
2. By reducing waste and removing unnecessary process steps, it can save energy in the form of fuel. The efficient use of equipment will also save energy and have environmental benefits.
3. Timely delivery of the product will improve the customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is very essential for any business because a happy customer will buy the product again and also recommend it to others.
How We Can Implement Lean Manufacturing?
The main concept of lean manufacturing is to eliminate the waste from the process by which the quality and production efficiency are improved. The production cost is also reduced by using lean manufacturing principles. Lean manufacturing can be implemented in the following 5 steps.
Step 1: Automation
Automation is a useful tool to reduce waste and process errors. Implement automation in manufacturing and quality control wherever possible.
Step 2: Waste Removal
Identify the waste in the process and remove it using the process optimization method. Waste can be any extra process step, any time-consuming step that can be optimized or any manpower wastage.
Step 3: Production Flow and Visual Controls
Check the whole manufacturing process from the very initial to the end, and identify the steps that need improvements. This will help to find the areas of improvement.
Step 4: Just-in-time Manufacturing
Produce the product as per the market demand so there will be no shortage of the product in the market. This step will help to manage the production in a timely manner.
Step 5: Continuous Improvements
Continuously search the ways to improve the process. This can be easily done by the employees if they are motivated to suggest improvements in their working areas.