Increasing Production Output From Your Facility

Increasing the production output and efficiency of a pharma manufacturing plant is the talk of the town nowadays, and it is the main purpose of innovation and investment in this sector. While patient needs, fighting new diseases, and saving lives have been the core principles, the strict competition is also becoming intense for many reasons, which we will discuss later in this article.

For these reasons and many more, the pharmaceutical industry must adopt innovative ways to increase productivity and face challenges. It also adds additional benefits to the organization such as increased market share, customer trust and global recognition.

Before we dig into how to increase productivity for the pharmaceutical industry, let's discuss why it is necessary to increase the productivity output of the pharmaceutical industry.

Why to increase production

Some challenges that are worth noting are described in this section

Increased regulatory expertise

Regulatory compliance has been the main concern for the pharmaceutical industry for many reasons, and it has increased in today's landscape.

Nowadays, the regulatory industry is well-informed about every advancement in every sector of the pharma manufacturing and has increased the capability of its inspectors in many ways, such as through training and expertise.

The regulatory industry is now well-versed with the new challenges and diseases for which pharma manufacturing operates.

The increased regulatory expertise has made it difficult for the pharma industry to bypass non-compliance. The regulatory bodies can now provide guidelines given the latest diseases and drug manufacturing challenges.

Additionally, there has been an increased trend of pharma companies fulfilling regulatory compliance, especially in third-world countries. These countries are now well-versed in the latest regulatory guidelines, have the desired investment, required expertise to handle these regulations. Among other advantages, increased compliance has enabled them to market their products in competitive first-world countries. As a result, the competition has increased for traditional pharma manufacturing organizations and reduced their market share & revenue-earning streams.

Dynamic operational challenges

The operational pharma industry faces many challenges that often cannot be predicted and changed. These challenges are dependent on the production rate and type. Some challenges are：

Energy Cost

Energy is the biggest contributor to the expense of any manufacturing industry. As its consumption increases, it disturbs the equilibrium of the balance sheet. The same is the case with the pharmaceutical industry, and in some cases, it is a major contributor since critical requirements cannot be provided without consuming energy sources.

Utilities such as HVAC, Compressed Air, and Steam consume a major portion of the energy requirement of the pharma industry.

In some cases, these utilities needs to be continuously provide to the required department for many reasons,, such as to maintain the required cleanliness level and prevent contamination. Even, if there is no production in these area, it is necessary to provide these utilities for the safety of process and product.

These utilities are different from basic ones such as electricity, and act as a support to maintain the required parameters of the environment. For example, to maintain acceptable temperature ranges, HVAC is used to maintain temperature and humidity in an area. 

The energy requirements, among others, make the pharmaceutical industry a major consumer of energy and constitute a major balance expenditure.

Downtime

Downtimes, specifically unplanned, hits the production target very hard and affect the demand-supply ratio of an organization. It also affects the capability of an organization to deliver products on time.

Downtime affects the quality of products because intermittent & non-continuous operation of equipment does not produce quality products.

Some factors that contribute to the equipment downtime include but are not limited to unavailability of spare parts, lack of skilled personnel, and tight production schedule.

Supply Chain Issues

The supply chain is one of the critical areas of the Pharmaceutical industry. Raw Material and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients – APIs manufacture pharma drug products. After manufacturing, finished products require transportation to the end user through intermediate resources. All these functions are an important part of supply chain operations that can disrupt the pharma operations and similarly affect the ability of an organization to deliver products on time.

Some possible challenges faced by the supply chain department of an organization include the following

· The pharma organization's ability to transfer temperature-sensitive products in specially designed containers. Products such as Vaccines require low temperatures for their efficacy, which must be retained until the product reaches the supply chain

· Readiness for worst-case scenarios, such as in long machine breakdown or difficulty in availability of raw material due to any reason

· End to end supply of pharma products to their end users in the shortest period due to many reasons such as emergency or other critical situation

The abovementioned challenges affect production, and every pharma organization must strive hard to increase production by taking some basic steps.

How do you increase production from your pharmaceutical facility?

Let's discuss some ways the pharma industry can increase its production

Use automation in routine processes

Automaton is becoming common in many manufacturing industries, and pharmaceuticals are no different. It automatically executes the processes based on pre-defined parameters until the desired product is outputted.

Various components, such as controllers, sensors, and motor drivers, implement automation. Some elements, such as sensors, are used to monitor the process, while others are responsible for completing the process. There are many benefits of automation; one is the elimination of human involvement in the process, which solves many of the problems.

Automation helps to increase productivity by enhancing the accuracy of a process, which decreases product wastage due to inaccuracies in the product characteristics. These accuracies can be achieved at high speed compared to human-controlled processes.

Another benefit of automation is its ability to adjust to changing product or user requirements. It is possible to make adjustments in a short amount of time without making considerable changes to the machine.

For example, if a pharma organization plans to increase its tablet product range with another fill weight. It can be easily adjusted with the main controller without any major changes in the machine.

Keeping production equipment in the ready state through effective Maintenance 

Machine breakdown is the major cause of production disruption in the pharma industry and can cost the organization in many terms. It also affects the performance of various machines installed in the facility.

Maintenance is the most effective way to tackle machine breakdown. It helps pharma manufacturers achieve their target by making their machines production-ready without needing a major overhaul at the time of production. Maintenance helps provide the machine's updated condition to its owner and act if required.

Commonly, pharmaceuticals have three different types of Maintenance ( as with other industries) - reactive, preventive & predictive.

Reactive Maintenance is the most common type and is included in all pharmaceutical organizations. It is performed on a required basis when a machine is broken due to any fault. The equipment or area responsible informs the maintenance department, which they perform according to the defined SOP. This type of Maintenance is not preferred because it first puts the machine in a faulty condition, which can hamper its life. If a breakdown occurs during the production of a critical or urgent product, it can affect that machine's productivity.

Preventive Maintenance is performed according to a fixed schedule, and its main purpose is to prevent faults before they occur. It involves inspecting different parts and rectifying or removing the faults before the machine goes into a breakdown condition.

Predictive Maintenance is predicting when the machine requires Maintenance. It includes a series of monitoring sensors that continuously monitor different machine parts. When their performance decreases below the threshold value, it gives an alert to perform Maintenance.

Utilizing software for critical tasks

Like other latest techniques, software can also be used in different components of pharma manufacturing. It helps personnel automate their daily tasks and focus more on process improvement than paperwork.

Software system enables personnel to execute their tasks error-free and in less time. Implementing organization-wide software also helps to communicate within different departments and plan production accordingly. 

The software also helps point out any errors or faults responsible personnels can undermine. For example, it can help to indicate near-expired items in the inventory and use them before their expiry date.

Another major advantage of the software is its capability to record. It can automatically keep and update the required records. Electronic signatures can be easily presented to regulatory bodies instead of paper-based documents.

Training

Training is how personnel at all levels are trained to use the existing system and keep them updated about the latest developments, technology, and problem-solving procedures. It is also a regulatory requirement for the pharmaceutical industry that must be proved during the inspection.

Training can be vital and effective for an organization's workforce. It helps them to understand current and existing systems better. It allows them to solve problems and overcome difficulties during routine processes.

Training about the latest developments in an organization helps them understand them and perform effectively.

The advantages mentioned above enable employees to work smarter and faster, helping organizations achieve their goals and targets better.

About the Author:

Muhammad Asim Niazi

Muhammad Asim Niazi has a vast experience of about 11 years in a Pharmaceutical company. During his tenure he worked in their different departments and had been part of many initiatives within the company. He now uses his experience and skill to write interested content for audiences at PharmaSources.com.