Process Optimization
4 steps instead of 15 steps
By analyzing the process steps of the planning process, it became clear that a number of them had no apparent added value or were time consuming, or delivered the wrong output. In the end, we kept 4 essential process steps, automating parts of the process by means of a software tool.
Read more about process optimization at Janssen Pharmaceutica Grafic Services. An article written by Peter Ooms, published in “Industrie Atelier”.
Correct planning date
Janssen Pharmaceutical Graphic Services designs & delivers drug instructions which are included in the packaging of medical drugs. Senior manager Marcel Ten Brinke is the Head of this organisation with departments in Belgium and the United States. “From 2004 onwards, the number of orders increased steadily to a level of more than 5000 per year. We are responsible for the design in more than 40 languages, used in more than 160 marketing organisations. The main problem was that we could not deliver our designs in time, and this had its effect on the supply chain of the medical drugs itself.”
“The renewed planning process now delivers reliable planning dates, based on excellent calculations and with less need for human resources. The planner can now focus more on operational improvements and actions. Also other internal departments benefit: less stock interruptions, no delays in production and less need for in-between orders. Our customers are very satisfied with the evolution”, says Inge Vermeiren, team leader Grafic Services EMEA during the October session of “Industrie Atelier”.
Process Excellence projects
“We started process excellence projects to come up with durable and persistent solutions. A standard problem solving and improvement methodology exists within Janssen Pharmaceutica.
This methodology is called Process Excellence”, says Yolande Vanhove, Vice President of het Improvement Department assisting the divisions. All our activities are based upon a simple cycle : where are we now, where do we want to be in the future, how to get there and how do we know that we reach our objective?
The first analysis is based on assessments, on comparisons with other internal departments or with benchmarks outside the company. The project objectives are aligned with the global strategy. To reach our goals we use tools such as Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing etc. We measure our own progress with causal dashboards.”
Stanwick has facilitated a high number of these projects. Management Consultant Kurt Magherman: “We help the people in the departments to implement the change themselves. We train the people and facilitate the projects during start-up phase. But the goal is ultimately to share and transfer our knowledge with the operational people.
Each person in the Graphic Services Department has received an introduction on Process Excellence methodology. Besides the technical tools, we see the social skills as equally important in order to bring real change. In a way, the soft skills are also hard skills. Good communication, adequate leadership, etc... those are more difficult to train and coach than conducting a complex statistical analysis.
Strongly developed soft skills are a prerequisite when it comes to change management. You have to overcome the resistance against change; otherwise the solution will not work. And Janssen does also focus on these soft aspects, rightly so!”.
Workflow
The concept of global workflow. This knowledge is important to Katrien Moreau during the realization of her project. She is Process Lead Graphic Process Excellence and is responsible to make the whole workflow transparent, comprising Belgium and US. “When this department became unified, it was clear that there were quite a number of differences. We have common customers, and we realized that we treated them differently, depending of the location. This resulted in different service levels in the eye of the customer.
Therefore, we designed a uniform process. This unified workflow is based on a soft application we call ePackMat. This system enables exchange of graphical files but it also entails an audit trail needed in pharmaceutical production. The system was first used in Europe, and shall now be implemented in the States. At first there was resistance from our US colleagues, but it turned into enthusiasm: we gave a lot of attention to the human aspects and impact on organisation”.
