Skyepharma, focused on Right First Time for the benefit of the customer

 

At Skyepharma, we ensure Right First Time (RFT) for customers by leveraging the experience and skills of our production and quality technicians.

This initiative is part of a global lean management project started in 2016 on the Skyepharma site. We make the most of the expertise of production and quality technicians by proactively preparing with them the operations they will have to perform on each product.

By sharing this experience, and anticipating key operations to be performed on the ground, the Right First Time team has been able to improve operational excellence and reduce the number of errors in batch records.

Two concrete applications of RFT management

Creation and writing of training booklets

“In order to improve accuracy when filling in records, we introduced new training booklets to support field staff and meet our RFT requirement,” explains Sylvie Comby, quality technician and member of the RFT team.

Anthony Franc, manufacturing operator, added: “Having worked at Skyepharma for less than a year, this support has helped me to work safely and confidently on products I was not familiar with. This sharing of knowledge has allowed for high-quality work.”

Vincent Girardet, New Product Introduction (NPI) department technician, said: “I have been working at Skyepharma since 2006 in production and for two years in the NPI department. Working between different departments and equipment with product-specific batch records is always complex. This support helped me to quickly and easily adapt and fill out my batch file. The most obvious indicator was that there was no mistakes after proofreading.”

Implementing the 5S method

“The 5S” method is a Japanese organizational method, which was invented by Toyota to organize its workstation or workplace:

  1. Seiri: get rid of
  2. Seiton: organize
  3. Seiso: clean up
  4. Seiketsu: to order
  5. Shitsuke: be rigorous

The 5S tool is widely used at Skyepharma. “All services, from logistics to production and laboratory, are positively impacted by us using the 5S approach to optimise how we work, ”Benjamin Donneau Renard, continuous improvement coordinator and member of the RFT team, explains.

  • “It is a tool with many advantages for us:
  • It improves safety
  • It improves staff motivation, reduces stress (clean and tidy place)
  • It improves equipment performance (clear adjustment instructions, etc.)
  • It develops a spirit of rigor and respect for others
  • It allows us to embrace continuous improvement and not to stay with old practices”

“All these reasons led us to go on with this 5S approach and we can see some examples of its application on our site below.”

Manufacturing

Before

Manufacturing : Before

After

Manufacturing : After

Archives

Before

Archives : Before

After

Archives : After

Feedback from Managers

 

Aline Moulin, head of the pharmaceutical development department at Skyepharma, recognizes the effectiveness of these practices.

“This approach is very important for new products developed at Skyepharma by the development teams, and transferred to production teams,” she explains. “It ensures a seamless operation, resulting in accelerated time to market.”

Frédéric Checot, production manager, added: “RFT is a priority for Skyepharma.  It’s a key performance indicator that we monitor every month and which ensures the quality of the products provided to the customer. We have a target of more than 95% of good batches the first time. This objective demonstrates our commitment to reliability for our customers. It guarantees the security of their supply chain and quality first time.”

 

About Skyepharma

 

Located in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, in the greater Lyon area, the Skyepharma site provides solutions bringing value to its clients at any stage of a product development lifecycle, from early stage development up to commercial manufacturing and packaging activities. Skyepharma’s value proposition includes tailored services to clients’ requirements, supporting them up to market introduction for their solid dosage form projects.

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