Sterilization Area Downtime Reduction

Abstract

With plans of increasing production, the sterilization area of a pharmaceutical plant has to maximize its operating performance and reduce its downtime. The major offenders of downtime are the micro test cycles, maintenance and the operators’ efficiency. Nevertheless, the data revealed that many of the downtime reported recently is due to lack of production. It was also identified that most of the downtime caused by micro can be eliminated by doing the tests on Mondays and in the mornings, taking advantage of the new production schedule of two 10-hours shifts. In terms of maintenance, as with the micro tests, the mornings have to be used, and new technicians must be hired to perform more maintenance during the weekends. From the operating performance of the personnel, it was identified that the fastest way of unloading and loading the vessels is by working in pairs. All these will reduce the sterilization downtime, but will only count if production stabilizes and increase. Key Terms ⎯ Coordination, Maintenance, Operating Performance, Vessels.