H&K Capsule Filling Equipment Reliability

Abstract

Encapsulation is a process whereby the dose is charged into a hard gelatin capsule; powder, pellets, tablets or combinations of two or more of these may be filled into the capsules. Capsules provide a convenient way of dosing medicines which are not conveniently made into a single tablet or do not provide the desired pharmaceutical effect when dosed as a tablet. The project presented the utilization of DMAIC improvement methodology to mitigate conditions adverse to a capsule filling process, like process downtime and spare parts consumption. The DMAIC process was not limited to the operations directly related to the filling process since several failure root causes are identified includes indirect causes related to storage and handling practices. Downtime impacts not only the production activities schedule and company financial results, also causing product waste. Other consequences include potential non conformance quality conditions and impact to the supply chain in a timely matter. Key Terms- Changeover, DMAIC, Process Downtime, Spare Parts.