New flow route for the delivery of the to be cleaned filling equipment for the lot-to-lot changeover optimization using the lean manufacturing methodology

Abstract

Management demand to reduce downtime in manufacturing had increased in recent years. This led manufacturing to use the Lean Methodology and Six Sigma tools to optimize the process. Focused on process improvement and down time reduction an initiative started to reduce the lot-to-lot changeover for filling areas. A new flow route was added to the Standard Operating Procedure to deliver the used filling equipment. This new flow route resulted in a reduction of 33% in movement waste and a 58% benefit of time spent on task for the Syringe Filling Line, and a 43% in movement waste and 67% time spent on task benefit for the Vial Filling Line. The ergonomic risk was calculated for the task, and it was lowered from a Moderate to a Low Risk after implementing administrative ergonomic controls in the Job Hazard Analysis. These results yielded a positive impact in time reduction for both filling lines. Key Terms ⎯ Flow Route, Lean Manufacturing, Lot-to-Lot Changeover, Process Improvement.