QA Process Optimisation in Pharmaceutical Company
Tefen worked with a major pharmaceutical company to accommodate growth while reducing costs in the QA organisation. A roadmap of recommendations was produced to cope with increasing workloads with current headcount.
Problem
Having received a large amount of investment, the company is coming under increasing pressure to deliver cost effective products. Increased volume, complexity of products and tighter resources will place greater demands on QA function in the near future; impacting on operational, problem solving and managerial activities. The challenge is to enable the QA organisation to cope with the increased production planned in the next 2 years, while keeping a level headcount.
Response
Tefen supported Process Optimisation by:
- Assessing potential improvement benefits in QA; understanding key priorities and stakeholder alignment
- Analysing current practices through process mapping sessions and MOS (Multi Observational Study)
- Identifying major reasons for performance gaps within QA, quantifying them to make improvement recommendations and redesign the processes to eliminate waste, delay & rework
- Providing strategic advice and developing roadmap with detailed efficiency recommendations to support the site reach the defined targets
Results:
Process improvement recommendations to reduce the estimated 2013 workload from 80 to 66 FTE’s and 2014 workload from 100 to 81 FTE’s. Identification and quantification of a further 4.5 FTE’s workload that could be absorbed with increased employee efficiency, as well as further un-quantified recommendations for quality improvements.
