Shering-PloughControlling Variability in Production Time

Case Study

Solution delivered by Parsec Certified Partner

01 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

Pharmaceutical Industry

Since the implementation of TrakSYS™, Schering-Plough has continued to take advantage of the wide range of TrakSYS™ features and functions without any changes to infrastructure or software.

Utilized TrakSYSTM Features & Functions

Weighing & Dispensing

Job/WIP Management

Planning & Scheduling

Traceability & Genealogy

Material Management

Maintenance Management

Quality & SPC

OEE

Regulatory Compliance

Schering-Plough, with the help of

TrakSYS™, was able to reduce

unit cost by 25.5% while still

producing the same volume.

02 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

03 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

The history of Schering-Plough first began in Germany in 1851 when Ernst Schering founded pharmaceutical company Schering AG. In 1971 they merged with American based pharmaceutical company Plough, to form Schering-Plough1.

Schering-Plough manufactures many over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pharmaceutical drugs including, Claritin, Clarinex, Levitra, and NuvaRing. Schering-Plough also owns and operates foot care brand Dr. Scholl’s and skin care line Coppertone. Schering-Plough also operates the largest single site for veterinary vaccines in the world located in New Zealand1.

Schering-Plough turned to Parsec and their solution TrakSYS™ to help with; accuracy and timeliness of data, control of product variability, and compliance to name a few. (In 2009 Merck & Co. acquired Schering-Plough and renamed the company Merck.)

TrakSYS™ was selected because it met all the requirements as related to; IT standards, validation, proven ease of use, web-based information portal, and solution reliability. The application covered; material handling, lyophilization and dryers, tablet compression, inspection, filling, and blister packaging. Overall, TrakSYS™ supports; weighing, manufacturing, finishing and packaging, quality, and continuous improvement operations.

Company Overview

04 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

“After implementing TrakSYS™, we were able to increase OEE significantly. By providing real-time performance information, everybody was more committed to our improvement goals. On the shop-floor, having the ability to see performance information instantaneously became a major motivator for operators. TrakSYS™ made it possible to quickly identify the root causes of poor performance and to devise corrective actions for substantial gains in overall manufacturing productivity.”

Fábio Miessa Tardivo Industrial Excellence Manager

Figure 1 - Schering-Plough TrakSYS™ OEE Summary

05 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

TrakSYS™ works to provide critical, accurate, and real-time information to Schering-Plough’s operations teams. This makes it possible to manage operations more effectively to optimize production planning and asset utilization.

Knowing the Details

After meeting with Parsec, Schering-Plough was able to identify challenges and goals.

Challenges

• Accuracy and timeliness of manufacturing data.

• Maintaining the highest product quality while significantly reducing production costs.

• Wide variability in needed production time for similar products.

• Schedule compliance.

Goals

• Establishing standard time-of-production for different products.

• Having timely and correct information to more effectively plan, schedule, and execute production orders.

• Have clear understanding of production capacity and bottlenecks.

• Putting in place the tools needed for successful execution of the Continuous Improvement initiatives.

• Decreasing the set-up and operation time by at least 15%.

• Better managing the flow of production information, within existing IT infrastructure, throughout the factory.

• Effectively involving operators and stakeholders to improve commitment to operational excellence for better asset performance.

• Establish the accurate information that would allow determination of production cost by product, and to reduce such costs.

TrakSYSTM Solutions Architecture

• In accordance with site IT standards, TrakSYS™ was deployed in the distributed mode with one server each dedicated to the Application, Database, and Web.

• SENSORTrak™ high-speed data collectors, networked via Ethernet LAN, capture raw production data from various production systems.

• 25 EVENTTrak™ operator interface nodes placed throughout the facility to enable interaction with the systems (e.g., view information, reports, enter observations, categorize events, etc.).

• Plant-wide user workstations to view production and performance information via standard browser technology.

06 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

Business Users

TrakSYS™ ProductionServer

Firewall

Plant Floor Users

Dynamic Interfaces

Data Collector

Figure 2 - Schering-Plough TrakSYS™ Architecture

62%Decrease in

Overtime Expense

MotivatedOperators to Support

Improvements

18%Increase in Productivity

(units/person/year)

RootCause Analysis

Greatly Improved

14%Increase in

Production Capacity

ImprovedMaintenance Management

25.5%Reduction in Unit

Cost

AvailableInformation in Real-

time, Plant-wide

07 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

TrakSYSTM Solutions Results

The TrakSYS™-powered operations management solution helped the São Paulo, Brazil plant to achieve:

With their Brazil factory near

capacity, TrakSYS™ increased

production output by 14%

without additional floor space or

production equipment.

08 Schering-Plough Controlling Variability in Production Time

There were several benefits quickly realized after the deployment of TrakSYS™:

• Consistent availability of accurate production data.

• Improved root cause analysis.

• Availability of needed information for fast response to problems.

• Improved maintenance.

• Motivated operators, able to make a noticeable contribution.

• Supported continuous improvement campaigns.

Consequently, there were significant business benefits that were realized:

• 25.5% cost reduction in production per unit (production expenses/volume).

• 62% reduction in overtime expenses.

• Production capacity increased by 14% without requiring new equipment.

• Productivity increased by 18% (produced units/person/year).

Achieved TrakSYS™ Solution Benefits

TM

Parsec is the developer of TrakSYS™, a proven operations management software application and solution platform designed to significantly improve manufacturing processes. Parsec is committed to providing best-in-class products and solutions to our worldwide community of clients to assist them in optimizing their manufacturing operations. There are thousands of TrakSYS™ licenses in use around the globe in a wide variety of Industries.

TrakSYS™ helps manufacturers to maximize asset utilization and efficiency, increase capacity with no new capital equipment, reduce production costs, decrease lead time, and improve profitability. For more information about Parsec and TrakSYS™, please visit the corporate website at www.parsec-corp.com.

About Parsec

Copyright Parsec Automation Corp. 2016 All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

1. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schering-Plough#Exercise_drug

Sources