- Title
- Impact of a manufacturing execution system on production lead-times at a pharmaceutical company
- Creator
- Kemp, Lizet
- Subject
- Pharmaceutical industry
- Subject
- Computer integrated manufacturing systems
- Date Issued
- 2021-04
- Date
- 2021-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51253
- Identifier
- vital:43238
- Description
- Despite the development in computerised systems and in planning and manufacturing programmes since 1950, Pharma-X* still record their manufacturing processes manually, using a paper batch record, (Manufacturing Batch Records (MBR) or Batch Manufacturing Records (MBR)) and equipment logbooks. There can be up to five logbooks and an equipment control label for each type of equipment used at each process step, which must be completed manually before manufacturing can commence. This paper-based system is a laborious practice, as excessive time is spent completing manual entries into the MBRs and logbooks. Lean thinking, a popular manufacturing improvement philosophy, would describe any such activity as non-value adding and therefore waste (Melton, 2005). Pharma-X started implementing a manufacturing execution system (MES) in June 2018 to automate the manual entries of the manufacturing process. Once the MES is completely implemented, it will allow pharmacists the opportunity to review the manufacturing batch in real-time and to conduct investigations when an error occurs. MES will also allow the operators to complete logbooks with a single scan of equipment, as well as decrease manual entries into the MBR. This study was a quantitative research study comparing data of the past state (Pharma-X pre-MES) with data of a current state (Pharma-X post-MES implementation) to assess the impact of the implementation of a manufacturing execution system and lean manufacturing on a pharmaceutical company. A meaningful reduction in manufacturing lead time and reduction in time wastage were proven but further study and data documentation are recommended.
- Description
- Thesis (M Pharm) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, 2021
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- Format
- 1 online resource (84 pages)
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- rights holder
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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NMU School of Medicinal Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Kemp, L.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |