Transform Your Lab Efficiency with Pharmaceutical Lean Lab Principles

Discover How GSK Streamlined Their Laboratory Workflow

Implementing pharmaceutical lean lab principles can significantly enhance your efficiency and quality. Focusing on streamlined workflows, waste reduction, and continuous improvement can help labs achieve better performance and deliver high-quality results.

GSK's production facilities in Brazil continuously strive to optimize production flow, improve throughput, reduce costs, and maintain quality. METTLER TOLEDO is helping the company realize its goals through intelligent technology and skilled service.

Man working in a pharmaceutical laboratory using lean lab principles

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies with a presence in more than 93 countries. A leader in the discovery of therapeutic solutions, including medications and vaccines, it also develops and markets personal care products. The company’s network of 84 production units in 36 countries includes two major facilities in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Recently, the 70-person Quality Control (QC) team for these sites finished implementing a lean lab project in partnership with METTLER TOLEDO.

Supporting the value stream

In GSK’s QC labs, operators work to develop analytical methods that support scale-up across each of the six value streams, among them raw materials packaging and new products.

Filipe Gimenes, a QC manager for GSK Brazil, says the robust nature of the lab’s output demands a total focus on quality operations that go beyond traditional quality control. “Like a production chain, our labs have an input process output (IPO chain),” said Gimenes. “They also have human capital, consumables, reagent management, and planning and supporting for non-routine activities such as troubleshooting, cleanup, and process validation. It is so much more than quality control.”

METTLER TOLEDO helped enable GSK’s pharmaceutical lean lab principles by providing reliable lab equipment to help redesign the laboratory and operational flow. Workbenches have been turned into miniature production stations categorized by value stream. The equipment and consumables needed for each analyst have been positioned so each line can operate faster and more efficiently.

Excellence Analytical Balances are also part of the mix. These are high-precision instruments used for accurately measuring the mass of small samples and are especially efficient in cases where even tiny variations in weight can have a significant impact.

Making these changes to capitalize on lean principles while maintaining high quality was so important to the company that the plants were shut down briefly on two occasions. However, added productivity has more than made up for the downtime.

“The equipment does not fail,” said Gimenes. “And the improvements in flow mean our lead times have become shorter, so the GC lab supports the company’s cash flow due to inventory cycle time reduction that consequently enhances business sustainability.”
Gimenes, GSK

Understanding Pharmaceutical Lean Lab Principles

Pharmaceutical lean lab principles are centered around creating more value with fewer resources by optimizing workflows and eliminating waste.

Lean philosophies were first introduced in the ‘90s in manufacturing, evolving from Toyota’s implementation of lean strategies. In lab environments, lean laboratories are managed and organized to drive process optimization. Lean labs are focused on delivering consistently efficient outcomes — both in terms of speed and cost-effectiveness — while maintaining a relentless focus on quality.

Implementing lean lab strategies starts with value stream mapping.

Value Stream Mapping

Value stream mapping helps to visualize the entire workflow of a laboratory. By mapping out each step, you can identify bottlenecks and non-value-adding activities.

In GSK's case, reorganizing workbenches into miniature production stations categorized by value stream gave lab workers a more logical and efficient workflow, reducing unnecessary movement and accelerating throughput.

5S Methodology

The 5S methodology can be applied across industries but is particularly effective in labs. Implementing 5S in a pharmaceutical lab can produce dramatic improvements in efficiency and quality.

5S stands for:

Sort: Eliminate unnecessary items and movement from the workspace
Set in Order: Organize remaining items for efficiency
Shine: Inspect and clean lab work areas
Standardize: Create standard operating procedures
Sustain: Maintain the new order

The way GSK used METTLER TOLEDO workstations and equipment is a solid example of the "Set in Order" principle in action.

Continuous Flow and Pull Systems

Lean labs enable a continuous flow of work for peak efficiency. This is often achieved through the implementation of pull systems, where downstream processes "pull" samples from upstream processes as needed. Resources are provided as needed, rather than having materials "pushed" through the system regardless of the downstream capacity.

It can be a subtle but effective change to improve efficiency and eliminate waste.

Visual Management

Visual management tools, such as Kanban boards or digital dashboards, can enhance communication and workflow in a lean lab. These tools provide information about the status of various processes, helping to identify bottlenecks and manage workloads more effectively.

As optimization occurs, these dashboards help to identify non-value-added activities that can be further eliminated to streamline processes. They also provide you with a way to monitor and assess any changes you make.

Standardization

Standardizing procedures wherever possible is key to a lean environment because standard practices produce consistency and repeatability. It also makes it easier to train new staff and identify areas for improvement.

Lean Lab Guide: 9 Steps to Lean Laboratory

By integrating effective practices with advanced technological solutions, this useful guide presents the nine steps to foster a lean laboratory environment.