New Perspective for Easily Improving Quality
For many, quality control means checking end-product quality. Building quality into complex weighing processes helps meet compliance goals, especially in highly regulated industries, such as the pharmaceutical industry.
Building quality into the process
Active ingredient weighing tolerances can be as low as several thousandths of a percent in pharmaceutical manufacturing. With expensive or rare ingredients—and even lives—on the line, errors can be costly, especially if they are not discovered until the end of a batch process.
Quality by Design (QbD) is increasingly being adopted in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Supported worldwide by regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, QbD focuses pharmaceutical manufacturing on quality from the very beginning of process design.
Process-based equipment selection
Using QbD principles, weighing equipment selection is grounded in an understanding of the manufacturing process. It takes various aspects into account, including:
- verifying weighing sensor accuracy meets process tolerances,
- ensuring scales are designed for rough manufacturing and harsh cleaning conditions, and
- making sure equipment is easy to use and provides appropriate operator guidance.
Taken together, these aspects allow selection of weighing equipment that is ideally matched to the needs of the manufacturing process.
Free QbD webinar
METTLER TOLEDO has developed a new webinar that details the importance of building QbD principles into weighing processes to ensure consistent product quality and enhance productivity and profitability. The webinar explores why a systematic understanding of process tolerances is important, and how this understanding influences weighing process quality and performance.
To download the free webinar, visit: www.mt.com/ind-qbd