Optimizing Product Certification Time A Six-Sigma Approach to LIMS
Optimizing Product Certification Time
A Six-Sigma Approach to LIMS
By Prasanna Venkatesh,
LIMS Consultant, Satyam Computer Services Ltd.
Email: prasanna_vn@satyam.com
Abstract:
Is your laboratory quick enough to churn out the requisite number of product certificates in a day? If you are in doubt, you have a task-at-hand. Interestingly, allegiance to the six-sigma approach of problem solving can induce significant relief to your predicaments. The solution commences with the measurement of the actual time taken to certify a product and then proceeds to time optimization. Simple statistical techniques can be employed to cross check adherence to maximum laboratory throughput.
In this article, we will discuss a real time scenario where delay in product certifications has cost dearly to an organization and see how adding a few new features in LIMS can combat these trying situations.
Introduction:
Companies in Refining, Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverages businesses, which run large and very large manufacturing facilities, often encounter serious problems when it comes to timely product certification by their respective analytical laboratories. It goes without saying that any product without prior testing and certification cannot be sold. In a competitive business environment, any impedance to the product dispatch from the site of manufacture to the market place will prevent leveraging the company’s brand name.
Here, let us look at a very practical and an economically viable approach to firstly, measure the time taken for product certification and then discuss means to hasten it, if warranted. The entire scenario is handled using the LIMS application.
Industry Scene:
Typically, in a manufacturing industry, the life cycle of a product sample (or any sample) traverses the following path:
- Sample collection at a sample collection booth in the site of manufacture.
- Transportation of samples to the laboratory.
- Receiving and distribution of samples at the laboratory.
- Analyzing samples.
- Results and certification.
As you may have rightly guessed, the entire sample life cycle involves the intervention of many personnel and higher their number, larger is the chaos. The cause for concern here is the extra-ordinary time delays that happen when samples shift from one stage to another in their life cycle. These delays have a cascading effect and at times slow down the product certification speed to up to 50%.
Reasons for Delay:
The main reason for delay is the lack of communication between the parties involved. At each stage, the personnel concerned need to be notified of the sample status and ensure that they acknowledge their peers with their timely response.
One more reason for the delay, however a debatable one, is the lack of accountability. The protocol for sample movement across the participating departments within the organization needs to be stressed and observed.
Suggested Solution:
Firstly, there is a need to establish a trustworthy communication system, using the existing infrastructure and at most with minimal additional investment.
The product certification time is given by the sum total of all the time consumed at every intermediate stage in the sample life cycle. This intermediate time consumption can be captured in LIMS, simply by scanning the bar-coded sample label stuck to the sample container whenever the sample is transferred from one custodian to another.
The following picture illustrates how the above said can be done.
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The difference in the timestamps will exactly tell us how much percentage of time every intermediate stage consumed and will help us to focus on the problem area.
The solution may then turn out to be as simple as the following:
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Relocation of a sample collection booth for better proximity.
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Increasing the frequency of transportation to a particular field area.
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Increasing the number of the lab personnel attending a product sample.
Making LIMS Compatible:
Having suggested a workable solution, now it is required that the LIMS application caters to our demand. The LIMS application needs to be set up such that the bar code scans at every intermediate stage is communicated as an alert to the appropriate recipient. There should also be a receipt of acknowledgement to the sender whenever the recipient has read the alert message.
Six-Sigma Approach and LIMS:
Six-Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process — from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
A scientifically convincing solution to optimize product certification time is given by the six-sigma approach. We need to first collect the ‘time consumed’ data (total and intermediate) for a particular product sample. The data for the ‘least time consumed’ should be taken as the benchmark and the sample life cycle process should be tweaked to match it every time.
The objective of six-sigma quality is to reduce process variation so that on a long-term basis, the process is oriented to near perfection.
The LIMS application is the storehouse of all the process timestamps and serves as a data source to the six-sigma implementation.
DMAIC, which is the essence of the six-sigma implementation, can be achieved. It is a closed-loop process that eliminates unproductive steps, often focuses on new measurements, and applies technology for improvement.
DMAIC – (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) is a process for continued improvement. It is systematic, scientific and fact based.
Conclusion:
With little innovation and applying proven concepts, we can come up with reliable solutions to our every day problems. The marriage of the six-sigma approach to LIMS is only such one. The result, you have a laboratory which will never let you down for reasons of delay in product certification.