As pharma companies continue to grow and increase production, it becomes important to add new processes or update existing areas. When adding/updating an area, it’s important to evaluate the flow of materials for efficiency and safety.  

This article explores: 

1. Understanding how material handling impacts material flows 
2. Common pain points when handling pharma materials manually 
3. Improvement strategies for pharma material flows 

 

Understanding How Manual Handling Impacts Pharma Manufacturing

A variety of materials need to be lifted and moved during the drug manufacturing process. But manually handling these materials can lead to risk for people, products, and productivity.  

 Safety Risks & Poor Ergonomics 

Lifting materials by hand can put workers safety at risk. Handling heavy items puts a lot of weight and stain on workers that can lead to musculoskeletal injuries. Even lifting lighter items can cause physical injuries for workers because operations require repetitive lifting.  

It’s also important to consider ergonomics for material handling. Bending over to lift an item puts strain on a worker’s back and shoulders. Or carrying an item can be difficult on a worker’s wrists as they try to maintain a firm grip. The process should be designed to reduce the chance of injuries and promote ergonomic lifting. 

Risk to Product Quality 

Every transfer step in the process has the risk of a potential contamination or a mix-up point happening. This means effectively handling materials as they get transferred is important to maintain a high quality product.  

Also, lifting and moving materials by hand can lead to mistakes, such as a worker accidentally dropping it. To ensure secure, consistent lifting, you should consider adding equipment into the process. 

Decreased Efficiency 

When workers manually handle items, it can lead to non-standardized lifting, which adds more variations into the process. For maximum efficiency, it is beneficial to reflect on the flow of material, identify potential slowdowns, and establish a standard process.  

A well-planned and executed process can reduce unexpected downtime with less unplanned stops. It can also lead to more predictable cycle times, so changeover is more efficient.  

 

Common Pain Points when Handling Pharma Materials Manually 

Common materials that need to be handled in pharma operations are drums, sacks, rolls, and boxes. Let’s explore important lifting considerations for each type of material. 

Drum Handling 

• Drums are often heavy and awkward to handle. Lifting them has concerns like overexertion, tripping hazards, and pinch points. 
• Materials can come in many different types of drums, such as plastic, steel, and fiber. This variety can make it more complicated to select handling equipment as some tools can only handle one type of drum. 
• For open drum operations, it is important to think about what dust is generated and what exposure operators face. 

Sack/Bag Handling 

• Similar to drums, sacks can come in a wide range of types, such as paper or plastic. Equipment needs to be able to handle the different types of sacks. 
• Many sacks need to be moved from a pallet to its pour point, such as a hopper. When workers manually carry sacks, this process causes physical strain. Also, bending down to pick up a sack from a pallet is not good ergonomics. 
• Cutting sacks and pouring them can generate a lot of dust. 
• Sack material flows need to be careful that no foreign material like bag fiber enters the product stream.

Roll Handling

• It can be challenging for workers to manually lift heavy rolls onto packing or blister lines, and this puts workers at risk of injuries. 
• With roll handling, there is the risk of damage to foil edges, telescoping rolls, or misalignment. These problems can lead to downtime and waste. 
• Cleanliness is very important because rolls are often handled in close proximity to primary packaging of drug products. 

Box Handling 

• When works manually form, pack, and seal of cartons/cases, it can cause labor bottlenecks, and the repetitive motions can lead to physical strain and injuries. 
• Any mix‑ups or mis‑labeling of cartons will hurt serialization and traceability. 
• Damage to cartons when they are palletized or stored risks the integrity of the product.  

 

Improvement Strategies for Pharma Material Flows 

When examining the flow of materials, it’s important to consider ways to improve the process in terms of worker safety, product integrity, and efficiency. 

Optimize Processes 

Efficiency is critical when designing a new workflow or updating an existing one. Examine the big picture and how each step of the process contributes to that part of the facility.  

Ask questions like, what is the frequency, distance, and posture required for a material handling task? Where are areas that could be optimized for better safety and/or speed? 

The operational layout can have a big impact on speed and ergonomics. Some example ideas to optimize a process are: 

• Reduce the distance heavy carts need to be moved.  
• Create routes and choose floor quality with roll carts in mind.  
• Have sufficient clearance and lighting around unwind/rewind stations so it’s easier for workers to have safer loading and threading. 
• Pre‑stage reels on carts at the right orientation and height to minimize later adjustments. 
• Use automated label application and inspection to reduce risk of wrong or missing labels. 

Implement Ergonomic Lifting Tools 

Adding ergonomic lifting equipment into material flows removes physical strain from workers and ensures consistent speed because a machine doesn’t get tired. Also, machines can reliably and securely grip items, which can reduce the chance of spillage, product damage, or contamination. 

Ergonomic aids to consider: 

• Trolleys to help lift and tilt drums, so workers don’t have to handle the heavy load manually. 
• Lift-assist devices like vacuum lifters and hoists can raise bags from a pallet, move them to the dumping area, and lift them to the needed height. 
• Trolleys can grip a reel from the outside or from the core and a valuable way to help workers load and unload reels for packaging changeovers. 

Provide Training 

Developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training workers on them helps all workers complete tasks efficiently.  

For example, a manager can demonstrate good reel handling techniques to workers. This can help prevent future crushed cores or edge damage that would cause misfeeds and unplanned stoppages.  

Another example is to develop and teach workers clear visual standards for labeling, orientation, and staging, which will reduce mis‑identification and mix‑ups. 

When equipment is introduced, operators shoulder receive training. Some companies like TAWI offer training once equipment is purchased and installed, so all workers can properly operate the machine. 

Standarize Material Types 

Work with suppliers to simplify the variety of items (like drum types and sack types) that materials come in. Handling items with the same size, material, and closure style makes it easy to create a standard process. 

Sometimes, it isn’t possible to reduce item options. In that situation, a factor for equipment selection should be versatility. This means that one machine can handle a variety of materials.  

A specific example is TAWI’s vacuum lifters have quick disconnect suction feet, so one lifter can be used to lift different items. 

Minimize Contamination Risks 

Product quality is vital, so material flows need to minimize contamination risks as much as possible. Some examples of how to reduce the chance of contamination: 

• Rolls are stored in clean, controlled areas, and reels are covered to prevent particulate contamination. 
• The environment is designed for cleanliness, like clear zoning between different levels of packaging and a well-defined flow of materials. 
• Closed or semi-closed transfer is used to keep materials contained. 
• Equipment has cleaning procedures and verification documented. 
• Mobile equipment can be moved for tasks like cleaning and maintaining it, and it is compatible with a wash-down environment. 

 

Conclusion – Create Stronger Pharma Material Flows 

When it’s time to update or add a process, consider how materials move through it. Improper or inefficient material handling can risk worker safety, product integrity, and production goals.  

To create stronger pharma material flows, it’s important to understand common challenges when lifting materials and how to solve them. Implementing the recommended strategies can make a big difference, but it can also be valuable to partner with a company that has expertise in material handling and helped pharma companies around the world.  

Learn about TAWI helped Qualiphar improve box handling and get inspiration for your operations.

Contact TAWI, and we’ll be happy to discuss your lifting situation and explore solutions that can help.