December 17th Webinar on Pharmaceutical Microbiology: Getting Lean with Automation

On Tuesday, December 17th, Rapid Micro Biosystems will be hosting the webinar Pharmaceutical Microbiology: Getting Lean with Automation. Led by Technical Services Manager Kevin Walsh, the presentation will feature helpful information on the principles of Lean quality control, as well as tips for microbiologists who want to streamline their workflows with RMM technologies. Specific topics of interest will include:

Principles of Lean Quality Control

Pharmaceutical companies have long been using Lean practices in manufacturing, but they've only recently begun to incorporate the same ideas into quality control. Kevin will explain how well established Lean principles apply to the microbiologist's environment, and he'll cover the documentation and validation policies required in the move away from traditional methods.

Eliminating Waste

Manufacturers in every industry have streamlined their production processes by identifying and eliminating their largest sources of waste. In general, there are seven forms of waste any lean process can potentially reduce:

• Defects and errors

• Over-production

• Transportation

• Waiting

• Inventory

• Motion

• Excessive Processing

Reducing Motion

One major tenet to Lean processes is the elimination of redundant and time-consuming steps. By implementing systems such as the Growth DirectTM System into their workflows, quality control personnel can avoid the manual work required in pulling samples, performing counts, entering data and returning and transferring cassettes.

Faster Results

Microbiological automation doesn't just save labor; it allows for far faster results than the manual method. Through cutting-edge imaging technology and direct integration with users' LIMS, RMM technologies can provide accurate, instantly accessible results in half the time or less.

Less Transportation

Given the right equipment, automation can also cut down on the time quality control workers spend transporting samples to and from their manufacturing lines. Automated systems can be placed at or near production lines, allowing for more efficient sample preparation and loading.

Fewer Errors

When using the manual method, even the most well-trained and experienced microbiologists may transfer plates incorrectly, contaminate samples during transfers, miscount colonies or record incorrect data. With automation, RMM users rarely have to worry about these errors.

Interested in learning more about automation and lean quality control? Click here to register for the December 17th webinar.