Operational Excellence by Implementation of 5S Concepts and Lean Management Practices in Vivarium
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/jlas.2024.7.2.2Keywords:
Lean Management, Quality Assurance, Kaizen Events, Gemba Walk, 5S Concepts, Process ImprovementsAbstract
Modern vivarium operation requires collective efforts by cross-functional teams especially within the collaborative research organizations for the successful outcomes of comprehensive laboratory animal care program. The drug discovery with rapid screening turnovers and innovative approaches demands infrastructure expansion by increasing several other capabilities in vivarium. The strategic portfolio changes and therapeutic areas closure retained several high-end equipment’s left unused that eventually occupied space in the barrier system which intricate daily operations and space management became challenging over the period. The vivarium facility was under continuous improvement by the quality assurance program based on monthly independent audit reports and compiled the compliance including animal welfare standards of at least 5 years period. Corporate initiatives such as Kaizen events, 5S concepts, Gemba walk and green labs certifications were implemented systematically at various phases across the organization including vivarium. The leadership team was a driving force behind the lean management practices and its implementation. The quality assurance program was able to bring out several improved operational processes notably by creating an additional quarantine space; repurposing high-end equipment for other investigators to support their ongoing programs; effective space utilization by creating in-house diagnostic laboratory; donating low-density animal racks for academic institutions as part of educational outreach efforts; containment of solid radioactive waste disposal by compaction process for longer half-life radioisotopes. In conclusion, lean management practices collectively demonstrated a measurable outcome in terms of continuous process improvement, effective vivarium management by ensuring compliance based on periodical observations without compromising animal welfare, conservation of energy and resources, effective space utilization and systematic implementation of 5S concepts by repurposing of equipment to other laboratories. Overall, the system-driven process has improved the standards with better performance that eventually enhanced the quality and productivity at the laboratory animal facility
Downloads
References
1. Andersson S. 2009. Making medicinal chemistry more effective - application of lean sigma to improve processes speed and quality. Drug Discov. Today 14: 598-
604.
2. Bhasin S, Burcher P. 2006. Lean viewed as a philosophy. Journal of Manufacturing and Technology Management, 17: 56-72.
3. Bhasin S. 2011 Performance of organizations treating lean as an ideology, Bus Process Manag. J. 17: 986- 1011.
4. Byrne B, McDermott O, Noonan J. 2021. Applying Lean Six Sigma Methodology to a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility: A Case Study. Processes, 9: 550. 1-24.
5. Camacho-Minano MM, Moyano-Fuentes J, Sacristan-Diaz M. 2013. What can we learn from the evolution of research on lean management assessment? Int J Prod Res. 51: 1098-1116.
6. Carbasho T. 2013. Seattle children’s research institute adopts lean strategies for vivarium. The Lama review. 25(4): 21- 24.
7. Carleysmith SW, Dufton AM, Altria KD. 2009. Implementing Lean Sigma in pharmaceutical research and development: a review by practitioners. R&D Management. 39(1): 95-106.
8. Condel JL, Sharbaugh DT, Raab SS. 2004. Error-free pathology: applying lean production methods to anatomic pathology. Clin Lab Med. 24(4): 865-99.
9. Cordes C, Richersonb PJ, Schwesinger G. 2010. How corporate cultures coevolve with the business environment: The case of firm growth crises and industry evolution. J Econ Behav. 76: 465-480.
10. Dibia IK, Dhaka HN, Onuh S. 2014. Lean “Leadership People Process Outcome”
(LPPO) implementation model. J. Manuf. Technol. Manag. 25: 694-711. 11. Dickson EW, Singh S, Cheung DS, Wyatt CC et al 2009. Application of lean manufacturing techniques in the Emergency Department. J Emerg Med. 37:177- 82.
12. Gras JM, Philippe M. 2007. Application of the Six Sigma Concept in Clinical Laboratories: a review. Clin Chem Lab Med. 45(6): 789-796.
13. Hammond C. O’Donnell CJ. (2008) Lean six sigma - its application to drug discovery. Drug Disc. World Spring 11- 18.
14. Holden RJ. 2011. Lean Thinking in Emergency Departments: A Critical Review. Ann Emerg Med. 57: 265 - 278.
15. Hollensead SC, Lockwood WB, Elin RJ. 2004. Errors in pathology and laboratory medicine: consequences and prevention. J Surg Oncol. 88:161-181.
16. Johnstone C, Pairaudeau G, Pettersson JA. 2011. Creativity, Innovation and lean sigma; a controversial combination. Drug Discov Today. 16: 50-57.
17. Khan N and Umrysh BM. 2008. Improving animal research facility operations through the application of lean principles. ILAR. J. 49: 15-22.
18. Kovach JV, Dash A (2019). Using the Lean Six Sigma Methodology to Reduce Mouse Cage Sanitation Time for Animal Care and Use Programs. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 58(5): 551-557.
19. Lewis MA. 2000. Lean production and sustainable competitive advantage. Int J Oper Prod Man. 20: 959-978.
20. Liker J. 2004. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill.
21. Morawietz G, Ruel-Fehlert C, Kittel B, Bube E A et al. 2004. Revised guides for organ sampling and trimming in rats and
mice - Part 3. Exp Toxic Pathol. 55: 433- 449.
22. Nenni ME, Giustiniano L, Pirolo L. 2014. Improvement of Manufacturing Operations through a Lean Management Approach: A Case Study in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Int J Med Bus Manag. 6: 1-6.
23. Nesensohn C, Bryde D, Ochieng E, Fearon D et al. 2014. Assessing Lean Construction Maturity. Proceedings IGLC-22 “People, Culture and Change”, June, Oslo, Norway, 1157-1168.
24. Nightingale DJ, Mize JH. 2002. Development of a lean enterprise transformation maturity model. Inf Knowl Syst Manage. 3: 15-30.
25. Pandey M, 2012. The corporate prophet. Trulearn Solutions. 1-150.
26. Papadopoulou TC, Ozbayrak M. 2005. Leanness: experiences from the journey to date. Manag. J. 16: 784-807.
27. Rymaszewska AD. 2014. The challenges of lean manufacturing implementation in SMEs. Benchmarking: An International Journal. 21: 987-1002.
28. Schweikhart SA, Dembe AE. 2009. The applicability of lean and six sigma techniques to clinical and translational research. The Lama review. 25: 9-20.
29. Sewing A, Winchester T, Carnell1 P. 2008. Helping science to succeed: improving processes in R&D. Drug Discov Today. 13: 227-231.
30. Stahl NZ. 2013. Mass general cuts costs in the vivarium with lean process implementation. The Lama review. 25: 36-39.
31. Tummala S, Granowski JA. 2014. Lean concepts for vivarium operational excellence. Lab Animal Sci Prof 2:26-30.
32. Ullman F, Boutellier R. 2008. A case study of lean drug discovery: from project driven research to innovation studios and process factories. Drug Discov Today. 13: 543-550.
33. Urban W. 2015. The lean management maturity self-assessment tool based on organizational culture diagnosis. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 213: 728-733.
34. Veiga GL. 2011. The Strategic Role of Lean - A Discussion. Braz. J. Oper. Prod. Manag. 8: 9-30.
35. Weller HN, Nirschl DS, Petrillo EW, Poss MA et al. 2006. Application of Lean Manufacturing Concepts to Drug Discovery: Rapid Analogue Library Synthesis. J Comb Chem. 8: 664-69.
36. Young GY, Charns MP, Shortell SM. 2001. Top manager and network effects on the adoption of innovative management practices: a study of TQM in a public hospital system. Strat Mgmt J.
22: 935-951.
37. Zynda JR. 2015. A shift in designing cage washing operations. Lab Anim (NY) 44:146-149.
