Case study: Global Pharmaceutical Company and US Government uses Access Orchestrate for pandemic planning and scheduling
Baseline Controls' clients depend on mission-critical scheduling and planning to deliver projects. See how Access Orchestrate helps conduct detailed analysis of capacity and highlight where equipment was being over or under-utilized.
Business size
Medium
Industry
Biopharmaceuticals
Product
Access Orchestrate
Challenge
Baseline Controls was commissioned to carry out a facility design capacity study for the US government and a leading pharmaceutical company. As part of a public-private initiative, the two stakeholders were set to deliver a $1billion facility, capable of producing enough vaccines for half the US population, in preparation for a possible future flu pandemic.
Approach
Following an extensive review process, Baseline Controls chose Access Orchestrate, a planning and scheduling platform that integrates with other systems.
Results
Access Orchestrate was used to prove that the facility could deliver results at a capacity planning and ‘what-if’ level, before being rolled out further.
Video case study: Baseline Controls
Background
Baseline Controls, Inc. located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a planning and engineering consulting company, working with global firms in the pharmaceutical, hi-tech, construction and utility sectors. Its clients depend on mission-critical scheduling and planning to deliver projects – which could include anything from launching a new pharmaceutical drug or IT system to construction work or a facility shutdown. With a wealth of industry experience, Baseline Controls' consultants empower time-sensitive professionals within these organizations with the necessary tools to ensure projects are delivered to the highest standard.
Through an integrated planning approach, Baseline Controls excels in aligning complex projects with schedules and tasks with actions, ultimately ensuring that work is completed within set timelines and budgets.
Baseline Controls’ planning expertise is such that it was commissioned to carry out a facility design capacity study for the US government and a leading pharmaceutical company. As part of a public-private initiative, the two stakeholders were set to deliver a $1billion facility, capable of producing enough vaccines for half the US population, in preparation for a possible future flu pandemic.
US Government requirements
As part of its pandemic readiness contract with the government, the pharmaceutical company needed a capacity analysis to determine whether it would be able to produce the required 150 million doses of vaccine. It was not only to determine capacity but also in a maximum delivery timeline of 6 months.
Armed with data from a limited number of initial batch runs, including the product cycle times, Baseline Controls evaluated market-leading planning and scheduling model software, in order to identify one solution that would provide a proof-of-concept for the stakeholders.
Since the facility wasn’t yet running at full capacity, we needed a model to evaluate if the facility could deliver on its full design objectives.
Following an extensive review process, Baseline Controls chose Access Orchestrate, a planning and scheduling platform that integrates with other systems. Tailored for the pharmaceutical industry, this software enables users to conduct 'what-if?' analysis and optimize available resources to save time, reduce waste, and enhance operational efficiency. Its user-friendly Gantt Chart format, featuring Drag-and-Drop functionality, simplifies access and updating of information for key personnel, eliminating the need for multiple spreadsheets.
We were confident that Access Orchestrate could deliver the analysis we needed. I employed a bright industrial engineering graduate to build the capacity model, and he just ran with it. The detailed model he created using Orchestrate enabled the client to evaluate its process performance and identify areas for improvement.
Phase 1: Capacity Planning & What-If Analysis
Utilizing Access Orchestrate, Baseline Controls' consultants conducted an in-depth capacity analysis long before full-scale production commenced. Once the model was built, and the level of demand identified, the team could show how long each batch run would take – and, crucially, highlight any areas where equipment was being over or under-utilized.
These findings served as the foundation for a comprehensive report presented to stakeholders. A total of 10 areas were identified for remediation. These remediation areas were value ranked using data from Orchestrate and the top ones became actual projects for the process engineering team. The analysis from the model showed how the manufacturing site could ultimately, speed up the entire demand delivery by three weeks. Even though the facility was not yet in commercial operation, Baseline Controls’ analysis provided the reassurances the client needed that the facility could, with some strategic process improvement projects, produce the number of vaccines to assert that it was‘pandemic-ready’.
Access Orchestrate was therefore used to prove that the facility could deliver results at a capacity planning and ‘what-if’ level, before being rolled out further.
The speed at which Baseline Controls developed a proof-of-concept, based on Access Orchestrate, was tremendous. Following implementation, they built the model in just under two weeks and provided the kind of detailed what-if analysis crucial for a project of this scale and nature.
Phase 2: Day-to-day scheduling
Since Access Orchestrate was first implemented to prove capacity, the pharmaceutical company has scaled up its use of the software across the site for day-to-day production scheduling.
Much of this has been possible because of Baseline Controls’ stepwise approach, which meant the client could move seamlessly from scenario planning to other functions, like sample management, quality control and materials planning. Today, production managers have quick and easy access to insights into the utilization of every resource and piece of equipment.
Access Orchestrate has delivered numerous time-saving benefits to the company, replacing manual and potentially error-prone spreadsheet-based systems with comprehensive production visibility. This transition allows busy professionals to dedicate more time to analyzing data, scheduling equipment maintenance, and ensuring optimal resource utilization, rather than performing administrative tasks.
The software also makes the process of sharing data much leaner, with each tier in the company structure able to view and act on information that is relevant to them. On the ground, teams rely on hour-by-hour shop floor data capture to ensure production runs to plan. Key findings are then communicated to senior managers, who can use the data to improve overall operational efficiency and develop longer-term strategies.
Conclusion
Before rolling out Access Orchestrate to the wider business, the facility was struggling with how to meet the projected max batch run of six per week, managing just four to five. But, by using the software, the team was able to identify bottlenecks and available capacity that weren’t apparent in the previous spreadsheets, act on them and meet the target of six per week. Ultimately, the fact that Orchestrate had already delivered in the capacity planning stage of the project meant that the results it delivered could be used as a reference point for the wider business.
Now, the site has come to rely heavily on Access Orchestrate for everything from primary and secondary manufacturing operations to maintenance and shutdown/turnaround planning. The hour-by-hour rolling schedule is maintained by a small planning group but communicated throughout the organization. Having a “one schedule” mentality effectively makes the site run more efficiently for a simple as reducing the time to get an answer on when.
Feedback from our client has been positive. The lead planner learned how to use Access Orchestrate extremely quickly, and it has now been adopted on a much broader scale. Access has also been proactive in taking onboard our client’s comments, continually developing the software to make the user interface even more intuitive.
As well as improving positive outcomes for its clients, Baseline Controls has seen a number of commercial rewards too, with 10 further Orchestrate projects for the company secured on the back of its initial scoping study. Baseline Controls and The Access Group have created a great partnership that in return has equalled great benefits for their clients.
Using Orchestrate gave our client proof of concept confidence and for a vaccine facility, like this one; it translates to lives potentially saved.