There are key elements to becoming a cost effective manufacturing team.  Managers should be armed with the right tools to guide the productivity and optimization. Their teams should be prepared to react to common problems in the manufacturing environment. Employee performance is the key to holding it all together or seeing the process fail. Effective learning techniques pinpoint key avenues to solving defects and increasing productivity. A simple, yet effective key to managing people is to help them learn. The challenge is that the learning curve is a variable that changes from employee to employee. Repetitive and consistent reinforcement is the key to enhancing the knowledge base rapidly and effectively.  Not everyone is willing to admit that they do not comprehend subjects or learn as quickly as their peers, and guessing and assuming leads to trouble.  Training the trainers has its limitations and trainer burn out is a real and significant issue.  The demand on the manufacturing floor is to understand and follow SOP’s (standard operating procedures) while employing a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) mentality.  These requirements must be balanced with equipment function and reliability to ensure everything is in good operating condition and ready to perform.  The single most effective key is having a learning system that combines SOP’s, batch records, theory, and actual employee function with a swat team approach.  The learning system must be a single source and not be effected on the trainer having an off day, poor attendance, lack of trainee comprehension, or interruptions.  The ideal scenario would be a learning station that can be used in a training room or on the production floor.  This system could be used to review a procedure, provide self evaluations, and document employee comprehension and performance.  This is the most effective way to achieve Cost Effective Manufacturing.

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Posted by Mike on March 5th, 2010 :: Filed under Blending, Certification, Formulation, Invitation & Objectives, On line seminars, Production, Tableting, cGMP's, granulating

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I really want to thank you for sending your questions, praise, and for your patience while waiting for my reply.  We have been really busy launching two new items. 

 

Our New Training Center: Hands-on training with small groups of people.  We have several machines set up to demonstrate how tablets are made and we are teaching individuals the basics of setting up a press, operating it and cleaning. This happens next week, then we have a bigger program in March…come join us.

 

Our new ILS:  An Interactive Learning System designed to incorporate our theory and operations sessions with the clients own equipment and operating procedures. This system allows the new or experienced operator the ability learn or review the procedure(s).  There are also self examinations that are recorded to show employee improvement.  We have a lot more information on our website.

 

Ok, back to the question at hand:

Please tell me is there is any method to decide Average punch life?

 

Determining punch life involves analyzing many variables. 

1.    Punch tool steel type selection has to do the press condition, press speed, compression force required.  Premium grades are not always the best choice, it depends of these variables.

2.    Punch Head design:  Domed or non-domed heads.  Domed heads tend to offer about 20-30% longer life. Round tips last much longer than irregular shaped tooling likes a caplet or oval shape (non-keyed vs. keyed)

3.    Punch Tip design: A good design improves compressibility, air release, and a strong blender land will result in greatly extending the life of a set of punches.

4.    Tablet press condition of: punch sockets, cams, pressure rolls

5.    Powder Abrasiveness: Many powders are very abrasive and will quickly shorten the life of the punch tip.

6.    Fine Powders:  the higher the percentage of fine dusty powders the greater the potential for binding, poor ejection, tight punches, and exaggerated wear patterns.

7.    Lack of compressibility:  Non-granulated powders tend to require higher compression force. The higher the force the greater the wear.

8.    Handling:  If tooling is mistreated it can easily shorten the life of a set of tooling from years, to a few months, to only a few days.

9.    Environments variations: Consistency is the key to manufacturing.  Big changes in operating temperature and humidity can change the manufacturing dynamics. 

 

Over the years I have inspected tooling that lasted for years and tooling that only lasted a few hours.  In the pharmaceutical industry I expect tooling to exceed the 50 million mark. In the Nutritional industry I expect it to last 35 million.  For Herbal Products the minimum expected life is 20-25 million. If tooling does not at least make these numbers I would start to look at why and ways to improve.  On the other hand I have seen tooling last considerably longer, into the hundreds of millions and still going.

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Posted by Mike on January 24th, 2010 :: Filed under Compression Force, Formulation, Tableting, Tooling', compress, granulating
Tags :: compression, Tool life, Tooling', Wear

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What Exactly is “Over-Granulating?”

Over-Granulating results from using too much mechanical energy to mix the wet mass. It may also occur from mixing too long, past the end point. It may also occur from adding too much binding solution. Granules are created through a combination of mechanical energy and the quantity and addition rate of a binder. To some extent, it is also a result of the concentration of the binder in the solution. Over granulating is over processing or over working the powders while the liquid is being added and results in having a negative impact on the final tablet. An over worked granulation my not flow well, compress or eject properly. It may impact hardness, disintegration and dissolution profiles.

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Posted by Mike on April 16th, 2009 :: Filed under granulating
Tags :: binding solution, compress, disintegration, dissolution, eject, granulating, granules, hardness, over granulating, wet mass

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