Achieve stable throughput
A typical day in a pharma site involves juggling deviations, equipment breakdowns, environmental monitoring hits, late QC results, supply shortages, and shifting production schedules. Leaders operate in crisis mode, even in world-class plants. This newsletter reveals the operational cost of that reactive pattern: staff fatigue, slow batch release, unstable throughput, and constant reprioritisation. We outline how top sites break this cycle using structured management routines, clear ownership, and performance dashboards that highlight the right problems to fix.
Jan 13, 2025
⏱️ 4 min read
Curated by Fabrice Gribon, founder and CEO of Gribon & Company. The CEO Shortlist - weekly briefing on the most actionable & tested ideas in operational excellence and business transformation for senior executives and leader of Change.
I wrote this article because I've seen too many brilliant leaders in world-class pharma sites trapped in a never-ending cycle of firefighting. The main insight for you is that this reactive pattern isn't just frustrating; it's a hidden operational cost that drains your resources and stifles performance. Breaking free requires a shift from managing crises to proactively managing systems.
Setting the Stage
Let’s be honest. If you’re leading a pharmaceutical manufacturing site, your typical day probably feels less like strategic leadership and more like a high-stakes circus act. You’re spinning plates: a deviation here, an equipment breakdown there, an environmental monitoring hit, late QC results, a sudden supply shortage, and then, just for good measure, a last-minute shift in the production schedule. This isn't just a tough day; it’s often the norm. I've seen this pattern play out in plants worldwide, from emerging markets to established global leaders. What strikes me is how often this firefighting mode is accepted as "just the way it is."
The Current Challenge
But what's the real cost of this constant reactivity? It's far more than just the stress on your leadership team. In my experience, this "spinning plates" mentality exacts a heavy toll:
Staff Fatigue and Burnout: Your teams are exhausted. Constantly reacting means they're not able to focus on improvement or even their core tasks effectively. Morale suffers, and with it, quality and productivity.
Slow Batch Release: Every deviation, every missed QC deadline, every equipment hiccup adds days, sometimes weeks, to your batch release cycle. This isn't just an annoyance; it’s a direct hit to your cash flow and market responsiveness.
Unstable Throughput: How often do you hit your planned production targets without significant heroic efforts? The constant reprioritisation to tackle the latest crisis means you're rarely operating at a stable, predictable pace. Your forecasts become educated guesses, and your supply chain struggles to keep up.
Lack of Strategic Focus: When you're always reacting, you can't be proactive. Strategic initiatives gather dust. True operational excellence, the kind that drives sustainable competitive advantage, becomes a distant dream because there's no headspace or bandwidth to pursue it.
This isn't just about efficiency; it's about the fundamental health of your operation and the well-being of your people. If you are serious about accelerating the pace of change within your organisation, you need to consider the hidden cost of this reactive pattern.
The Vision for Change
Imagine a different scenario. A site where deviations are anomalies, not daily occurrences. Where equipment runs reliably, and QC results arrive on time. Where production schedules are met, and teams are focused on continuous improvement, not just putting out fires. This isn't some utopian fantasy; I've seen top sites achieve it. The upside is immense:
Predictable Performance: Operations run like a well-oiled machine, hitting targets consistently. This translates directly to better financial results and happier customers.
Empowered and Engaged Teams: When the chaos subsides, your people can breathe. They can apply their intellect to solving root causes, innovating, and driving real value. Engagement soars, and talent retention improves dramatically.
Faster, More Reliable Batch Release: Product gets to market quicker, reducing inventory holding costs and seizing revenue opportunities.
Leadership Bandwidth for Strategy: You, as a leader, can finally lift your head from the daily grind and focus on long-term growth, innovation, and strategic positioning.
The Path Forward
So, how do these top sites break the cycle? It’s not magic; it's discipline and a commitment to foundational operational excellence. Here are practical, actionable steps you can implement:
Structured Management Routines: Move beyond ad-hoc meetings. Implement daily, weekly, and monthly routines with clear agendas, defined roles, and expected outcomes. These aren't just status updates; they're forums for problem-solving and accountability.
Clear Ownership and Accountability: Who owns the deviation process? Who is responsible for equipment uptime? Define it explicitly. When everyone owns everything, no one owns anything. Empower individuals and teams with the authority to solve problems within their sphere.
Performance Dashboards that Highlight the Right Problems: Don't just track metrics; visualise them in a way that immediately shows where the process is breaking down, not just that it's broken. Focus on leading indicators and process stability, not just lagging outputs. These dashboards should be visible, understood, and acted upon by everyone, from the shop floor to the executive suite.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Excellence: Stop patching symptoms. Invest in robust RCA training and ensure that every significant deviation or failure goes through a rigorous process to identify and eliminate its true root cause. This breaks the recurrence cycle.
Breaking the firefighting cycle requires a mindset shift from reactive crisis management to proactive system management. It's about building resilience, not just reacting to vulnerability. It’s hard work, no doubt, but the rewards—for your business, your team, and your own sanity—are immeasurable.
If your operations, processes & team have not reached peak performance, I would be happy to chat through some ideas.
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