Using discrete-event-simulation for improving operational efficiency in laboratories: a case study in pharmaceutical industry

Just-in-time delivery has become a key aspect of pharmaceutical industry when loyalizing customers and competing internationally. Additionally, prolonged lead times may lead to increased work-in-process inventory, penalties for non-compliance and cost overrun. The problem is more complex upon consid...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Troncoso Palacio, Alexander, Neira Rodado, Dionicio, Ortiz Barrios, Miguel Angel, Jimenez, Genett, Hernandez Palma, Hugo Gaspar
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:Colombia
Institución:Corporación Universidad de la Costa
Repositorio:Repositorio REDICUC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.cuc.edu.co:11323/1545
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11323/1545
https://repositorio.cuc.edu.co/
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Discrete-event simulation (DES)
Pharmaceutical industry
Productivity rate
Proportion of tardy jobs
Descripción
Sumario:Just-in-time delivery has become a key aspect of pharmaceutical industry when loyalizing customers and competing internationally. Additionally, prolonged lead times may lead to increased work-in-process inventory, penalties for non-compliance and cost overrun. The problem is more complex upon considering a wide variety of products as often noted in pharmaceutical companies. It is then relevant to design strategies focusing on improving the delivery performance. Therefore, this paper proposes the use of Discrete-event simulation (DES) to identify inefficiencies and define solutions for the delivery problem. First, input data were gathered and analyzed. Then, a DES model was developed and validated. Finally, potential improvement scenarios were simulated and analyzed regarding productivity rate and proportion of tardy jobs. A case study in a pharmaceutical laboratory is presented to validate the proposed methodology. The results evidenced that, by implementing the best scenario, the productivity may be augmented by 44.83% which would generate zero tardy jobs. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature