Responding to COVID-19 in Pharma Facility Operation

Manufacturers are adapting with virtual work, remote monitoring, and re-evaluation of facility design to ensure worker safety.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, pharmaceutical manufacturing continued as a highly essential industry, but companies were suddenly faced with the challenge of many employees working remotely and the need to ensure that operators working in-person have a healthy workplace.

“Operational teams had to become instantly virtual, which increases risks,” says Andreas Eschbach, CEO of Eschbach, which focuses on software for plant process management. He notes that operations teams need solutions to make informed decisions confidently and to reduce the stress of vastly changing work conditions and procedures. “Helping the workforce confidently collaborate and communicate electronically using digital tools is of utmost importance to maintain productivity and cohesiveness among manufacturing teams now working remotely or socially distanced,” says Eschbach. Digital monitoring of adverse events in production, quality, and safety, for example, can ensure that managers have up-to-date information for effective decision-making among remotely dispersed teams, he explains. As another example, the company’s interactive product suite provides digital shift handovers to improve communication among manufacturing team members, even with social distancing.