Getting Results:
Wyeth Consumer Healthcare
in Pearl River, NY;
Benefits Gained from Many
Small Improvements,
Cultural Changes
After a somewhat rocky start, re-focus and re-launch
provided a better way.
Elizabeth Twomey-Galvin
W
hile many people tend to focus tance of the small idea — a concept put
on looking for the next “big forth by Alan G. Robinson and Dean M.
idea,” an organization’s success Schroeder in their work, Ideas Are Free1 —
depends upon collecting and implementing is something we firmly believe at Wyeth
a multitude of “small” ideas. The impor- Consumer Healthcare in Pearl River, NY. To
achieve organizational strength, you must
focus on the details inherent in ideas. In
this way, you drive incremental, day-to-day
In Brief cultural and operational improvements.
That has been our experience, and we have
Sometimes starting over is the better way, as discovered by people
the results to prove it.
at Wyeth Consumer Healthcare in Pearl River, NY. Faced by signifi-
In June 2004, the Pearl River Consumer
cant operational and financial challenges, they renewed efforts to
Healthcare operation was faced with
streamline the organization. In turn, they realized the value of col-
unprecedented operational and financial
lecting and implementing a multitude of “small” ideas to achieve dra-
challenges. Our site had experienced
matic performance improvements.
decreasing customer service reliability and
20
Target Volume 23, Number 1

satisfaction, even though we were maintain- Renewing the Transformation
ing high levels of inventory. Our manufac- Efforts
turing leadtimes were longer than neces-
sary, while raw material shortages were At that point, we realized that leader-
shutting down production lines and cus- ship’s expectations and those of the team
tomer complaints had increased. We were were not aligned. We needed fundamental
expending too much effort to achieve the change that would result in millions of dol-
high quality we are noted for delivering. We lars in savings. We realized that because
were not meeting the expectations of our we did not share the issues with team
customers or our corporation, nor were we members before they started their evalua-
meeting our internal expectations and goals. tion, they were only looking at incremental
Conversion costs — the amount of savings. In addition to the communications
money it takes to convert raw materials to issue, the team also had been hampered by
finished goods — had risen by approxi- being given insufficient time to work on the
mately 45 percent during a three-year year project.
period (2001 to 2004). At the same time, After much internal discussion and
demand volumes were decreasing and the outside counsel from VIPGroup (a process
last of our pharmaceutical and over-the- excellence consulting firm), a change team
counter drug products manufactured at the was formed in January 2005 to address the
site was scheduled to leave in 2005. While challenges of setting the operation’s base-
certain costs of manufacturing would line and vision for the future. This core
depart with those products, several million change team comprised representatives
dollars in overhead would remain and from engineering, manufacturing, mainte-
would have to be absorbed by an already- nance, operations, finance, and logistics.
strained Consumer Healthcare business. The team spent three weeks creating 14
The initial pass of the budget showed an value stream maps (VSMs) to analyze oper-
additional increase of almost nine percent ations such as the Centrum® manufacturing
for 2005. process, raw material release, and equip-
After a detailed analysis and factoring ment validation. They learned that, among
in some process efficiencies, the effect of
the increase was reduced to one percent.
Management realized that to keep the busi-
ness viable, the site had to fundamentally
change the way it operated. “It was com-
mon knowledge that we had excess capac-
ity, and that competitive pressure was
building in our markets,” said Joe Vitanza, Operational Assessment Recap
managing director, Wyeth Consumer
Healthcare, Pearl River. • Customer service reliability has fallen from
The business’s leadership team initial- last year
ly brought together a small group of top
employees from manufacturing, packaging, • High levels of inventory are maintained
quality operations, technology, and engi- • Process quality is decreasing while final end
neering, and we challenged them to dra- product quality is good
matically reduce costs. After two weeks of
evaluating the major operations at Pearl • Customer complaints have increased
River, the team identified approximately • Manufacturing leadtimes are longer than necessary
$200,000 in savings — nowhere near the
amount of savings needed. (See the opera- • Raw materials supply shuts down manufacturing.
tional assessment recap in Figure 1.)
Figure 1.
21
First Issue 2007

About Wyeth and the Wyeth Pearl River Operations
Wyeth is one of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader
in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products,
and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. Headquartered in Madison, NJ,
the company manufactures products with many well-known consumer brands, including Centrum®, Advil®, ChapStick®,
and Robitussin®.
As one of Wyeth’s largest facilities, the site employs approximately 3200 employees across three divisions:
Consumer Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Research. Approximately 300 people support the Consumer Healthcare
division. Pearl River manufactures and packages all Centrum®, Centrum® Silver®, Centrum Performance®, and
Centrum Kids® for the U.S. market and Caltrate®, Centrum®, Centrum® Silver®, Centrum Jr®, and Stresstabs® with Zinc
for international markets. The shop floor is represented by the International Chemical Workers Union, Local 143C.
other challenges, the order-to-ship process from manufacturing support practices/pro-
contained a large amount of non-value- cedures, 2) reduce delays and handoffs in
added (NVA) activity (see Figure 2). all processes (for example, reduce cycle
Meanwhile, support processes constrained time), and 3) simplify the “right first time”
production with rework loops, long lead- support processes.
times, excessive handoffs, and other wastes. The organization was designed to
NVA activities also appeared in encourage innovative, lean idea implementa-
change control, pilot batch, incoming tion. A Strategy and Business Process
inspection, raw material release, equip- Management Team became the executive
ment validation, commissioning, and other champion for change. Project leads who facil-
areas. The 77 percent NVA finding for the itate individual improvement project teams
14 identified processes/activities could not coordinate their activities with this team.
be ignored. To galvanize the staff, we gave
our effort a clear identity, branding it the Diving In:
Excellence in Operations program. “EiO” Addressing Bottleneck Processes
became the umbrella initiative under which
we integrated the full scope of changes Based on the value stream maps, eight
throughout our business. All improvement sub-teams were created to address bottle-
projects, process redesign work, and com- neck processes and issues, such as raw
munications are coordinated by one group materials shortages that constrained oper-
to make sure our efforts are aligned. ations, long changeover times that robbed
us of capacity, and cluttered operational
Adopting a Phased areas that decreased efficiency. For exam-
Improvement Approach ple, compression and packaging were iden-
tified as key bottlenecks because the equip-
We developed a phased implementa- ment was not running when we needed it
tion plan, targeting major cultural and and changeovers were too lengthy. “We
operational changes at Pearl River. Phase I needed to dive in head-first on improve-
encompassed steps for the manufacturing ments, with concurrent activities. Putting
processes: 1) Improve raw material supply one toe in first to test the water wouldn’t
to manufacturing processes, 2) improve have been fast enough,” said Vitanza.
constraint management, and 3) reduce or Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
eliminate NVA from the manufacturing and Changeover Reduction teams were
processes. formed for each targeted area to “free up”
Phase II was designed to accomplish additional capacity. Each team consisted of
the same type of improvements in the man- a project lead and owner who were respon-
ufacturing support processes. For example, sible for selecting team members, schedul-
we aimed to: 1) Reduce or eliminate NVA ing and running meetings, and developing
22
Target Volume 23, Number 1

A recap of the processes we reviewed further demonstrates
the negative effect they have on conversion costs.
Composite NVA Analysis of Process Steps
3%
100%
20%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50% 77%
40%
NVA activities are the
30%
major contributor to
20%
overhead support and
10% our increasing costs
0%
n
se
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at
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Figure 2.
a streamlined process and implementation consultants from VIPGroup, team members
plan. The team leads and owners were devoted at least three to four hours a day
chosen from across the organization for for 13 weeks to blueprint the redesign,
their leadership abilities and knowledge of while at the same time doing their “day
various processes. A small group devoted jobs.” Dedicating such a substantial
entirely to “changing the business” was amount of resources to the initiatives was
assembled to lead the initiative, and a a difficult decision to make, but we realized
Program Management Office was estab- that we needed to make the commitment.
lished to coordinate activities and report In most cases, the teams started with
progress of each of the sub-teams. (The a blank slate and redesigned the manufac-
team structure as well as the operation’s turing process (such as production
organizational structure are indicated in changeover times, inventory optimization,
Figure 3.) raw material shortages, and process quali-
Through our EiO initiatives, many of ty) from the ground up. In compression, for
the business processes have been stream- example, batches were traditionally com-
lined. Using a combination of lean manu- pressed over nine hours on one tablet
facturing tools — TPM, single minute process. The team identified that by simul-
exchange of dies (SMED), and 5S (Sort, Set taneously running one batch on two press-
in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain) es, we were able to cut the compression
and others like Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, time in half.
Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) Each member of the team brought not
methodology — the teams created new only their unique subject matter expertise
work processes and systems that built in but also a new set of eyes to areas outside
quality from the start. Working with two of his/her own. This was also not an engi-
23
First Issue 2007

8 teams with 70 members from all levels of
the organization
Project Management Office
Plan and manage overall
transformation process
Establish project governance
structure Change Management
Coordinate and track progress
Communication
Training, tools
Alignment
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TEAMS
Pkg Set-Up Coating Packaging
Coating
/Changeover Set-Up Throughput/
TPM
Reduction Reduction OEE
Compression Demand & Raw Material
Compression
Set-Up Operations Root Cause
TPM
Reduction Planning Analysis
WCH Organizational Structure
Joe Vitanza
Managing Director
Centrum® PPU Centrum Performance® Planning & Packaging Technology Strategy & Business
Director PPU Director Director Director Process Mgmt.
high volume smaller volumes, Sr. Director
minimal batches more batches
• This group is responsible for the day-to-day running of the • This group’s
business only focus is
• Directors of each area spend a significant portion of their to change
day focusing on changing the business but conflicts arise the business
and the tendency is to spend too much time running the
business
Figure 3.
neers-only effort. During the redesign, it Preventive, Standardized
was not unusual for a packaging operator Maintenance
or a shipping clerk or an inventory control
clerk to challenge and comment on the Maintenance-related issues and
manufacturing design. This team took to improvements offer a good example of the
heart the “I own the business” concept. changes underway at Pearl River. Operating
Members routinely challenged each other and production employees had been work-
by asking, “If this was your business, would ing to eliminate significant challenges with
you do it that way?” tablet compression machines, noted Andrew
24
Target Volume 23, Number 1

Espejo, director of Centrum® manufacturing. to take turrets in and out, for example. We
“This was a primary bottleneck in an equip- realized that none of our 18 mechanics had
ment-intensive area,” he said. “We used our had full training on all the machines, so we
lean training, and we created a cross-func- also did that training.
tional Compression Optimization and “Workplace organization also made a
Strategy Team (COST) for production of difference,” he said. “We purchased special
Centrum® and Centrum® Silver®. We need- carts from machine manufacturers so that
ed to better define and manage our process- if a tablet press needed a turret change or
es. We had a significant amount of downtime maintenance, we had needed parts at hand.
on the four machines, which were two-and- Keeping all the parts such as bolts in one
a-half to three years old. We relied heavily on standard location eliminated lost time
the manufacturer of the machines to main- searching for missing parts.
tain our equipment, using money from our “Things kept improving as we looked
maintenance budget. We knew we needed to at the equipment,” continued Espejo. “It
transfer knowledge about maintaining the used to be that when we opened the cabi-
machines to our cross-functional team of net under each machine, it was not as
production supervisors, setup workers, organized as it should be. Now it is neat
maintenance reliability engineers, instru- and organized. The control board is organ-
ment mechanics, maintenance manage- ized, and we have rebuilt or overhauled the
ment, and production engineers to manage machines. We also overhauled our preven-
maintenance and equipment reliability tive maintenance program for maintenance
issues. workers and machinists. Now we have a
“Our team dove into evaluating how regular schedule for tasks such as lubrica-
we maintained the machines, how the tion of moving parts, inspecting and replac-
equipment is made and fabricated, and ing wear parts when needed, and taking
equipment options that we had not taken apart and rebuilding gear boxes on a pre-
advantage of,” Espejo continued. Working set schedule. And we have spares on hand.
intensively with Pearl River mechanics and We also track corrective maintenance
also with the equipment suppliers, team hours in our computerized maintenance
members rebuilt the maintenance program management system.”
for the machines and determined which
equipment options could be useful to Safety is a Key Element of Our
machine uptime. These steps brought sig- Improvement Activities
nificant improvements. For example, turret
removals used to take 16 hours to do tool- Another reflection of our commitment
ing changes. “We then realized that we to excellence is the site’s year-to-date safe-
could do tooling changes outside of the ty index (which is an index of lost time and
compression rooms to keep the presses restricted work case incidents) — a remark-
running even more. We got our tooling able 0.16 with over one million hours
changes down from 12 hours to four hours, worked without a lost time or restricted
using the SMED concept,” said Espejo. “We work injury. This is best in industry for this
used to do tool changes with the turret in type of operation.
the press. Now with our turret swaps, we Safety has significant visibility in Pearl
haven’t needed to do tool changes with the River. In 2005, each of the three business
turret in the machine in two years. We also units at Pearl River (Biotech, Consumer
have a computerized maintenance man- Healthcare, and Research and Development)
agement system. Before, different setup achieved one million hours worked without
mechanics did maintenance steps differ- a lost time injury, for a total of three million
ently each time a turret swap or other pro- hours. In October 2006, Consumer Health-
cedure was needed. We trained all our care repeated the feat, achieving an addi-
setup mechanics to do the same steps on a tional one million hours worked without a
work order — standardizing the procedure lost time injury. These significant accom-
25
First Issue 2007

plishments received corporate recognition new organization was built around what
and have inspired the site to work towards was needed to support the business on a
achieving acceptance in the Occupational long-term basis, rather than on maintain-
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ing traditional practices.
Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Pearl Even after the first phase of the EiO
River has a program focused on attaining project was completed, the improvement
VPP status by 2008. project teams have continued to meet to
Every exempt employee in Pearl River further optimize the business. Among the
Consumer Healthcare is required to include areas they are tackling are the quality
a specific goal/objective that is focused on organization and VSMs in strategic suppli-
promoting health and safety in his/her er partnerships. They realize that while the
annual goals and objectives. This is to changes they made and implemented were
ensure that safety is a focus for all employ- significant, there are still additional
ees, not just for those on the shop floor. It improvements that can be obtained. They
is a key element of the site’s culture and is understand that we are on a journey.
something each person’s performance is The initial successes of the project
evaluated against. created new energy at the site. A total of 80
Shop floor employees attend monthly people from all levels of the organization,
safety meetings. At these meetings, safety from the shop floor to the managing direc-
topics are discussed, and there is a debrief- tor, are now involved in various process
ing about any injuries and/or “near miss” redesigns. Every operator on the shop floor
incidents. Safety topics are included in has been trained in at least one aspect of
every individual’s training curriculum. process redesign. Training has been
Pearl River has a broad-based designed to coordinate with project work
Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) and relevance to the organization.
program. Among the functions encom-
passed in our program are safety, environ- Fundamental Changes,
mental, occupational health, fire, security,
Significant Results
and site services. There is also telephone
hotline for employees to have immediate, The change teams as well as improve-
24/7 access to site services (for example, ments made by individual employees
housekeeping) or safety to report and throughout the site have fundamentally
resolve any urgent concerns or issues. changed the way work is done at Pearl River.
By implementing more efficient processes,
Cultural Change employees have successfully applied their
teamwork skills to day-to-day activities and
One of the most remarkable aspects of overall business objectives. As a result, they
our change initiative was the degree of cul- are responding more quickly and effectively
tural change in all areas of our organization. to the market and our customers.
Buy-in and full involvement was a key to Manufacturing now runs more like a packag-
this cultural shift, as well as to our initial and ing line in that all manufacturing operations
continued transformation success. This are paced to the slowest operation, which in
transition is reflected in many day-to-day Pearl River’s case is compression. We bal-
activities, ranging from our weekly EiO anced the line to the demand and the con-
operators meetings with the leadership straint.
team to the many daily interactions between EiO teamwork successfully reduced labor
manufacturing, packaging, and quality. cost by $4.7 million during Phase I of the
Our Process Management team sys- improvement initiative. Cycle time for
tematically redesigned Pearl River process- Centrum® has dropped to 12 days from 33.
es and systems even when, in some cases, Lines shipped complete have increased to 98.9
they knew the new processes would mean percent over the last five months compared to
the elimination of their own positions. The 96.9 percent the previous five months.
26
Target Volume 23, Number 1

Changing Perceptions; Tangible list of PMOs required for a given month is
and Intangible Results reviewed and scheduled into production
plans just as regular production batches are.
Process changes — encompassing This change made scheduling for both man-
EHS and other improvements — have ufacturing and maintenance easier.
resulted in improving our customer service While there are numerous tangible results
levels. In turn, these dramatic changes of our team-based efforts, there are as many
have started to change perceptions about intangibles. While they are harder to meas-
the Pearl River site. Once thought of as a ure, intangibles are nonetheless significant.
complex and inefficient organization that Some of the softer benefits we have seen are
was slow to change, the Pearl River facili- a renewed sense of purpose and pride in
ties are now seen by many as an innovative everyone’s work. Staff members seem happi-
“can do” manufacturing operation leading er and more focused on our shared success.
the network in creative best practices, They are engaged in helping to identify the
applicable to a wide variety of business need for change, evaluate and design possi-
models. Charlie Portwood, president, tech- ble solutions, and then implement needed
nical operations and product supply, changes. Cultural change, as reflected in a
Wyeth, said at a recent company award variety of small changes in the ways people
ceremony: “Pearl River is among the best work together, will power our long-term
sites in our network.” We certainly enjoy improvement progress.
receiving such recognition. More impor- Another example is the extensive
tant, we know that our strong position did training we received early in our change
not just happen and will not automatically efforts. The core team came together for a
continue. It is something that we have to full day of business improvement training
earn through our actions and results — and through simulation. Instead of looking at
at Pearl River Consumer Healthcare, that is numbers and reports for analysis, the team
what we work to achieve every single day. experienced real business issues using chil-
People have a renewed sense of energy dren’s building blocks (see Figure 4). The
and purpose. The entire site organization blocks were used to simulate a manufac-
has rallied to support our customers. turing facility, and team members were
Representatives from all the site functions assigned roles different from their normal
that support operations now attend manu- “day jobs.” As the day progressed and peo-
facturing’s weekly staff meetings. This ple began embracing their “new” roles, they
enables them to assess information at the started to see some of the challenges that
earliest possible point and adjust their oper- other groups deal with. As a result, they
ations accordingly. For example, if manufac- were more willing to work as a team to
turing sees the need to work overtime on a optimize the process rather than optimize
weekend, rather than telling material supply the silo they worked in, as would have tra-
about it on Friday night, they maybe able to ditionally happened. They took this under-
eliminate the need for overtime by commu- standing back to their work areas and
nicating about the situation earlier in the applied them to process redesign work in a
week and enabling the delivery of addition- cross-functional, collaborative approach.
al materials in a timely manner. We are continuing to learn on our improve-
We have also changed our working ment journey and to bring this teamwork
relationship with engineering and mainte- spirit to all of our activities at Pearl River.
nance. In the past, maintenance had a list of During the entire process, the team
preventive maintenance orders (PMOs) that kept Wyeth’s mission, vision, and values in
were scheduled for each month. On a cer- sight (see Figure 5). For example, we did
tain day, maintenance staff would show up everything to ensure quality was built into
ready to work. Many times they were sent the process; and leadership and collabora-
away because the operation was running tion were evident in our actions.
and it was not a good time to stop. Now, the Employees have a much better understand-
27
First Issue 2007

ing of what the competitive nature of the
business looks like and how their day-to-
day activities can positively affect its future.
In addition to educating employees through
presentations and meetings about the com-
petition, we have brought a variety of peo-
ple from all levels and departments of the
organization on retail visits to local stores.
Such visits allow employees to gain an
understanding of what the customers see
when they shop in the vitamin aisle at drug
and grocery stores.
Morale has improved and people are
volunteering for process improvement
teams and sharing ideas for improvement
across the organization. These teams are
Figure 4. The core team came together for a full day of business improvement
typically multi-disciplinary and from all lev-
training through simulation. Instead of looking at numbers and reports for analysis,
the team experienced real business issues using children’s building blocks. els in the organization.
As we progress in our transformation,
we realize the need for open, honest com-
munications with employees about the dra-
matic operational shifts underway.
“Communications are important as we con-
tinue to implement changes in our process-
es,” said Joe Vitanza. “Meeting with people
Wyeth’s Mission on the floor, newsletters, and other ways of
sharing and hearing information and com-
We bring to the world pharmaceutical and health
ments are critical. Our EiO steering commit-
care products that improve lives and deliver out- tee gets together with five operators each
standing value to our customers and shareholders. week to discuss issues, for example.”
Wyeth’s Vision Quarterly all-hands meetings and monthly
leadership initiatives meetings (senior site
Our vision is to lead the way to a healthier world. By leadership and supervisors) are also held.
carrying out this vision at every level of our organiza- “We are working closely with union leader-
tion, we will be recognized by our employees, cus- ship to collaborate on changes,” Vitanza
tomers, and shareholders as the best pharmaceutical said. “We are continuing to focus on build-
company in the world, resulting in value for all. ing trust.” He added that this trust and open-
ness are needed when difficult discussions
Wyeth’s Values are needed (when personnel move to other
To achieve our mission and realize our vision, we company locations or other decisions are
must live by our values: made about excess capacity, for example).
• Quality
• Integrity Many Small Improvements
• Respect for people Rather Than the Next “Big Idea”
• Leadership Terri Glover, a lead warehouse worker,
• Collaboration — “Teamwork. ” heads one of the key strategic teams focus-
ing on idea management at Pearl River. Our
“Ideas Management Program” is used daily
by people throughout our organization, and
Figure 5.
it is based on the importance of “small
ideas.” (See Figure 6.) Through this pro-
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Target Volume 23, Number 1

Idea Management
Pearl River Consumer Healthcare applied the concepts
gram, we have achieved strong results —
from the Robinson-Schroeder book, Ideas are Free to
not only greater employee involvement but
our Ideas Management Program. Some key ideas on
also significant financial rewards.
which we focus are:
Improvements in packaging, quality, and
other areas have generated more than
Personal accountability: To move away from the
$330,000 in savings so far. For example, by philosophy that it is management’s job “to think” and
transferring the testing of purified water the worker’s job “to do.”
into the Consumer Healthcare labs, we Ownership: When people’s ideas are solicited and
saved $200,000. Another suggestion result- acted upon, they become motivated and engaged.
ed in improvement to how we label batch- Shared decision-making: Making decisions at the
es. We had been applying multiple labels to lowest possible level in an organization leads to better
each drum. By consolidating all the infor- decisions and faster implementation, which frees man-
mation onto one label, we were able to agers to focus on more strategic issues.
save $320,000. Trust: Empowered employees are trusted with
Big ideas are few and far between. more information and are empowered with more
Small ideas can be submitted regularly, authority.
implemented quickly and easily, and then Idea generation and innovation: Become a way of
measured and tracked. As Robinson and life and a minimum expectation for all employees.
Schroeder state: “Small ideas are the best
source of big ideas. A big problem or oppor- Figure 6.
tunity frequently manifests itself through a
host of small signs or symptoms, each of
which might be seen individually by differ-
ent people in different places at different
times. What might seem to be a small idea
could in fact be addressing a facet of this
larger issue.”2 By harnessing ideas of those the manufacturing and packaging areas,
closest to the shop floor, we have laid the the improvement teams have expanded to
foundation for further improvements that include quality operations. We are striving
will drive the site to a best-in-class producer to strengthen the momentum of cultural
of dietary supplements in the industry. change through greater employee involve-
ment on the shop floor and throughout the
A Way of Life organization, achieve single-digit cycle
time (SDCT), and continue working
Excellence in Operations has become through our bottlenecks in manufacturing
a way of life at the plant. Rather than being and processing. (See Figure 7.)
an event or a project, it has become a jour- Earlier in our improvement efforts, the
ney that we realize will never end. teams performed in-depth analyses of the
Concepts and changes in the first phase manufacturing and packaging operations,
were fairly straightforward and simple to but they stopped when the physical
achieve. To maintain the momentum of processes ended. We are now looking fur-
change, we needed to gain involvement at ther up- and downstream of manufacturing
every level of the organization to build a to optimize the testing processes for raw
sustainable culture of continuous improve- material and finished goods. VSMs for key
ment and identify further opportunities for quality processes are complete, and cross-
safety, customer service, cycle time, cost functional, quality-led teams are working
savings, and other areas. on the future state maps.
Phase II kicked off in January 2006, To further embed cultural change and
and the team identified another $2.1 mil- EiO at Pearl River, we are continuing to
lion in savings created by seven separate expand activities throughout the organiza-
teams (such as lean systems for packaging tion. We chose this approach rather than
and compression). In addition to evaluating launch “Phase III” of EiO, seeking to avoid
29
First Issue 2007

Single Digit Cycle Time (SDCT)
In August 2005, the Pearl River site launched a Single Digit Cycle Time (SDCT) initiative. The goal of the
initiative was to reduce the plant cycle time for Centrum® from 35 days to less than ten days and to devel-
op a robust process that could then be rolled out to other products in Pearl River. In order to achieve the
product goals, the site used several tools including:
*Pull system between packaging and manufacturing. Manufacturing schedules are based on a sig-
nal from packaging. The packaging schedule is based on the forecast. Scheduling is maintained with a
daily planning meeting that includes representatives from planning, packaging, and manufacturing.
FIFO (First In, First Out) lanes established between all operations to ensure that items in the lane are
consumed in a methodical manner.
As a result of our efforts, WIP (work in process) has been reduced by 62 percent and the plant cycle
time for Centrum® decreased by 72 percent to 12 days or less.
Figure 7.
the perception that our improvements are a our transformation. We made the difficult
“program” with a specified completion date. decision to start the journey and then have
Our “lessons learned” along the way continued to make difficult decisions to
include: Set clear expectations and targets; continue this effort. Today, I can say with
use stretch goals to foster fundamental confidence: All our employees, including
change; have at least one person who our leadership, are working together to
focuses on changing the business — not ensure that we have the best possible foun-
running it; have and show fortitude; know dation for success.
the journey will be long, fraught with pit-
falls and some unpleasantness; celebrate Editor’s note: Joe Vitanza, managing director of
success … tactfully. We also learned that Wyeth Consumer Healthcare in Pearl River, NY,
more frequent communications are needed was a presenter during AME’s recent annual
while process improvements are under- conference held in Dallas, TX.
way. Teams need to meet weekly or at fre-
quent intervals rather than wait for several
weeks between meetings. Elizabeth Twomey-Galvin is senior director
While the initial success of EiO has of strategy and business process manage-
resulted from numerous factors, the two ment at Wyeth Consumer Healthcare in
most significant keys have been the broad Pearl River, NY.
participation from all levels of the organi-
zation and the site’s focus on change. “We
are on an extended improvement journey,” Footnotes
said Joe Vitanza. “During the past two-and- 1. Robinson, Alan G., PhD, and Dean M.
Schroeder, PhD, Ideas Are Free: How the Idea
a-half years, we have worked on the ‘low- Revolution Is Liberating People and
hanging fruit.’ Now we are going after Transforming Organizations, Berrett-Koehler
additional gains in site services areas such Publishers, Inc., copyright by Alan G.
as engineering and maintenance, as well Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder, 2004.
as warehousing and other areas. We have a 2. Robinson and Schroeder, Ideas are Free, p. 49.
long way to go.”
By helping more people understand
© 2007 AME® For information on reprints, contact:
the nature of our business and the compe- AME Association for Manufacturing Excellence
tition, we have built a burning platform for www.ame.org
everyone to rally around as we continue
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Target Volume 23, Number 1