Tell us about your job and how you came to join Pharmaxo

My role as a technical specialist is to manage continuous improvement in manufacturing at Pharmaxo.

This involves root cause analysis and troubleshooting for existing processes, or the introduction of new equipment, and new processes. My goal is to streamline production, reduce errors and problems, and make processes more efficient and cost-effective.

I’ve worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing for more than 20 years, including in technical, quality assurance and quality control roles. This means that I bring a passion for quality improvement to this role– it’s not just about making production cheaper and quicker, it’s also about improving quality output and reducing waste.

This was a completely new role when I started, and I saw it as a fresh challenge. I have seen the role change and evolve over the past three years and become more accepted and respected across the business, and what I do is being embedded into in-house processes.

Simon’s nomination for ‘Can it be better?’

Simon was tasked with problem solving for the ‘Drug in The Hub’ defect type. He undertook a rigorous, formal problem-solving approach to determine the true root cause of the issue. Through this process he had to form a team to: collect and analyse data, trial different methods, support the development of targeted countermeasures, and check implementation.

The result of this methodical and engaging approach is an improvement in RFT (right first time) for Drug in the Hub from 99.2% to 99.8%, meaning a mere 0.2% of syringes have this defect. The cost savings are recognised and the time burden on production for reworks is reduced too.

This project took a long time, and involved testing, trialling and root cause analysis. It was good to be recognised for the work that my team and I put into it, and the impact that it has had within the company. The award also highlights what my team does and the benefits that we bring to the company.

How did you feel when you got the nomination?

I wasn’t in on the Friday when the award was announced, so the first thing that I saw was the team chat on the Monday morning, which was a mixture of congratulations and gentle mickey-taking. It’s good to know that what we do doesn’t go unnoticed – this has been a really positive change in the company over the past few years.

What would you say to someone who wants to join Pharmaxo?

There’s a lot of growth and a lot of opportunity at Pharmaxo at the moment, and that makes it a really exciting time to join the company.

I’ve already recommended the company to people I know, and a number of my colleagues from places that I have worked in the past, including AstraZeneca and Porton Biopharma, have or now work at Pharmaxo.

Employee development is important to the company. There are opportunities to get more involved with improvement projects, training and support roles, to advance, and to move to new and more specialist roles.

What are your interests outside of Pharmaxo?

I enjoy clay pigeon shooting – I have shot at county level, and I’m a qualified coach. It’s an opportunity to get outdoors, and it plays to my competitive streak. It’s important for my mental health and wellbeing – it resets me, as when you are shooting at a clay, you don’t have room to think of anything else.

I have Springer spaniels – these are working dogs, but they are part of the family too.