Gripping transparency

Wnyone who is served an individually wrapped biscuit with their café crème, encounters a glued-in shampoo sample in the magazine or uses a perfectly wrapped refreshment towel on the plane has had a point of contact with Proderma. The internationally successful company has established itself as a leading specialist in custom small packaging solutions. "As a contract packer, we are confronted with a wide variety of customer needs and order requirements," says Co-Managing Director Adrian Meier. The rapidly changing production specifications and the strictly regulated food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries demand rigorous quality management. Proderma holds ISO 9001, 22000, 22716, 13485 certificates, the Swissmedic operating licence (Pharma GMP), the organic certificate and the licence to fill food of animal origin and pet food. "In addition, we cultivate the CIP idea in our philosophy," says Urs Gassmann, Head of Quality Control. "To ensure that continuous improvement takes hold, we have been successfully using the Improve software since the beginning of 2013," he adds.

Risk management via tool
As soon as "Risk Management" became available as a new Improve module in autumn 2015, Proderma turned to this software solution. "We were impressed by the fact that all risk types are covered: strategic, operational, technical and financial risks. And we were already familiar with the simplicity of the software," explains Urs Gassmann. The company has already identified and classified 50 risks in the centrally important area of product safety, and has defined measures to address them. Adrian Meier is already enthusiastic after the first six months. "We used to work with a 47-page Excel document according to the motto read, punched, filed," says the 55-year-old exaggeratedly. Now there is transparency and complete traceability, which also builds confidence externally. "We have met with a high level of acceptance during the numerous audits by authorities and customers," says Q-Manager Gassmann with satisfaction. What risk management means in the area of product safety at Proderma is made clear below.

Focus on product safety
At Proderma, the risk area of "product safety" includes risks such as insufficient AVOR clarifications, incorrect labelling, use of the wrong packaging materials, insufficient hygiene during filling, introduction of pests or microbiological product contamination through packaging. "Overall, mix-ups and the risk of cross-contamination are our greatest risks," explains Urs Gassmann.

Mistaken identity
Due to the enormous range of products, there is a risk of confusion. Therefore, the release of a filling line at Proderma is strictly regulated. It is carried out by the dual control principle between the production and quality managers and always covers the two nine-hour shifts. Technically, a barcode system is used. Proderma also has an autonomous plant for chemical-technical products to ensure strict separation from other product lines.

Cross contamination
Allergens are a big issue, especially in the food sector. Celery, gluten, milk, eggs, soya, lupins, molluscs and sulphites are popular examples. In the products packaged by Proderma, allergens must either not be present or must be one hundred percent declared. "A discrepancy between the package contents and the declaration is a no-go," emphasizes Adrian Meier. The required precision is in the parts-per-million range. Proderma ensures that these specifications are met by means of defined processes and work instructions that include cleaning and clothing concepts. In particularly sensitive cases, external laboratories are commissioned to carry out measurements. In addition, the company keeps a daily updated list of which allergens are present in the company. Directly linked to the risk of carry-over is the risk of insufficient cleaning of parts, machines and rooms that come into contact with the product. With validated cleaning, climate monitoring and training activities, Proderma ensures that the correct conditions are always maintained.

Improve added value
Solving risk management according to the revised ISO 9001:2015 standard with Improve CIP software eliminates the need for new stand-alone solutions or new applications. The tool fully integrates risk management into quality management. All 16 input screens and software modules can be linked to the topic of risk management. "Improve gives you a complete overview and you can simply find everything again," comments Urs Gassmann. The company considers the comprehensible visualization of risks, the mapping of the entire risk portfolio, the full-text search and the message-related documentability with photos and e-mails to be particularly useful. According to Adrian Meier, the internal effect should not be underestimated either: "We now have 160 quality employees in the company," he smiles. As a manager, he very much appreciates the fact that cost transparency is also created. For example, the measures in the preventive program to achieve product safety can be further evaluated in Improve; it becomes visible where and when which costs were incurred. In addition, the software allows continuous monitoring of the progress of measures according to self-defined time cycles.

"In order to achieve optimal success with the CIP software, its timely maintenance is indispensable," emphasizes Urs Gassmann, who is also responsible for food safety in addition to quality control. With two weekly meetings, Proderma keeps the system up to date and can also quickly counteract any accumulation of problems.

Complaint management
Proderma has already had three years of experience with the event-oriented Improve handling of external deviations (complaints) and internal deviations (internal errors, supplier errors). The number of deviation reports has increased compared to the previous Excel solutions, "simply because with the CIP software nothing gets lost or forgotten anymore," says Gassmann, who is responsible for quality. "The internal interception of errors, whether our own or supplier-related, is crucial for us", adds Adrian Meier, "this in view of exports to the whole of Europe and even as far as Asia and in view of customers such as Nestlé, Unilever or large retailers". An additional positive aspect of the precisely documented supplier errors is that error costs can be recovered. In 2015, Proderma successfully recovered five-figure sums from suppliers.

"Recently, we have also combined complaint management with risk management," says Urs Gassmann, describing another aspect. For each deviation report, the Proderma managers ask themselves what risk the report content entails. The answers range from "insignificant" to "catastrophic" and are thus valuable inputs for further improvement measures.

"We have also recently combined complaint management with risk management."

What does the guiding document "The Spirit of Proderma" say? "We regard mistakes made once as learning steps. We learn from mistakes and never make the same mistake twice". This is precisely where the Improve CIP software effectively supports the company.