A 5-minute Screening Method for Incoming Raw Materials in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Normal quality control procedures involve accepting a “lot” of a raw material from a supplier and then performing a series of tests to determine if the material is suitable for use in a manufacturing process. For the drug manufacturing industry, as well as many others, this is both a critical and time-consuming (and occasionally costly) step in the process. If the sample is not homogeneous or is segregated, there will be errors. Many of the standard methods for these tests are very labor-intensive and operator-dependent manual methods, adding additional variability. If the material is deemed unacceptable, additional costs are incurred to return the material, since the shipper usually leaves the premises before the testing is completed. Time, money and ultimately quality are expensive commodities in the manufacturing quarter.