Hello Everyone

Hi Everyone. Just wanted to add a little insight to my professional past.

On May 13th. 2003, I joined a generics pharmaceutical company approximately an hour from my home. Being a newlywed, a career in the pharmaceutical industry seemed like a good plan to kick off my journey into adulthood. Little did I know that this choice would be the foundation and future of my professional life.

As I began to learn the ropes of solid oral dose manufacturing, I quickly realized how all aspects of the manufacturing process were intertwined and connected. Fortunately, the leadership team of said organization allowed me to explore my curiosity, and drive for understanding the shop production process from cradle to grave. Moving from process to process at such a young stage in my tenure with the company laid forth a path that would continue for over the next seventeen years and beyond.

Prior to entering the pharmaceutical production world, I gained what I would later come to see as invaluable information technology knowledge. Working part-time through high school for a small local ecommerce site forced me to gain basic networking, web design, and customer relations skills. Little did I know, these experiences would allow me to explore the world of cooperate IT. No sooner than becoming comfortable with the day to day manufacturing process, I started to hear rumors of our single IT support staff member would soon be relocating. I was asked to fill in as a interim Information Technology Technician for the site as a final replacement candidate was identified. Having little more than basic networking knowledge and the power of a search bar I agreed to the task. Using the internet as a guide and leveraging my peers from a sister site, I settled in for what I assumed at the time would be the balance of my career.

Being a single support technician for a site of approximately one hundred users proved to be… well lets say challenging. As I addressed printer problems, directory share permissions, new machine provisioning, and a host of other task, I also unwittingly gained insight to our Quality Unit, Supply Chain, and Enterprise Resource Planning system. This cycle of learning continued for the next year before the course correction of fate kicked in again and I moved back into the operations arena. This time kicking off the launch of the site’s Second Shift Operations team. Three years of managing this cross-functional team allowed me the opportunity to employ the knowledge gained while serving the site in an IT support capacity. After stabilizing the off shift team I returned to co-lead the first shift manufacturing group.

Progressing forward a few years, the organization was faced with some functional challenges spread across multiple production sites. As many companies do, the consultants came in droves. One group settled in and we went to work on the future. Later on, I would realize that it wasn’t only the organization that was in the midst of change. I was as well. I embraced the ways of Lean Manufacturing. Data Collection, Value Stream Mapping, and Baseline Analysis became a way of life that would prepare me once again for a career move. The feelings and ideas that I had while leading the off shift operation could now be presented with data. Real data changes minds, and sustained improvements change culture. From 2012 to 2016 I served as an internal consultant. Seeing a team of people remove roadblocks and overcome difficulties is an amazing thing to witness.