Hemofarm - News - Super Story #4 - Pharmacy in virtual world

Hemofarm has a long tradition of using new technologies. It has never been a company lagging behind, but just the opposite. It has always been among the first in the industry to set and accept new trends, modern approaches and, together with them, use the latest technologies.

Technology can be modern, however if people are not open for new ideas and ready to adopt them, then the technique will only gather dust. The same one that any audit, especially in pharmaceutical industry is carefully trying to find, even when they are not physically present on site. That kind of readiness to adopt new technologies is the essence of our fourth SUPER Story.

It all depends on the audit

With the occurrence of COVID-19 pandemic our mission to care for human health as a reliable partner has become more important than ever before. Our users believe in the quality of Hemofarm’s products, and audits by state and corporate bodies are here to confirm that.

’Every audit in any kind of production is important because it opens up the roads to the market, but it can also be a step to their closing. It all depends on the opinion of the audit and re-audit. Moreover, the audit doesn't happen just once. It is repeated every two or three years, and auditors come from all parts of the world”, with these words, Natasa Zivkovic, the head of the Lyophilizate Production Department in the Sterile Products Plant (SPP) in Vrsac, who this year marks a quarter of a century of work in Hemofarm, introduces us to the story of her experience first encountering the virtual glasses in production.

Asked how to organize an audit during pandemic and how to service the machines and devices when operators who are physically remote have to be engaged, Nataša replies: „That’s where STADA IT Solutions (SITS) comes into play”.

Super priča broj 4 – Super priča #4 - Proizvodni procesi u virtuelnom svetu - Ne, to nije SF. To je Hemofarm

The state-of-the-art technology is used in the manufacturing plants of Hemofarm. HoloLens glasses are excellent example of that.

Pioneers of IT technology

Bojan Milićević, coordinator of the Microsoft Structure Team in SITS, emphasizes that Hemofarm has always been a pioneer of the latest technologies, especially in cooperation with Microsoft. „When we received a request during pandemic to enable the external servicing operators to inspect our production machines, after short deliberation we realized that AR technology could be the right solution. Microsoft met our demands and sent an early HoloLens model for testing, ”says Bojan, adding that in a similar way ten years ago they were among the first in the region to introduce the Enterprise Voice service through the Skype for Business program.

The advantages of HoloLens are first good integration with Windows and Office package, primarily with the global communication tool MS Teams, then a possibility to present additional information in hologram as well as the quite customization level.

„As far as I know, we are the only pharmaceutical company in Serbia and generally one of the rare companies in the region using HoloLens. The tests showed that the device had excellent video resolution, possibility of sharing documents in real time and communication with several persons via MS Teams”, says Bojan.

HoloLens glasses – revolutionary device thanks to which the hologram presentation, that we have only dreamt about so far, actually becomes reality

A flesh of idea

„During the first wave of coronavirus, production had a situation with one of the many machines that the Maintenance Department is taking care of and which required urgent action. Under normal circumstances, it would be necessary to hire an external service technician from abroad, which at that time was almost impossible to organize. Thinking about how to overcome the problem, I realized that salvation lies in virtual glasses! Put them on your head, connect online with a service technician and repair the machine ", says Mirjana Stojčevski, Senior Associate in Quality Conformity, and also the initiator of this idea.

AR glasses are usually used in the aerospace industry, car industry and logistics, and not so much in pharmaceutical industry. However, according to Mirjana, benefits of using HoloLens could be observed even in the test period, so decision to provide soon the same devices for all production sites was not surprising. „We are big system and ideas can sometimes ’get lost’, that’s why I am extremely happy that we made a step into the future with HoloLens”, emphasizes Mirjana.

According to her, benefits of AR glasses are manifold: they save time, travel and extraordinary engagement, contributing at the same time to better communication and coordination of associates in the real time, with the feeling that you are at the same place where the person wearing the glasses is.

What does it look like in reality?

Super priča broj 4 – Super priča #4 - The operator in SITS Danijel Beda was the first user of HoloLens in Hemofarm. „At first glance, they look like paintball goggles. You manage them with your hands, eyes and voice, but we trained users to mainly use hands to control it. We looked funny to people watching us, because we were clicking through the air. It takes some time for a person to 'feel the device' in order to establish adequate coordination of movement

Besides audits, he emphasizes that AR glasses, will also be useful to Engineering and Maintenance Services where it is necessary to follow diagrams with your eyes and getting instructions from the expert interlocutor. The greatest challenge is to watch hologram in the glasses, because everything „is there in front of you, but it does not exist in the space”. He therefore, trains the employees to be careful and take their time.

„If a user is moving too fast, then the quality of image will not be good and you may feel nauseous. That’s why at the training I advise them to be still and that their movements should be controlled and slowed down. But basically, in a couple of hours, you can learn the basic functions that are necessary for an audit”, says Danijel.

First experience with HoloLens

Super priča broj 4 – Super priča #4 - Proizvodni procesi u virtuelnom svetu - Ne, to nije SF. To je Hemofarm

AR glasses have already been used during several audits, and according to the ones using them in practice „they are here to stay because soon there are six more of these devices coming”. Natasha's enthusiasm during the first virtual inspection, which led her to nominate the entire team that participated in the introduction of this technology for the SUPER Story, speaks in favour of that.

She says that every use of new technology inherently carries some risk. „I was suspicious about HoloLens because I have experience with audits and I know how important caution is. With glasses, you feel like you are on stage or in some kind of a performance. As a spiderman, you press the root of your hand, the menu appears, you click and look for what you need. Everything is virtual. Everything is in the air ", explains Nataša.

Passing the audit successfully depends on the teamwork. It is especially challenging in the sterile production because not all 20 people the support of whom you need, can enter the clean rooms. „It is so important. Now colleagues from other units, who have never been in the sterile production can also see how the machine looks like followed by an image of the actual machine and tone. They can help and respond immediately, they do not have to be physically with us”, says Nataša.

Manager of Physical-Chemical Control Nevena Noveski agrees with her and she says that GMP audit with usage of AR glasses was an interesting, useful and completely new experience.

„The first impression was truly unusual – knowing that somebody sees absolutely the same as you do :). I think this is an example of applying new technologies at their best because it enables us to overcome the distance and all extraordinary circumstances like the ones that we have been experiencing for a year. I am assured that AR technology will find broader administration not only in our, but also in other companies as well”, adds Nevena.

Super priča broj 4 – Super priča #4 - Proizvodni procesi u virtuelnom svetu - Ne, to nije SF. To je Hemofarm

HoloLens – the future of audits?

The first impressions demonstrate that, as far as Technical Operations are concerned, HoloLens can very truly respond to the requirements of the audit. Nevertheless, how is this experience comparable to audits where auditors are physically present at the site?

„HoloLens opens up new possibilities, but it will hardly become a standard mode of work in the next ten years or so. It can be easier for audit teams because they will not have to come in larger numbers. Some will watch it through HoloLens, and others will be there in person. It may be useful also for the audits that already know us very well. As any other tool, AR glasses are as good as the knowledge and experience of the people using them”, says Nataša.

We just can’t help the feeling that our colleagues in Hemofarm are already using something about we have read in the science fiction novels. So don't be surprised if you see them in the hallways and plants with glasses walking like "robocaps" stiffly and waving their arms through the air, because it's really not SF. It's Hemofarm.

„I couldn't imagine something like this until a few months ago, let alone 25 years ago when I started working at Hemofarm. That was unthinkable. I especially didn’t even dream, when I heard about HoloLens, that I would wear them. However, after the audit was successfully completed, I told my colleague - You know what? This is a great thing. It is a new challenge for us, but when you overcome the first suspicion, you realize how many good things the new technology brings ", concludes Nataša.

What is Hemofarm’s SUPER Story?

These are intimate stories about people and teams from our environment, some of which can eventually become company legends.

These are stories of collegiality, courage, sacrifice, responsibility, thoughtfulness, stories we exchange with each other when we want to praise someone, not because it is expected, but because it is deserved.

These are our super stories and as such they deserve to be heard and shared both inside and outside our organization.

If you missed SUPER stories, you can read them here: SUPER priča #1, SUPER priča #2, SUPER priča #3