Water Spider Process Takes a Bite Out of Reagent Manufacturing Delays at Illumina

This project was conducted within the San Diego Reagent Manufacturing Department of Illumina, a biotechnology company that produces DNA sequencing platforms. The goal of the project was to reduce delays within reagent filling by implementing aspects of lean manufacturing. Three new roles were implemented to minimize the number of extraneous tasks performed by a fill line operator prior to the start of a production order. The water spider role, taken directly from lean manufacturing, was implemented and responsible for performing most of the staging and preparatory work to allow the fill line operator to focus on the task at hand. Furthermore, tools were created to identify errors in planned production orders before they caused delays to the fill line, and to promote inventory accuracy. Process improvements resulted in a ten-hour reduction of expected process duration daily, hours which were reallocated to other critical parts of the process. Data collected from a previously-implemented reporting system showed a 72% decrease of time lost daily due to material staging-related interruptions. Staging interruptions accounted for 42% of all interruptions pre-implementation, versus 13% post-implementation. Reduction of interruption time minimized the risk of discarding expired product and lessened the opportunity costs of an idle fill line. Employees closest to the process were consulted to implement strategies to establish best practices, which laid the groundwork for future process development at a new manufacturing site.