LuciadiCAD streamlines workflow at Janssen Pharmaceutica
Web-based application enables desktop access to CAD data
Eva Boffé
Marketing Communications Coordinator at Luciad NV
| An
important aspect within the Janssen Pharmaceutica policy is the drive
for continuous improvement called Process Excellence. At the technical
documentation group (TDG) a specific part of this improvement cycle
is called "Idea for Improvement": the development of cost-effective
solutions to improve workflow quality and efficiency. In this context,
the TDG department at Janssen's Beerse site began searching for a
topographical solution to support its processes. The staff of TDG
realized that they were constantly being distracted from their core
task-managing current CAD drawings of the Beerse site-by inter-departmental
requests for CAD data.
Gunnar Eriksson, Manager Commissioning & Qualification, and
formerly Janssen's coordinator of TDG, instantly realized the potential
of LuciadiCAD to optimize his division's workflow. Among all other
available GIS solutions on the market, LuciadiCAD stood out as a
solution that could be used horizontally for different applications
within the department, without upgrading in-house systems or requiring
intensive staff training. Most other GIS solutions were either general-purpose applications not tailored to Janssen's specific needs, or closed solutions specific to a single application domain that could not be adapted to other domains. TDG on the other hand, was looking for a transparent solution that would enable them to focus on their core tasks without forcing them to work with several systems. "I first heard about LuciadiCAD at a CAD managers' work group, while talking to a colleague from BASF Antwerp," Eriksson recalled. "BASF Antwerp had implemented a solution that gave access to existing CAD data and associated database information via a Web browser." "We began by testing LuciadiCAD for three months at Janssen," Eriksson continued. "We immediately realized the product offered opportunities for different applications. What we especially like about LuciadiCAD is that this software offers modular building blocks, which we can use to develop custom solutions that integrate with our existing systems." The site supervision department-which frequently used CAD drawings
from TDG-was the first Janssen Pharmaceutica division to implement
LuciadiCAD. Site supervisors now use LuciadiCAD to view infrastructure
such as underground pipes and cabling on a map, anytime, via their
desktops. Supervisors can access these maps without interrupting
the work of TDG, thus improving the efficiency of both departments.
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One of the department's most important tasks is spatial management, including the planning and organization of personnel moves. The facility management team develops a scenario to plan each move, determining logistics such as which rooms employees will occupy and which divisions will be grouped together.
Jan Horsten, senior manager of the department, described the previous process of orchestrating a move at Janssen Pharmaceutica: "Prior to implementing LuciadiCAD, we started a move project with a printed plan obtained from TDG. In our own LIS (Location Information System), we could find all information about the situation before the move. We could see, for example, the current location of staff and divisions. We then manually filled in employees' names at the correct places, and color coded each division.
"Planning and organizing this work process consumed a lot of energy and time, both from our department and TDG," Horsten added. "Often, we lost precious time due to small errors in the move plan. We regularly had to do part of the work twice, for instance: names were often misspelled or wrong colors used. Another problem we frequently faced was that people from TDG were not always immediately available to help us out."
It was not easy for the facility management department to find an application that solved all the problems it encountered. The department already used the efficient LIS system and could rely on an extensive collection of well-organized CAD drawings. The department was not seeking a complete solution; they just needed an application that linked the LIS system with available CAD drawings.
"As we became familiar with LuciadiCAD through our colleagues in the TDG and the site supervision department, we immediately realized that LuciadiCAD was the perfect solution for us," Horsten said. "We asked Wim Aerts, an external system integrator from 4Dselect, to help us develop and integrate a user-friendly implementation of LuciadiCAD into the systems we already used and were satisfied with."
Aerts outlined the process of integrating LuciadiCAD: "We needed to link the LIS database, which contained information about the locations of staff and departments, with LuciadiCAD, thus enabling the facility management department to view operational approved CAD drawings."
How did LuciadiCAD revolutionize the visualization of the moving process at Janssen? "A new move scenario now goes like this: we start with an empty Access database and populate it with information about the current situation coming from the LIS system," Aerts explained. "We then adapt this information to the new move situation. With the addition of a custom configuration plug-in to LuciadiCAD, we can visualize this updated information.
"LuciadiCAD is an open product with interfaces that make it easy to add custom functionality," Aerts continued. "Within LuciadiCAD, we can now effortlessly consult real-time drawings, both on the project level and version level. Polygons represent buildings and rooms, numbers within the polygons represent the room numbers. Merged with the LIS database information, LuciadiCAD enables users to view the adapted drawings with all necessary information. LuciadiCAD was literally the missing link for the system we had in mind."
Eriksson echoed Aerts' view: "LuciadiCAD is the final integration
layer, on top of our existing information structure."
| Janssen Pharmaceutica's
site supervision and facility management departments are not the only
divisions that benefit from LuciadiCAD. The application gives Janssen's
prevention department instant access to crucial safety and access
information.
"The prevention team, the fire brigade, and emergency services can now directly visualize information about obstacles, traffic diversions or open routes without going to the technical documentation group," explained Ivan Baeten, coordinator of technical documentation management. "The prevention team uses LuciadiCAD in two different ways,"
added Aerts. "End users, such as security or emergency staff,
have immediate access to the information they need. LuciadiCAD enables
prevention managers to adapt drawings using new graphical and non-graphical
elements. If an end user clicks on a graphically highlighted obstacle
on the plan, he can consult all related information about this obstacle-for
example, information about who is responsible for an incident, or
the duration of a disruption. Before we implemented LuciadiCAD,
the prevention team had to look at a centralized notice board in
the hall displaying the latest drawings and notices in order to
get this information. Now they can access this information from
any computer on the corporate network."
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"This maybe does not seem to be a large number," remarked Baeten. "But these people were frequent users of the TDG services. We decided to first implement LuciadiCAD in departments that would benefit most. For us, this implementation has dramatically improved the efficiency of our work. We have transferred certain activities to other departments, thus helping the technical documentation group to focus on its core task-managing up-to-date CAD drawings of the Beerse site.
"For us, it was important to drastically reduce the number of consultations at TDG. I think we successfully met our goal. The return on investment is high and the payback period is less than a year. LuciadiCAD is a user-friendly product that substantially lowers the threshold for accessing information to our users."
Eriksson explained that Janssen Pharmaceutica also selected LuciadiCAD for its ease of integration within their existing system.
"We have been designing CAD drawings for more than ten years," Eriksson said. "We therefore have an enormous amount of available data. LuciadiCAD is the technical solution for visualizing this data in conjunction with other database information. The application is versatile and can be used for a variety of applications."
Horsten and his colleagues at the facility management department also
expressed their satisfaction with LuciadiCAD. "We like the different
support tools LuciadiCAD offers for the visualization of drawings,"
Horsten said. "We can, for example, zoom in and out, calculate surface
areas, move names on the plan and color-code divisions. As we start from
the source information in our LIS system, errors and spelling mistakes
almost never occur. This saves us a lot of time and improves the quality
of our work."
Horsten already foresees another application of LuciadiCAD in his department. "We can also apply the software to visualize cleaning programs specific for different room types. This way, people can get informed about the type of cleaning that is done at a given time", Horsten added.
The team at Janssen Pharmaceutica has realized that use of LuciadiCAD does not have to be restricted to the Beerse site.
"Via our corporate intranet, we have already placed floor plans of all Janssen buildings at the disposal of staff at other sites in Belgium," explained Baeten. "We are thinking of automating this information distribution in the short term with the help of LuciadiCAD."
Eriksson added: "Actually, possibilities for which we could use LuciadiCAD are unlimited."
"It's easy to implement LuciadiCAD in other departments," agreed Aerts. "Users can view information in pre-defined themes, customized to their specific needs. This makes LuciadiCAD accessible for lots of people who aren't familiar with the application's technicalities. Within a couple of hours of working with the product, users are familiar with it and productive. This is an enormous asset. Moreover, in case we need to adapt LuciadiCAD to a new application, we know we can rely on Luciad's expertise to provide us with the right solution."