Every day we get more information. More e-mails. More voice-mails. Fixed, wireless and satellite phones. But here at Hovione, and doubtless at other companies, we complain that it is increasingly difficult to deal with information, to know what to do with it when we get it to know exactly what to do with it.

This time it was Jorge Pastilha, our Manufacturing Control and Logistics Manager, who decided to focus on this question which he considers “a paradigm of modern companies”, and unlike other experts in the field, he does not intend to solve it with matrixes and templates, simply with … “Visual Management”…

“When we need to understand something quickly” says Pastilha, “we use visual signs. Simple examples are traffic signs… Just imagine the confusion and traffic jams that would occur in our cities if signs saying “Left turn forbidden”, or “Driving over 50km/h not allowed” were used instead of the Highway Code signs we all know so well.

Jorge Pastilha believes this is exactly the problem with companies. “What we need are more traffic signs and less information signposts. Why? Because they will cause less traffic jams and therefore productivity will increase. Also, visual signs are more intuitive, take up less room and are understood by everyone in the same way.

“We tend to complicate things, either because in the bustle of our daily lives we confuse Quality System with paperwork or because we fail to understand the difference between data and information” admits Pastilha who, nonetheless, does not consider “Visual Management” a revolutionary theory as there are plenty of examples to be found at Hovione; ranging from cables painted in various colours and NFPA labels to the yellow lines in the sheds that mark the different storage areas.

“This is simplicity in action; the challenge now is to carry this simplicity to the work instruments, reports and SOPs. Here are a few very simple examples:” concludes Jorge Pastilha.
 

• A picture is worth a thousand words…
• A flowchart rather than a Word document
• A photo instead of ten pages of explanations
• A label in the right place instead of a security data file in the office
• A page with operating instructions beside the equipment instead of an instructions manual on file
• A chart is “Information” but a table with numbers is “Data”

During the Formal Review the performance of every area of the company is analyzed. From the evaluation carried out it was concluded that the degree of objectives achieved for 2005 was the following:

At the closing meeting held on May 31st in Loures the main objectives for 2006 were defined and later approved by the Executive Committee on July 1st. Details are available in Sharepoint, Corporate, Corporate Management, Continuous Improvement Plan.

Since it was an anonymous survey, the identifications for a qualitative analysis were based on the sites, number of years at Hovione, H group (hierarchical level) and sex. The response rates were as follows:

  - H1 (Executive Committee)
  - H2 (Senior Management)
  - H3 (Middle Management)
  - H4 (Staff)

The average rates were (1- I agree completely; 5- I disagree completely)

Overview of results:

1. Communication across sites is the most problematic - While our communications channels are considered good and adequate to people’s work, it is definitely the issue of communication between sites and between areas at HQ that requires most attention.

2. Overall, company management and satisfaction at work rate well.

3. NJ is the site that shows most disparity from other sites - HQ, HM and HK show relatively homogeneous answers, whereas NJ shows a much greater level of disparity from the other sites. NJ had the lowest mean response with 2.53. It is worth looking at individual answers where NJ rates a lot higher or lower.

4. N+1 communication to N is deficient - There is a general lack of N+1 communication on specific, out of the ordinary & non-routine issues, from top to bottom.

5. Changes are not adequately communicated - There is a clear problem in “changes that affect people’s work” not being adequately communicated.

6. Lack of information across sites - All sites equally complain about not having useful / general information from other sites. Overall there is more information going from HQ to other sites than vice versa. However, all sites are deficient in communicating to others on:

a. New systems implemented with success
b. Successes of areas/teams/staff
c. Ways of solving problems
d. Operational issues related to my work area.

7. Communication between areas at HQ vary a great deal depending on H Group - Information flow between areas at HQ does not, in general, rate very well. These ratings tend to worsen when the areas are evaluated by other sites. Ratings vary a great deal depending on the H group, which implies that each area can make a fairly precise analysis and act accordingly.

8. All communication channels rate well as communication tools – in descending order: email, Hovionews, sharepoint, Skype (except an NJ) and messenger.

9. Meetings are poor - People do not consider that meetings at Hovione are well organized and structured.

10. Regarding analysis by different nature groups:

a. Sites: As mentioned HK, HQ, HM rate relatively homogeneously at 2.44, 2.46, 2.48 respectively, whereas NJ
    stands at 2.53.
b. H level groups: H1 gave the highest rating averaging 2.43, followed by H3, and then H2 and finally H4 with
    2.57
c. Nº of years at Hovione: the 11 to 20ys groups is the most satisfied followed by the 6 to 11 ys, the 0 to 5 ys,
   and finally the >20 ys seems to be the most dissatisfied (2.67)
d. Sex: Females (2.58) rate the survey distinctly below males (2.50)

Overall Averages:

Given the fact that the statistical studies are carried out through sampling, they can be misleading, so in certain cases the results have been rounded up to the decimal as we are aware of the limitations of such studies.

We will undertake the same survey in 18 to 24 months’ time in order to assess its evolution. We would like to thank everybody who gave their opinion. The results are available in Sharepoint, Corporate, Corporate Management, Internal Communication Plan

Hovione awarded, for the second consecutive year, a prize to the five highest ranking secondary schools in Portugal, as well as to the three best at regional level (Loures and Odivelas) in terms of Chemistry results obtained in the 12th year exams.

The Hovione prize involves the equipping of chemistry labs for the schools and a visit to the company’s manufacturing facilities for teachers and students. This visit took place on May 6th last and included a ceremony for presentation of the Prize diplomas.

Hovione is very committed to promoting this Prize for the national secondary education. “It is at high school more than at university level that we want to promote the quality and enthusiasm of chemistry teaching and learning, by recognizing the effort and merit not only of students but also of teachers of these schools”, says Sofia Villax. “With this Prize we hope to assist teachers in encouraging a greater number of students to choose a university degree related to chemistry”.

“Because our business deals with health science, we operate within a very demanding and competitive work environment”, says Mª José Macedo, responsible for Purchasing. “And since our products must conform to very high quality standards we must follow very strict rules and procedures. We are very demanding with our suppliers but we also consider them a key factor to the success of Hovione's business. To Hovione a supplier is a partner in business”.

The survey was sent out to 1063 suppliers with whom Hovione placed orders in the last two years. We received 435 replies, 41% of the total. Table 1 shows the results of the survey.

Areas to be improved:
      • Attendance waiting time      • Unloading time

Actions already under way to improve our performance and meet suppliers’ needs are:
      • Information and awareness action with the warehouse staff informing them of the survey results.
     • Establishment and monitoring of KPIs concerning waiting times and raw-material sampling.
     • Introduction of NIR/PAT technology for the unloading of bulk solvents in order to reduce waiting and unloading times.

Hovione thanks its suppliers for their cooperation.

Table 1 - (Scale of 1 to 4, where 1 – Bad; 4- Very Good) 

The audit for the first phase of the environmental certification process, according to ISO14001, was carried out by SGS ICS Portugal on March 13th and 14th.

Highlighted as strong points by the audit team were the good control over environmental issues and the fact that everyone responsible for the areas contacted was acquainted with the implemented management system, stated Paulo Baião, project supervisor. As a weak point remains the fact that the system is still very recent and there is still lack of control over corrective and preventive measures.

During the audit process one major and seven minor non-compliance situations were detected and four recommendations were made. The major non-compliance concerned the absence of an environment noise report, which had now been handed in. The other non-compliance cases are related to discrepancies at operational control level, communication, procedure update, applicable requisites and preventive and corrective measures.

A plan of action is already under way to correct the detected situations and to prepare for the 2nd phase audit scheduled for the end of June.

In 2005 Hovione established a target: to improve separation of non-hazardous waste. With the effort and dedication of everyone that objective has been reached.

Besides the obvious economic savings (€4.993), the increase in percentage of substances that may be recycled or recovered serves as an external indicator of the company’s environmental performance.

With everyone’s support Hovione seeks to improve, day after day, a better environment for a better future.

Pharmaceutical ingredient plant is an important part of firm's global network.

The Macau plant run by Portuguese pharmaceutical chemical firm Hovione could well be the only drug facility in the world to be located in a gaming mecca.

Macau is Las Vegas transplanted to southern China. Sands, Venetian, and other companies that operate casinos, hotels, and convention centers in Las Vegas have been setting up grandiose facilities in Macau since the end of the gaming monopoly there. Since then, Macau has experienced an unprecedented construction boom.

But Macau, a longtime Portuguese colony that switched to Chinese administration in 1999, is also one of the oldest European settlements in Asia and as such retains much of the charm arising from the blending of Portuguese and Chinese cultures over the past 450 years. There are old Catholic churches and forts turned into hotels. One easily discovers quaint restaurants on narrow streets where Cantonese-speaking Caucasian waiters dish out Portuguese specialties to local residents and foreign tourists.

Hovione's plant is a short walk from the old Taipa village, one of Macau’s most picturesque neighborhoods. The plant, built on the site of an old fireworks factory, is mostly hidden behind centenarian trees. Luis Gomes, a five-year resident of Macau who is the plant’s general manager, says he regularly meets people who were born in Macau and do not know about the plant, despite its location next to a major road.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration-approved facility started operating in 1986 and was upgraded with larger vessels and automated equipment in 2001. With 120 employees, it is considerably smaller than Hovione’s facilities in Portugal, where the firm has 440 employees. A pilot plant in New Jersey employs an additional 40 people.

In Macau, Hovione produces active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for customers around the world. Although Hovione records about 20% of its sales in Asia, Gomes explains that the plant at which a customer’s product is made depends more on the availability of suitable equipment than where it will be delivered. He adds that APIs tend to cost a lot per pound, which renders irrelevant the cost of shipping the finished product.

There are now only five Portuguese staff at the plant. Although Macau does not have a pharmaceutical industry from which Hovione can draw experienced workers, the company has been able to find personnel among Macau-born Chinese who graduate from universities abroad.

One example is Eddy Leong, who, eight years ago, having studied chemical engineering at Oregon State University, was considering his options. Family members, keen that he return to Macau, encouraged him to contact Hovione. The interview went well, and he was given the choice of either performing analytical work in the lab or working in the plant as an entry-level operator. With some misgivings, he chose the latter. He’s now the plant’s industrial director, with responsibility for operations, safety, health, and environment.

Leong says he strives to promote harmonious relations with the neighboring community. Since the plant was built, an apartment building and a hotel have been erected on adjoining land. “I think our neighbors may wonder what’s going on when they see from their window a bunch of guys dressed in white overalls conducting emergency drills to the sound of sirens,” he says.

The first “open days” Leong conducted at the plant were poorly attended, but he now gets a lot of people from local schools and neighborhood associations who have genuine interest in the operations.

Hovione set up in Macau for several reasons, Gomes says. Besides the historic connection with the firm’s home country, a simple reason is that the corporate tax rate is a maximum of 12%. Another is that the Macau operation acts as a customer and source of expertise for the company’s raw material purchasing office in nearby Hong Kong, which opened in 1979.

With its large pool of personnel and well-equipped facilities, the Macau plant can supply the purchasing office with testing capabilities and Chinese-speaking experts who can audit potential suppliers, transfer process technologies, and source new chemicals and building blocks from China. “In China, we have suppliers that have been working with us for 20 years; we were among their first foreign customers,” Gomes says.

After nearly 20 years in Macau, Hovione has come to see itself as a stable member of the enclave’s shrinking Portuguese community. Every year in October or November, the firm holds an open-air dinner in the garden on the factory’s grounds to celebrate St.-Martin, a festival that marks the year’s harvest and new wine. The dinner is normally attended by Diane Villax, who is the chairman of Hovione's board and the mother of the firm’s chief executive officer, Guy Villax.