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Considerations for Outsourcing Laboratory Equipment Maintenance (continued)

Equipment triage Each of the models previously described offers cost and service level benefits. One current industry trend sees the asset management, frontline, and on-site models merging into a single combined triage model (see Figure 2). The model can work independently of in-house maintenance groups or in conjunction with in-house maintenance groups as required. This model consolidates all laboratory equipment maintenance under one overall provider with one contract and one invoice point. An on-site engineer team directly maintains the most prevalent, mission-critical equipment to provide the highest service level and the biggest cost savings. Less prevalent equipment is maintained by managing the OEM on a call-out time-and-materials basis or by procuring a contract from the OEM. The exact split between direct maintenance and OEM management is derived by understanding the needs and concerns of scientists and balancing those needs against the speed with which the company wishes to make cost savings. In some cases, the on-site team may be initially restricted to one or two technologies or to a restricted number of cost centers to prove the viability of the model. Maintenance events and transactions for all equipment are recorded in the same information technology management system, providing comprehensive asset management capabilities and service-quality performance monitoring regardless of whether the equipment is maintained by an on-site engineer or external OEM. Irrespective of the initial triage, equipment can be migrated from the OEM to direct on-site maintenance over time, as scientists become comfortable with the performance of the on-site team. Equipment usually transitions to on-site engineer maintenance by means of the frontline model, which gives the on-site team the opportunity to hone their skills before taking on full maintenance responsibility. Cost savings realized with the triage model will be a combination of those described with asset management (15–20%) and on-site engineer (20–25%), depending on how equipment is split between the two models. Service quality for equipment maintained by the on-site team will be the highest, as described previously. Transition to the more efficient on-site model over time releases further costs savings (typically 5–7%) and improves service quality for a greater percentage of equipment, protecting the maintenance solution from demands for further cost savings in subsequent years. Summary Cost reduction is a driving force in the pharmaceutical industry, but companies should not forget the critical role maintenance plays in generating high-quality results that get their products to market faster. Reducing quality to achieve savings will increase costs elsewhere. Fortunately, new maintenance models focused on efficiency improvements can deliver both cost savings and enhanced service quality. PT