Phosphate Waste Reduction Initiative

Abstract

Budget Waste Expense increased by more than 20% due to incremental phosphate waste (PHOW) during new product lot campaign at Amgen Manufacturing Limited. This constant PHOW increase was pointing toward a possible root cause in the utilities system. During a drains/utilities walk down it was found a constant discharge of cooling water for a pump seal draining to PHOW tank. The malfunction was identified and fixed in the intermediate phosphate waste storage tank pump. Another opportunity was identified to continue reducing the phosphate waste discharge. The option to discharge a specific buffer used for the process from PHOW to normal waste drain was evaluated and approved by quality assurance department since the small amount of phosphate solution in this buffer was considered insignificant based on the laboratory results. Improvements revealed a significant reduction (65%) in phosphate waste generation (26,760 gal/lot) during the first quarter of 2013 and a cost reduction of $807K projected for 35 lots on 2013 Key Terms ⎯ PHOW, Cost Reduction, Phosphate, Waste.