Manufacturing

An innovative Engineering Operations programme implemented at Pfizerdemonstrates that environmental stewardship and operational efficienciesare no longer mutually exclusive.

By Marty Brown at PfizerGlobal Engineering andMichael Becker at PfizerGlobal Manufacturing

Engineering Social Responsibility and Reliability

Figure 1: Pfizer’s Freiburg, Germany, facility is engaged in a site-wide environmental stewardship programme designed to reduce local CO2 emissions by 40 per cent by 2012.

The global pharmaceutical industry is being challengedto minimise its environmental footprint. Pharmaceuticalcompanies are addressing this critical environmentalimperative by developing and implementingsustainability programmes and initiatives across multipleoperational and organisational levels. The energyconservation initiatives in place at Pfizer Inc, forexample, demonstrate that environmental stewardshipand operational efficiencies are no longer mutuallyexclusive.

At Pfizer, an innovative Engineering Operationsprogramme is improving operational performance anduptime, optimising capital investment, and reducing thecarbon footprint. Leveraging the vast expertise ofthousands of engineering colleagues on a global scale, thefluid structure of the Engineering Operations initiativesupports and advances Pfizer’s Agile/Lean Manufacturing(and other Continuous Improvement) initiatives. In 2003,Engineering Operations teams began developingprogrammes aimed at reducing energy consumption andimproving equipment reliability and performance.

Pfizer’s Engineering Operations umbrella encompasses allaspects of energy supply and use, utility operations, andequipment/asset reliability. Since 2004, Pfizer engineershave undertaken hundreds of Engineering Operationsprojects. Their success has transformed the company’sapproach to energy and reliability management, bothglobally and locally. Empowered by the credo, ‘local action– global results’, and aligned under a common goal, teamsof engineering colleagues from across Pfizer enabled theprogramme to scale quickly and achieve results.

ENGINEERING GREEN PRINCIPLES INTO WORLDWIDE OPERATIONS

Pfizer advances its purpose – working together for ahealthier world – with the quality of the products itmanufactures, as well as by mitigating the environmentalimpact of its operations. Pfizer’s Energy andClimate Change programme exemplifiesthe organisation’s proactive

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approach to global integration of green principles.Mobilised by the Engineering Operations Center ofExcellence, the Energy and Climate Change programmeis led by a cross-functional team of Pfizer colleagues,(representing engineering, operations, environmental,legal, and procurement). Leadership team members aresubject matter experts (SMEs) in their respective fieldsand leverage engineering expertise through a network ofteams across the organisation in areas including heating,refrigeration, ventilation and water.

Developed in conjunction with its Energy and ClimateChange programme, Pfizer’s Green Buildings initiativesupports the organisation-wide environmental goal ofincorporating sustainable business practices into thedesign, construction and operation of its facilities.Designed to promote alternative energy sources,minimise environmental impact and optimiseoperational efficiencies, Pfizer’s Green Buildingsprogramme applies innovative engineering andsustainability principles to conserve natural resources,reduce energy consumption, support eco-friendlyworkplace environments, reduce long-term operatingcosts and minimise environmental impact.

Pfizer’s proactive and holistic approach to environmentalstewardship has not only achieved recognition on aglobal scale; its initiatives and programmes are designedto support risk management and efficiency goals acrossthe organisation. Energy and Climate ChangeProgramme initiatives have been instrumental in helpingthe company surpass its publicly stated goal of reducinggreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 35 per cent permillion dollars of sales by the end of 2007 from thebaseline year of 2000. The final GHG reduction figuretotalled 43 per cent.

As a result of the team’s proactive approach and earlyvoluntary carbon reduction and reporting activity, Pfizerwas named on the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index(CDLI) in 2007 and 2008. The CDLI is compiled by theCarbon Disclosure Project, a collaboration between theUS Environmental Protection Agency and industry, thataims to develop long-term, comprehensive climate changestrategies, and sets greenhouse gas emissions reductiongoals. Pfizer’s Energy and Climate Change team is

currently working toward the company’s secondgeneration emissions reduction goal: an absolute GHGreduction of 20 per cent from 2007 to 2012.

BUSINESS IMPACT OF THE ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAMME

Globally, 85 Pfizer facilities have implemented morethan 1,500 energy-related projects that have resulted incost savings of more than $110 million. Structuredenergy assessments continue to identify other energysavings opportunities. The projects range from ensuringthat lights and energy-consuming equipment are turnedoff when not needed to advanced management ofheating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, tomaking significant capital investment in majorinfrastructure such as boilers, chillers and combined heatand power units. Major renovations and expansions havebeen designed to engender greener facilities andoperational efficiencies.

GREEN LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Pfizer’s Freiburg site in Germany is participating in anaggressive programme designed to reduce local CO2

emissions by 40 per cent by 2012. Since 2004, they havecompleted approximately 65 energy- and GreenBuildings-related projects as part of the renovation of a1950s office and manufacturing complex. EncompassingGMP and non-GMP areas, the projects ranged fromHVAC improvements – geothermal heating and cooling, adiabatic cooling and adjustments to air

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Category Reduction

Energy reduction 20,000 MW-h

Water reduction 15,000m3

CO2 reduction 6,000 tonnes

Table 1: Cumulative energy and environmental impact

Figure 2: Renovated to achieve energy and other environmental efficiencies, the Pfizer facility in Freiburg, Germany, utilises a geothermal-based heating andcooling system. The short vertical pillars in the foreground mark the locations of some of the 130-metre deep boreholes that are at the heart of the system

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change rates – to improvements in overall energyefficiency – improving building exterior windows andinsulation in addition to capturing waste heat fromcondensate and compressed air systems. Table 1represents cumulative energy and environmentalimprovements resulting from the projects.

With a CO2 reduction of 1,200 tonnes per annum, theretrofit to geothermal heating and cooling provides asignificant contribution towards reducing the site’scarbon footprint. Twenty boreholes circulate water to adepth of 130 meters (420 feet), where a constant year-round temperature level of 15°C (59°F) exists. Thetemperature reservoir can be used in combination witha heat pump, coupled with heating and cooling ceilingswithin the laboratory and office spaces. With anestimated performance co-efficient of 4.5 on heatingduty and improved summer condenser temperatures,the energy use for heating and ventilation has beenreduced by a factor of four. The geothermal plantbecame operational in June 2008, and its estimatedpayback is approximately two years. The site is currentlyinstalling a wood pellet-fired boiler that is expected toreduce the site’s carbon footprint by an additional 3,400tonnes of CO2/annum. The wood pellets, which aremanufactured to follow sustainable forestry practices,consist of biomass from local forests, agriculture and thewood industry.

ENGINEERING RELIABILITY INTO WORLDWIDE OPERATIONS

Mobilised under the auspices of Engineering Operations,Pfizer’s Global Reliability programme is designed tooptimise the organisation’s global asset use. Working intandem with the Energy and Climate Change programme,the Global Reliability team implements the necessarypractices and tools to enable an enterprise-wide, data-centric approach to reliability. This centralised approachallows greater visibility to critical company assets whileproliferating Reliability Based Maintenance (RBM)practices that incorporate energy efficiency.

At Pfizer’s site in Kalamazoo (Michigan, USA), assetmanagement data have enabled significant energyreductions related to its HVAC systems. In addition, thefacility was able to target a reliability goal of two-yearuninterrupted runtime on those systems. The facility isconducting Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) onthe components of approximately 400 air-handling units.It will then establish countermeasures for each of thepotential failure modes as part of a comprehensivereliability plan. As a result of improvements to themaintenance of air handling units, uptime is increasingand energy efficiency improvements – estimated to reachapproximately 5,000MW-h – are occurring. Combiningasset data with RBM methodology, the facility reducedenergy consumption.

THE EFFECT ON THE COMMUNITY

The work of the Engineering Operations team has extendedbeyond the borders of the Pfizer organisation and into thecommunities in which the engineering colleagues reside.For example, several engineering colleagues in Sweden andGermany have converted their homes to geothermal heatingand cooling. Engineering colleagues in Ireland, Singaporeand the United States have also applied a combination ofsolar thermal, photovoltaic and wind energy to partially, andin some cases, completely, remove themselves from the localpower grid.

From operational efficiencies to environmental stewardship,engineering innovation is an important behind-the-scenesdriver in keeping pharmaceutical companies lean andcompetitive. Pfizer empowers engineering colleagues on aglobal scale to engage one another at the local level, insupport of excellence in energy and utilities managementand operational efficiencies. A collaborative, fluid approachbuilds scalability into the programme, thus providing theadded flexibility to accommodate the dynamics of thepharmaceutical industry.

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Marty Brown leads Pfizer’s Energy & Climate ChangeProgramme which has been established to reduce Pfizer’senergy footprint, optimise energy spend and reduce its contribution to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissionsthrough a comprehensive programmeme of demand and supply-side initiatives across the energy supply chain.Having spent nearly five years with Pfizer, he has 25

years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including positions withBristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline. Marty has served in a variety of site and corporate engineering roles including Manager of facilitiesoperations and maintenance; Project Manager on numerous facilityconstruction, renovation and energy conservation projects and ProgrammeManager on global business change programmes. He received a BSME from the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA) and is a member of the ISPE and AEE.

Michael Becker has served as Engineering Director ofPfizer’s Freiburg, Germany, facility since 2001. At Freiburg, he has been responsible for the SPRING (Strategic PlantRestructuring) Project, as well as packaging automationand a number of innovative energy and resourceconservation projects. Prior to joining Pfizer, Michael heldthe position of Head of Sales at Krupp Corpoplast in

Essen, as well as Head of Engineering for Faurecia Interior Systems wherehe was involved in lean maintenance strategies, Just In Time (JIT)production and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).

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