The Impact Of Waste On The Cost Of Quality In The Pharmaceutical Industry

By Robert G. Kieffer, PhD, RGK Consulting

Waste has a significant impact on the cost of quality (COQ)—or more exactly, the cost of poor quality—in the pharmaceutical industry. As a consultant with many years of experience in the industry, I’ve observed the negative effects of waste at many companies, and I want to identify activities that can be defined as “wasteful.”

When I refer to waste, I refer to activities within a process that are not value-added nor performed correctly the first time, and/or process outputs that are not desired by the customer. Ultimately, it is the customers, our patients, who pay for this waste, which also negatively impacts our employees’ morale and motivation.