Pfizer’s Ops Center

Digital Operations Center is an “air traffic control” application that powers manufacturing execution through our single product design and set of connected digital devices, supporting end-to-end workflow management and productivity.

It provides teams with the workflow management tools to visualize and communicate the status of manufacturing operations.

The Challenge
Transform paper-based visual management boards into real-time digital experiences, running across Surface Hub, Desktop, Mobile and Tablet devices. Provide an extensible design framework that connects disparate related apps for various user types across the globe.

The objective was not simply to digitize current visual management boards, but to streamline this data and access to key information across a set of connected devices.

For specific use cases (shift change, etc.) our digital IOT enabled solution pictured above replaced the legacy analog solution pictured below.

You would be surprised how many manufacturing facilities capture process progress across shifts with boards like this one we saw in facilities across the globe

Working Session in Ireland to demo progress and ideate

Design presentation to global manufacturing leads in Ireland at the largest vaccine manufacturing site

THE STRATEGY
The application of Standard Work in the digital ecosystem leverages real-time tracking data to provide visibility into the manufacturing pipeline, creating a platform for performance analysis. Data is pushed and pulled real time and distributed across a series of connected platforms.

Real-Time Updates
Batches report back real-time status that will dynamically update the work plan with throughput progress of individual Role Cards at the manufacturing persona level.
Baseline Reporting
Real-time Role Card reporting flows upstream to show variances between the Anchor Plan and Work Plan. This also provides updated estimates based on completed tasks, as well as alerts to blocked items and adjusted completion times.
Impact
Real-time reporting flows upstream to show deviations in the Anchor Plan. Variance data analysis will suggest baseline data updates of applicable Master Index card process step durations.

Plant workers using Ops Center at a Pfizer vaccine manufacturing facility in Grange Castle Ireland

The Brief

Pfizer

Role: Experience Design Team Lead across multiple product work streams working on separate apps in the product ecosystem.

Description:

These Interactive digital data dashboards and collaboration tools facilitate the global coordination of manufacturing activities and provide executives with the real-time operational visibility they need to make effective decisions.

At the conclusion of the project it was rewarding to me mostly because of the unique global digital transformation challenge we were able to solve. It has since been extremely rewarding to know that right before the pandemic Pfizer was already running this new platform in many of its top manufacturing centers that creates vaccines for worldwide distribution.

This platform was designed to improve the speed and quality of manufacturing production and knowing that we were able to help Pfizer improve the speed of manufacturing vaccines makes this one of the most rewarding opportunities of my career.