A Digital Transformation project should challenge the status quo

In our previous article ( where to start with your digital transformation project)   we were setting the stage and mentioning the need to clarify the benefits of going paperless before embarking the team and stakeholders in defining their requirements.

Get the team defining their requirements is already the consequence of a series of change management steps.

While the world is getting digital, the laboratory is still working with a lot, too much paper.  “We have always done it that way” is the first answer that comes to everybody’s mind yet refrained by an instinctive reflex this might not be the right answer anymore. So, comes the resistance, because we are all human being and by definition, we are reluctant to move from the comfort zone. Our degree of tolerance to change is what makes us innovator, follower, conservative or even retractor and as such will have positive or negative impacts within the team of the project.

“The tools are not suitable for my specific methodology” is also one of the very first statements we use to record at the very beginning of the journey. Curiously, we have basically not started and the assumptions this won’t work are already flying in the air.

In our experience, we have been confronted with organizations that are still working with paper-based processes and others that are almost fully digitized. Why is there so much of large differences between these companies? What should the paper-based companies do to move closer to the digitalized companies?

Change Management: Human factor is key for the success of a digital transformation project

Let’s focus on the very first steps for preparing a digital transformation project to ensure success and tangible return of investment to everyone involved.

The first one is to introduce the project in the clearest way to the stakeholders that will benefit from the change. You have probably understood at this stage that, in our view, the key factor is the human one. A company is based on people and too many technological projects aiming for digital transformation are failing nowadays due to human factors.

Get the right team is essential.

It should be composed of representatives of all areas of the organization involved in the digital transformation project. A project leader should be appointed, a clear commitment from management should be sought.

Good project management methodology brings reliability to the technical implementation of a digital implementation project

The project needs to be explained and described exhaustively to get the “buy-in” of the people.

S.M.A.R.T project goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound)

It should provide tangible information, measurable metrics, properly defined in time, cost and deliverables.

Additionally, and extremely important for everyone involved, is to understand how much effort and time will be required from their side.  The project should clearly define the number of resources required in the different phases and lately to implement the systems which will form part of the digitization project.

A communication plan should be arranged to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the progress, the achievements, and the next steps.

It seems very logical and several companies are having a strong project management methodology in place. Too often the preparation phases are neglected or given less importance. All projects need a good start.

When the project is shaped, the team is in place, management is on board and money is allocated, a high-level plan should be designed to ensure everybody knows WHEN things will happen and WHAT will happen. This will avoid frustrations because all departments are having priorities, and everybody would like to have their needs satisfied first.

This cannot be the case: money can be allocated only over a certain period of time, resources can be deployed only over a certain period of time and moving targets are typically the strongest challenge in project execution.

A successful digital transformation project gets started from a good foundation.

L'articolo Going paperless II – Human Factor is key for a successful digital transformation proviene da NL42 | Paperless Lab Academy®.

From paper to digital – the change

Our daily activities are now based on digital systems. We are reading newspapers, books, articles (like this one), sitting in front of our computer in the office, with a mobile device in our hand in a plane or a train. We don’t need to retrocede several years to find the picture of flight attendants proposing a paper magazine or a newspaper to the travelers.

Two fundamental changes have allowed us to be connected to the many information at any time and virtually in any place.  The continuous and frenetic improvements on the capabilities of computers and mobile devices together with the availability of very fast wireless networks.

Capabilities have considerably increased, sizes have considerably been reduced, allowing an incredible step to mobility. Remaining connected while progressing along the production line or reviewing results from remote location are bringing alternatives and opportunities to data management processes that leverage effectiveness, provide instantaneousness.

What was just a dream twenty years ago is now the reality we can touch in any moment of our daily activities.

How digital transformation matters in our business life

What does digital transformation mean in our business life and how much has it affected the way we perform our daily tasks?  Even though they are still huge gap between tasks, we are having our agendas mostly stored in a digitized system, we book the hotels, the flights, the rental cars via computers and apps, and most of the related information are provided in electronic formats. Meanwhile,  some banks are unable to stop mailing you the very same information that you check easily online from your mobile device.

In this sense, in the era of the industry 4.0, too many laboratories are still following  paper-based processes that support their data management, the sharing of the information and communication of the decision.

This is not only because there are some reluctances to introduce digital solutions and remove the paper in the laboratories related industries. This is possibly true in some situations and this will be extensively covered in future articles. One of the reasons why paper is not removed from the benches, is because it is still considered a better proof of good control and a solid demonstration of proper checks.

We practically all pour our thoughts on ink and paper,  take notes and sketch ideas. Evidently, some mental processes are still better materialised through a manual drawing  on a piece of paper.

How can we introduce a digital transformation project efficiently

First of all, we should work on being confident that the “digital world” is as secure as the “paper world”. Basic informatics concepts are too often assumed to be known by default and no one takes the time to seek for the information and provide it to the key decision makers, stakeholders and final users of such project.

Knowledge and education are the key elements to be considered at this very first stage of the project to drive the change management.

While a digital newspaper is very similar to a newspaper and a digital agenda to a paper-based one, an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) is sometimes very far from the “old style” notebook we use in the laboratories.

While we quickly accommodate to the interactions that a digital newspaper offers to reach the information of interest and share them into our social media of preference, we also set reminders and benefit efficiently from our digital agenda. So, we adapt ourselves to the new tools. But in what concerns our lab processes we suddenly become extremely reluctant to do it differently.

In proportion of the multiple apps available for your smartphone, the amount of ELN solutions available in the market is considerable. Not all are suitable to your needs.

So, the second point here is to go to the market with very clear definition of your requirements aiming for aligning the tool capabilities to your processes without closing the door to potential improvement adjusting and revisiting such processes in alignment with the tool. There are very strong statements made at this stage where final users require the tool to adapt to their processes and where vendors claim that tool has been designed for you to work in better conditions and you are the one who should adapt your processes to it.  As always the truth is half way.

You own your processes and the way the work is done at your department, company. No informatics system should challenge it. However, your processes are not so unique and solution providers have learnt along the way in developing and implementing their solutions. It might be good to remain open to new ways of doing it. Which doesn’t mean challenging the whole approach but maybe incorporate features and abilities that were disregarded before.

in other words, a profound business reengineering of your processes might not be necessary yet taking the time to look at the actual picture and identify the areas for improvement might help to find the tool that precisely supports you in improving your processes: increase efficiency, improve visibility on your team productivity, easier measurement of  your KPIs, quicker communication, better control on your data life cycle, higher level of data integrity …

L'articolo Going paperless: where to start with your digital transformation project? proviene da NL42 | Paperless Lab Academy®.

Faes Farma, a Spanish pharmaceutical company founded in 1933, with a strong presence in Spain and Portugal and a growing international presence, currently totalling 45 countries and exporting raw materials and finished pharmaceutical products to more than 60 countries.

As a result of its commitment to pharmaceutical research, Faes Farma can highlight the recent launch of an antihistamine molecule –Bilastine-, commercialised in Spain since 2011, currently marketed in more than 75 countries and undergoing registration procedures for commercialisation in markets as important as Japan and Canada.

As a result of all this activity, 2014 was an excellent year in economic terms, with a total turnover exceeding 198 million euros and net profit amounting to 25.3 million euros, a historic record for Faes Farma.

FAES2020 PROJECT 

At the beginning of September 2014, a new strategic initiative called FAES2020 has been launched defining the main R&D+i strategic objectives for the next 5 years, among which are the development of 20 new drugs before the end of 2020.

Focusing on the FAES2020 objectives, NL42 is running a complete business process re-engineering by  reviewing the R&D Department processes, procedures and informatics tools.

Business Process Reengineering involves the radical redesign of core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, cycle times and quality. In Business Process Reengineering, companies start with a blank sheet of paper and rethink existing processes to deliver more value to the customer. They typically adopt a new value system that places increased emphasis on customer needs. Companies reduce organisational layers and eliminate unproductive activities in two key areas. First, they redesign functional organizations into cross-functional teams. Second, they use technology to improve data dissemination and decision making.

Additionally, NL42 is supporting the whole process of laboratory informatics tools selection that should support actual and future needs of the FAES R&D department

L'articolo R&D Process reengineering at FAES FARMA proviene da NL42 | Paperless Lab Academy®.