A prominent pharmaceutical company located in Southeast Europe, this manufacturer specializes in the production of solid oral dosage forms—including prescription tablets, OTC pills, and supplements. With a high-throughput operation supplying both domestic and EU markets, the company is bound by strict GMP compliance and regulatory inspection standards.
Operating with over 120 production-line machines and a lean maintenance team, their challenge has always been balancing efficiency with uninterrupted production. Any downtime affects not only revenue, but also supply contracts, product shelf life, and regulatory audit readiness.
In early 2023, a routine maintenance task—a weekly greasing of a critical tablet press machine—was missed during a period of staffing shortages caused by COVID-19. With increased sick leave and staff rotations, the maintenance log—kept on paper—was never updated, and the oversight went unnoticed.
Week 1: Scheduled greasing task completed.
Week 2–4: Task was missed due to absent staff and lack of digital reminders.
Week 5: A €40 bearing failed due to insufficient lubrication.
Week 6–11: Production on that line halted while waiting for a specialized replacement part with a 45-day lead time.
6 weeks of unplanned downtime.
$400,000+ in lost production (estimated based on output per hour).
Delayed shipments to pharmacy partners and retail chains.
GMP audit flagged “insufficient traceability in maintenance documentation.”
“We didn’t lose six weeks because of a machine. We lost them because of a piece of paper,”
– Operations Director, Pharmaceutical Client.
Further investigation revealed systemic weaknesses:
Maintenance routines were tracked manually, across three different Excel sheets and paper logs.
No alert system existed to notify technicians or supervisors of missed tasks.
Managers lacked real-time visibility into task status, making early intervention impossible.
The conclusion was clear: the client needed to move from reactive maintenance to digital-first prevention.
To address the challenge, the client partnered with Fabrico to implement a modern, scalable Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) tailored for high-compliance manufacturing.
Prevent critical maintenance tasks from being missed.
Ensure traceability and audit readiness for every task performed.
Gain real-time visibility across all equipment and production lines.
Reduce downtime and streamline team communication.
Fabrico replaced the client’s outdated paper and Excel tracking system with a centralized, mobile-first platform. Preventive tasks like greasing, filter changes, and calibration are now scheduled automatically, assigned to specific technicians, and tracked to completion in real-time.
Technicians receive mobile push notifications and reminders to complete tasks—especially time-sensitive ones. Supervisors are alerted if a task is overdue or skipped, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
Production and maintenance leaders now have a real-time compliance overview—accessible from any device. They can see which machines are due for service, which tasks are overdue, and which technicians are on track.
All actions are time-stamped and digitally stored—offering complete traceability in preparation for GMP, ISO, or FDA audits. This eliminated the risk of missing or incomplete paper records during inspections.
Fabrico’s analytics identified patterns—such as which tasks were often delayed and which machines had recurring issues—empowering the team to proactively plan resource allocation and spare parts procurement.
Within just 3 months of implementation, the pharmaceutical client experienced transformative results:
| Metric | Before Fabrico | After Fabrico |
|---|---|---|
| Unplanned Downtime | Frequent | đź”˝ Reduced by 40% |
| Task Traceability | Paper-based, inconsistent | âś… Digital and 100% auditable |
| Missed Critical Tasks | Weekly issues | ❌ Eliminated |
| Managerial Visibility | Low | đź“Š Real-time dashboard |
| Regulatory Readiness | Risk of non-compliance | âś… Fully compliant |
“Before Fabrico, we couldn’t prove what was done, when, or by whom. Now we have digital records, mobile alerts, and no more surprises. This has changed our entire maintenance culture,”
– Head of Maintenance
In pharmaceutical manufacturing, even one machine stoppage can impact weeks of output. Batch integrity, expiry timelines, and GMP compliance leave little room for operational error. Traditional tools—paper checklists and Excel files—are no longer fit for purpose in this environment.
Fabrico bridges the gap between technician execution and strategic operations. By digitizing preventive maintenance, the client now runs a leaner, smarter, and audit-ready facility.
This case underscores a simple truth: minor maintenance issues, when ignored, become major liabilities. With Fabrico, this pharmaceutical manufacturer didn’t just avoid another six-figure loss—they gained control, visibility, and a foundation for continuous improvement.
If your factory still relies on paper logs or Excel for maintenance tracking, it’s time to upgrade. Fabrico empowers pharmaceutical operations to move from reactive firefighting to proactive prevention—delivering measurable ROI in weeks, not months.
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