Problem Solving


Industrial processes can be capricious beasts, whilst changing commercial or technical drivers may mean that even what is working today can become a problem tomorrow. Britest tools and methodologies help process and product developers and operations teams with vital troubleshooting work.

We can help you address issues such as poor quality, unreliability, long turnarounds, unpredictable scale-ups, downtime, high costs and all the rest by;

  • Defining process problems - setting clear objectives, understanding constraints and identifying gaps in knowledge to gain shared understanding and team buy-in to the desired project outcomes;
  • Identifying where value is being lost in a process and where to target efforts to maximise the gains;
  • Breaking down complex processes into individual stages and focusing effort where it is most needed;
  • Visualise the science behind what is happening in a process or piece of equipment to understand the mechanisms - identifying whys, not just whats;.
  • Troubleshooting and analysing to understand root causes and defining overcoming strategies.

To discuss how Britest can help you solve process and product problems Contact us

Problem Solving - Case Studies

Overcoming Analytical Sample Preparation Issues to Improve Method Reliability

Analytical scientists at AstraZeneca were able to rapidly and effectively identify and eliminate subtle procedural variations in a test method being used to make product quality decisions with significant cost implications for any batch wrongly rejected. Britest tools were used to visualise the sample preparation regime in detail, breaking it down to identify potential sources of variation, and prioritise these for further investigation in a factorial experimental design. Re-wording the test method restored the method to control, saving $10-50k per out of specification result prevented.

26 Jan 2018

Troubleshooting Reaction Issues in Additives Manufacture

An example of how a Britest study enabled one of the world's leading formulators, manufacturers and marketers of fuel and lubricant additives to gain a fundamental understanding of the influence of raw material composition and process conditions on the properties of a free-radically produced polymer which wasn't always hitting the mark. Having identified an issue in a critical raw material, Infineum were able to agree a new monomer specification with their supplier and save £350k a year.

13 Dec 2016

Use of Britest to aid Communication and Problem Solving

Read how the use of the Britest tools and approach encouraged chemists and engineers in a large manufacturing organisation to address a problem in pressure filtration which had been dragging on for three years - saving the business £500K a year. 

12 Dec 2016

Problem Solving through Process Understanding - Particle Coating for Controlled Release

Read how a Britest problem solving study rapidly enabled a major pharmaceutical manufacturer to get a controlled release drug capsules product back to target release profile after transferring the process to new manufacturing equipment.

1 Jan 2014

Challenging ideas on an established manufacturing process

How do you reduce costs and drive value when you've been operating a process for 25 years? This Britest study with a fine chemical company did exactly that by challenging established idea of what was and wasn't optimal in the process chemistry to speed up and simplify the reaction route.

12 Apr 2012

Customer and Supplier Working Together as a Team

An illustration of how two Britest members in a supplier/customer relationship were able to use Britest as a framework for working together to solve a problem with a chemical intermediate product.

13 Dec 2011

Britest in Drug Product Development

A large pharmaceutical manufacturing Britest member had identified processing issues associated with a micronisation step during late stage development with several new drug candidates intended for inhalation. A multi-disciplinary, cross-site team was put together which used Britest tools to identify key material attributes, equipment and process parameters impacting upon the micronisation unit operation. With the root causes identified the team was able to define a generic workflow and guidance for successful micronisation in the future.

13 Oct 2011
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