Nemera’s Engineering Expertise – Standing Firmly at the Crossroads of the Company’s Value Chain

A Conversation with Guillaume Moins

This month we sat down with Guillaume Moins, Director of Engineering at Nemera, to talk about the role engineering plays in the drug delivery devices space. The discussion covered the organization of the engineering team, the role of technology and AI, exciting challenges related to the company’s growth, and what makes Nemera’s Engineering expertise stand out. What follows is an excerpt from that conversation.

Guillaume, can you tell us a little about your background and how you came to Nemera?

I’m a mechanical engineer by education, but I also received an MBA from EM Lyon 20 years ago. I started my career in the automotive industry at Nissan, where I was responsible for building a new shop floor for the company’s injection molding activity. After that I joined Plastic Omnium Medical as a project manager. My next position was with a company that makes packaging for cosmetics and perfumes, where I spent 16 years as a project manager, but also selling projects and doing mergers and acquisitions. This allowed me to spend several years in the US. When I returned to France, I joined Nemera. That was in 2016.

What does the Engineering Department at Nemera do?

Basically, the mission of engineering is to take all the necessary input of a business, that could be coming either from Nemera’s own product development or from the customer and use that information to design and deliver the machines that manufacture the products. The idea is that, when we hand over the production assets to the production and maintenance teams, we commit to four things: delivering products to our customers in good quality, in the right quantity, at the right time, and at the right cost.

I like to say that engineering is at the crossroads of the activities of a company. Firstly, we interact with suppliers and other internal customers such as quality, supply chain, and production, of course. In our industry the lifetime of a product can be several decades long. That’s why it’s important to provide them with equipment on time, but also equipment that is qualified and reliable for the users. At the same time, we also have lots of contact with the customer in order to understand their needs. Then we work to define and deliver a solution that meets their requirements.

For our own products, we’re present during the development phase. We study the concept and make sure we can manufacture it in the desired quantities, sometimes in hundreds of millions, while also meeting the industrial performance targets. Once the product is defined, we project ourselves into the manufacturing setup and establish the equipment and cycle times we would need to apply to successfully execute our plan. We focus a lot on the flow of parts on the shop floor, and how technology and data exchange can improve automation during the manufacturing process.

How is the engineering team organized, and how do you work together?

When I joined Nemera in 2016, the Central Engineering team was limited to three people. We structured the department to be able to fulfill all our missions, with technical expertise in injection, automation, and project management.

Today my team in France is the owner of all the standards in terms of generic specifications for all the equipment, procedures, processes, and tools we need to correctly execute a project. In fact, this was my first big task as Director of Engineering — to recreate all the central functions and standard ways of working. This has allowed the community of 200 technicians and engineers across Nemera to share our best practices and organization.

What’s important is that this is not a top-down organization. We’ve created what we call ‘networks between experts’. We own the standards, but we build them with the input of the technicians and engineers from all plants. This allows us to start with small production batches and then scale up, because we can easily duplicate what we already have in place.

We also have regular meetings where team members can share information or ask a question. We’ve managed to create a safe environment where everyone can feel comfortable to have a conversation or express ideas without being judged. We often begin with a safety minute, because safety is not negotiable. Sometimes we do a fun minute, with an anecdote or story. This is a way to bring the team closer together, especially when the pressure is on. And I think we’re stronger as a team because of that.

What are some of the challenges faced by the engineering team?

In manufacturing, one of the big challenges is with the deadlines. There are always a high number of activities to deliver in time and on budget, all the while remembering that quality and safety are a must. Building a good project team is key, not only concerning technical knowledge, but also in the way we are able to anticipate and mitigate risks.

We’re also a company that’s growing fast, and we expect this to continue for the years to come. It’s a great success factor and it translates into the creation of additional production halls every year. This brings its own set of challenges. To accomplish this, we have to consolidate all our standardizations and organizational structures. It means attracting the best talent, and making sure we remain on top of the technological innovations that can impact our industry.

Earlier you made a reference to Industry 4.0, using technology and information systems to improve automation in the manufacturing process. Can you tell us more about the role of technology at Nemera?

Part of the technology watch here at Nemera means constantly assessing the new technology available on the market and determining if it makes sense to be implemented on our shop floors. That’s part of our mission in Engineering.

It’s a question of continuous, manageable steps that we can regularly apply to improve the efficiency of our equipment and stay on top of the industry. What’s very important today is to focus on technology that can help us reduce our carbon footprint. Some of our machines now use less energy than before but are able to produce that same quantity of products while maintaining the same high standard of quality.

Where does Artificial Intelligence stand in regards to Nemera’s technology watch?

That’s a good question. AI is very trendy at the moment. At Nemera we’ve built the foundations of a system to integrate AI capabilities into our workflow. That system is already collecting large amounts of data about our production parameters, and now we’re beginning to analyze this data to improve industrial performance. For instance, by analyzing the data, we can see the trends and anticipate breakdowns, thereby reducing downtime. We can also take advantage of AI and process controls to speed up the asset validation process and to anticipate potential deviations that could affect product quality during production.

What makes Nemera’s Engineering capabilities stand out?

Three things. First, our people. I am proud to work with skilled people who are dedicated to the same mission – delivering reliable devices to serve patients. We also perform regular customer surveys. I’m very proud of the positive feedback we receive, because it shows that we are recognized for our competencies and the way we manage technical topics. The surveys also show that, as a team, we are committed to success. For us, that means delivering the best possible solution to our customers.

The second is that, with our R&D center and our engineering and production capabilities, we are able to serve our customers across the entire value chain of a device, from development to the delivery of millions of units per year. This vertical integration is a big asset for Nemera.

And finally, Nemera standards. Thanks to our standardized ways of working, and the fact that we are constantly sharing best practices across sites, our clients are served in the same way, no matter where they are in the world. This is a very important point for us and for them.

What’s the most important thing you’d like to share with people about Nemera’s engineering expertise?

That they are in a safe pair of hands. What I mean is that we are committed to delivering assets to production so that they can deliver the right quality product to the customer. To do this we have to understand what their needs are to define the best solution. For engineering this begins when we answer a request for quotation. That’s when we look ahead and ask ourselves, “How can we make this process flawless?”  Because in the end, it’s all about making sure the patient has a high-quality product when he/she needs it.

And finally, that we approach our job with a long-term vision. We’re in an industry that is important for society. We’re investing in processes, in equipment, and ultimately, in people, for a better future.

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