For a GMP facility, 360-degree hygiene is essential to ensure that the end products don’t suffer in quality. Poor housekeeping practices not only impacts the quality of the medicinal products but also contributes to workplace hazards. 

Therefore, maintaining the highest levels of housekeeping practices can play an important role in incident prevention and in ensuring top-quality end products. 

What is the scope of sanitation and hygiene in a GMP Facility?

From properly maintaining hygienic washrooms to disposal of trash, it is a full circle required for a smooth pharmaceutical operation. The scope of sanitation and hygiene further extends to:

• Strict screening for the right personnel 
• Maintaining buildings, equipment, and apparatus health
• Using appropriate disinfection chemicals
• Anything else that can potentially contaminate the product. 

A comprehensive housekeeping practice, therefore, should be implemented to eliminate all the potential sources of contamination. 

3 Key Housekeeping Tips to Ensure an Efficient GMP Facility 

While there are various things to take care of in a GMP facility, an important yet underrated practice is — housekeeping. A combination of housekeeping practices mentioned below is essential for running an efficient GMP facility. 

1. Maintain Production Process Hygiene 

Building a state-of-the-art manufacturing unit alone won’t ensure that quality control is in place. It is essential to take “extra efforts” to keep the production area clean and sanitized. Some of the ways to move in that direction are as follows:

• Ensure all types of equipment used in carrying out operations are clean
• For optimal sanitization standards, use classical filtered disinfectants post manual disinfection regime. 
• Clean places that are lab-tested with disinfectants.
• Inspect the premises for unclean patches or breeding zones and clear them out. 
• Wearing appropriate gear is important to ensure cleanliness and safety.
• All debris in the area should be strategically disposed of in the right containers. 

2. Maintain Personal Hygiene 

Ensure clean surroundings by screening tightly for the right personnel and training them on the importance of hygiene. Here’s what they should check for: 

• Ensure that the workwear is kept clean and is used only for specific areas in the unit and not in common areas such as canteen, smoking lounge, etc.
• Regular laundering of workwear with high-performance disinfectants to avert the risk of germ transmission. 

In addition to the right personnel, it is of utmost importance that effective measures be taken for lavatory cleaning procedures. 

• Proper maintenance of washroom facilities should be in place and practiced thoroughly, including an adequate supply of resources such as water, air dryers, soap, etc. 
• Cleaning schedules with a complete cleaning checklist should be prepared and implemented. 
• From washbasins, dispensers, urinals to floors, everything should be cleaned thoroughly every day. 
• An adequate supply of cleaning agents such as ammonia, strong bowl cleaner, detergent, etc. should be supervised by the Quality Manager 
• All sanitary waste should be disposed of in accordance with local codes
• Discard all accumulated waste such as broken pallets, unused labels, etc. in the designated areas 

3. Carry out GMP Facility Disinfection 

For a GMP-compliant production unit, disinfecting measures should also be practiced for the whole unit. Some of the measures involve:

• Choosing only the best, industry-approved sterilizing products that are 100% effective for safety and cleanliness.
• From walls, walkways, ceilings to floors, every place should be scrubbed and cleaned with disinfectants to prevent the risk of contamination. 

Ensure a Successful Housekeeping Program with Pulse 

Monitoring your housekeeping efforts can go a long way in ensuring that your GMP facility complies with the hygiene standards that are to be met for running it efficiently. One of the best ways to examine housekeeping operations and processes is by creating digitally powered checklists. With carefully curated compliance checklists, you can conduct regular inspections that ensure all the housekeeping tasks in the facility are running smoothly. You can even find out problem areas and take immediate action. 

Pulse can be one such one-stop solution to all your housekeeping woes. It can take away the hassle of ensuring compliance by automating processes with powered checklists and by alerting for necessary actions. In addition, it empowers your employees to stick to quality standards at a cost-effective rate. Furthermore, not only is it quick to seamlessly integrate into your existing systems but is also mobile-ready. 
To learn more, you can check out Pulse Pro.ai and take a free trial to see how it can help your GMP facility.