The store department in the Pharmaceutical industries is a very important department of any pharma industry.As the name indicates it is the place where some materials or goods are stored so the name store is used.
The professionals who are working in the pharma industries are well aware of the store department but many students, freshers and those who have never worked in the pharma industry have no insights regarding the store department.
So in this article, we will learn about the different subsections and activities which are related to the store department.
Classification Of Store
The word store in pharma is not just limited to the single store but it has many sub-parts (stores) which are given as,
- RMS
- PMS
- FGS
RMS stands for raw material store, PMS stands for packaging material store and FGS stands for finished goods store.
What Is RMS?
As we mentioned RMS is the raw material store and it is the place in pharmaceutical industries where raw materials are stored. A common question comes to mind: what are the raw materials?
Raw materials in pharmaceutical industries are the input materials which are used for the manufacturing of drug products and may include the following
- Active pharmaceutical ingredients
- Excipients
- Solvents
For the storage of all the raw materials a well-controlled sub section of the store is established which is known as RMS or raw material store.
A raw material store usually has three main sub-sections or areas
- Quarantine Area
- Release Area
- Rejection Area
- Dispensing Area
- Post Dispensing Area
Quarantine Area
The quarantine area of RMS is part of the raw material store where all the materials received from vendors are placed after physical verification and sampling of the materials is performed. These materials are placed in the quarantine area & are waiting for the release from the quality control department.
The material containers must be placed on pellets and stack the pellets in such a way that they must be off the floor and away from the wall.
The yellow colour label is attached to the material containers indicating the quarantine materials. It is considered a good practice to affix all labels to the same position of the containers because this practice will help for rapid traceability.
Release Area
The release area is the part of the raw material store where all the materials with release status are placed.
As we discussed previously in quarantine the materials are waiting for the release so when a material is released from the quality control lab it is transferred to the release area from the quarantine area and a green colour label is attached.
Rejection Area
The rejection area is the part of the raw material store where rejected materials are placed. If any material fails to pass the quality control testing it is transferred to the rejection area from the quarantine area. A red colour label is attached to all the rejected containers.
In the rejection area, the materials are placed in a locked cage marked with red colour to avoid any type of mix-up.
Dispensing Area
The dispensing area is the place in RMS where the dispensing of materials is carried out. The dispensing process is carried out as per the standard operating procedure of the dispensing.
Post Dispensing Area
A batch of product is dispensed it is placed or stored in the post dispensing area under lock and key.
Activities Performed In RMS
The most important activities performed in raw material stores are
- Dispensing
- Documentation
- Stock Checking
Dispensing
Dispensing is the process where required quantities of all materials are weighed according to the dispensing order in the raw material store.
It is a very critical process & is carried out under the supervision of RMS and QA pharmacists.
Documentation
The raw material store officials are also involved in extensive documentation related to the raw materials receiving, release, storage, handling and regulatory compliance.
Stock Checking
To ensure compliance with manufacturing orders the stock in raw material stores is physically verified after specified time intervals.
Important Note
- All the batches dispensed in RMS are delivered to the production department to ensure smooth manufacturing of the products as per market requirements.
- A specific level of cleanliness and control of temperature and humidity is also ensured in the raw materials store.
- A cold storage area is also available in RMS where materials required to be stored at low temperature are placed.
Packaging Material Store
A packaging material store is also known as PMS and it is the area or sub-section of the store department where primary and secondary packaging materials are stored.
Following are some common examples of the materials which are placed in the packaging material store
- Alu Foils
- PVC Foils
- Glass bottles
- Polyethylene Bottles
- Caps
- Measuring Cups
- Collapsible Tubes
- Droppers
- Empty Shells
- Ampules
- Vials
- Unit Cartons
- Leaflets
- Shippers
Similar to the RMS the packaging material store also has a quarantine area, release area and rejection area. The difference is that instead of placing raw materials here we place the packaging materials.
The packaging materials are also delivered to the production department after the dispensing process.
The control of temperature and humidity is also ensured in packaging material stores.
Finish Goods Store
A finished goods store is generally known as FGS and it is also one of the most important sub-sections of the store department.
The FGS is the main component of the store department where all the products after packaging are stored.
In simple words after manufacturing and packaging the finalized pack products are stored in the finished goods store.
The main important job of the finished goods store officials is to deliver the required stock to the market and for this purpose, the stock is loaded over the approved vendor vehicles and supplied to the distributors or market.
Conclusion
In pharmaceutical industries, the word store represents three departments which are responsible for the storage of raw materials, packaging materials and finished goods. To meet the regulatory requirements and to ensure good product quality the storage conditions and all the activities in these stores are critically controlled & monitored.
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