.”Our client called in September to find out what type of instrumentation we had,” explains Kim Kirchner, pharmaceutical project leader. “And on a Friday afternoon in early October, we learned we’d be getting 600 samples on Monday. I had pulled together similar short-notice projects for other clients, so I was confident our team would rally to this challenge.” The usual daily sample load for the TOC Group is 150. At times, during this project, 1,200 samples were in the system.

Any one group could have held up the processing flow, according to Kirchner. But each group made the necessary scheduling adjustments. “Our client was pleased with the company’s efficiency,” she notes.

Dana Cunningham, senior chemist/group leader in the Pharmaceutical Water Testing Group, was responsible for organizing the analytical effort. Her TOC operation is usually staffed by three analytical team members, but a cross-trained TOC analyst from the company’s Environmental Division was brought in to help as were employees from the Pharmaceutical Division’s Raw Materials Group, swelling the number of team members to 10. In addition, staff members from the sample reporting operation assisted with retrieving and restocking samples.

“When I asked for volunteers, I was overwhelmed with everyone’s desire to help,” says Cunningham. Some took on entire shifts while others volunteered for half shifts in addition to their regular work. Volun-
teers working round-the-clock filled even the Saturday and Sunday shifts.

The mammoth effort required continual flexibility by the combined departmental staff members. “Our people were so understanding of the client’s ever-changing needs. Sometimes the samples we anticipated did not come in, and we’d have to cancel shifts. But I didn’t hear a single complaint during the entire project. The team members were incredibly cooperative,” says Cunningham. “Not a single hour of the work involved was mandatory. People were that willing to pitch in.”