Qualiphar, who is that?
You have probably already taken a tablet for a sore throat or rubbed yourself against mosquitoes? There is a good chance that these products come from Qualiphar. This Belgian family business is market leader in many non-prescription medicines, cosmetics, food supplements and other health products. Together with their own brand and numerous private labels, Qualiphar strives to make people in over 60 countries healthier and happier with their high-quality pharmaceutical products.
"Your health, our priority".
This is the mission that Qualiphar is proud to stand behind. The independent player in the field of health focuses on research, development, production and commercialisation of health products and medicines. Some of the products you have certainly heard of are:
- Cough (Toularynx ®)
- Sore throat (Medica ®)
- Decontamination/wound care (Cedium®)
- Food supplements (Biocure ®)
- Insect repellent products (Mouskito ®)
- …
Today, Qualiphar continues to specialise within the pharmaceutical industry and to share its know-how with third parties in order to position itself as the best health partner. The family business is experiencing a continuous growth and Qualiphar does not see this changing in the future.
A good engine is the best medicine.
In addition to their global success, Qualiphar also wants to do their bit for society and nature. They are constantly looking for new ways to protect the environment and reduce their impact. They have already taken numerous actions such as setting up bee hives, greening their vehicle fleet and, since 2019, even opening their own wind farm. In this way, they want to make their contribution to the improvement of our planet.
Besides the environment, Qualiphar also realises the importance of their employees. They are the driving force behind the health company and believe in the principle: "Your company is as strong as its weakest link". With this, they strive to keep their well-being and health optimal.
Impairment of well-being
Although the well-being of the staff is paramount for Qualiphar, they were faced with a problem that is not unknown to many companies. Within their production, heavy boxes often have to be manipulated. These boxes can weigh up to 20 kg and this consequently requires heavy physical exertion from the employees.
As these efforts were quite intensive, only the stronger workers could perform this task. But even for these operators, this led to back and shoulder complaints after several years. Qualiphar recognised this problem and wanted to find a solution where only one operator, regardless of physical strength, was needed to move all the boxes, but also that this operator did not have to overexert himself to complete the task.
Crossing our paths
After a search on the Internet, the pharmaceutical manufacturer came to Logitrans. They visited our office in Drongen to take a closer look at our products and quality. After an extensive demonstration, we felt a good match and decided to tackle their problem together.
It concerned two situations. Firstly, the incoming boxes had to be moved to the conveyor belt for detail picking, or placed in a larger box. This required the employees to lift continuously, which in time began to weigh heavily on them.
We opted to provide support with a rapid vacuum lifting system with a pistol grip. In this way, only one worker is required to move the boxes, without compromising his own health. The heavy weight is thus shifted from the worker to the vacuum system.
The high-speed vacuum lifter was mounted on a rail system measuring 10 x 3 metres. This gives the employees a free working area of just over 25m². The rails were attached to an overhanging construction on two posts, which ensured that as little space as possible was lost in the warehouse.
The boxes mentioned above then arrived at the final station, where the packages had to be placed on correct pallets. Not an easy task, knowing that boxes can easily weigh tens of kilos. Here too, we opted for a vacuum lifting system. This enabled Qualiphar to reduce the volume in boxes considerably, as they were able to place more boxes inside boxes. Although this would previously have been too much of a burden for the employees, this solution makes it child's play.
Employees' reactions
Initially, the workers were somewhat doubtful and sceptical about using the vacuum lifting devices. They found it difficult to give control to a device of which they did not know exactly what it did and how it would react. Although they were experimenting with it, they still preferred to do things manually.
However, once they had mastered the technique, they saw its real added value. They were able to perform their tasks faster and without any detriment to their physical health. In addition, they appreciated the fact that Qualiphar actively sought a solution for the taxing task. This has had a positive impact on their overall satisfaction and the Belgian family business has noticed that this has translated into higher productivity. Instead of having to take a short break every half hour to give their bodies a rest, the operators can now work more constantly.
Consequences of the solution
In addition to productivity, the two vacuum systems brought other interesting benefits. Qualiphar was now able to fit smaller boxes into larger ones that were better adapted to the dimensions of a pallet.
In this way, they were able to build each pallet one level higher and to make more use of the lorry's load volume during transport. In this way, the healthcare company was able to optimise transport traffic and is one step closer to achieving its goal of minimising its environmental impact.
The beginning of a beautiful story
In the meantime, Qualiphar has been working with the vacuum lifters for several months and the employees cannot imagine it any other way.
"This was the start-up with ergonomic devices, but it certainly doesn't stop there. As we continue to grow, we want to focus more on these products to take away any strenuous physical task. Our employees are the foundation of our success and deserve the necessary attention and dedication to put their well-being at the top of the list." - Jan-Karl Verlinden
We are already looking forward to future collaborations!