以精實生產與創新方法探討中藥丸劑成丸技術

Abstract

骨質疏鬆是一種進行式的老化現象，隨著年齡增長，骨量漸漸流失。骨質疏鬆初期常有腰酸背痛、下背痛或頸椎腰椎疼痛的情况。龜鹿二仙膠丸為強健筋骨及補精氣的常用中藥方，組成為四味藥材，以鹿角、龜板、枸杞及人參熬製而成，效果良好，尤其對骨質疏鬆症更有效。丸劑是將一種或多種藥物碾成細粉後加入適當結合劑，用人工或機器製成圓球固體製劑。丸劑是最古老，最常用，最廣泛中藥製劑之一，具有服用、攜帶方便及保存時間較長的優點，常見的丸劑為蜜丸與水丸。蜜丸是將藥物細粉以煉製過的蜂蜜作為黏合劑製成的圓形丸劑。台灣中藥製造業，從代工廠發展到目前已有多家自有品牌，對消費者品質及售價要求相對需付出更高的心力。近來由於人工費用、原物料價格上漲，整體生產成本逐年提高，為改善品質去除浪費，業者紛紛的追求降低不良率及降低成本，透過不斷改善及消除浪費來達成目標。本研究以精實生產為理論基礎，並以創造性問題解決（Creative Problem Solving）模式為主架構，並融入萃智方法（TRIZ）以解决問題，再利用專利分析，實際探討中藥丸劑成丸技術。目前案例公司生產的龜鹿二仙膠丸以蜜丸為主，製丸後丸劑與丸劑間成串無法分離。本研究以創新手法改善製程設備及消除工作中的浪費，不但提升製丸速度，保護人員作業安全，同時也降低人工成本。

Osteoporosis is a progressive aging phenomenon, as humans age, the bone mass is gradually lost. Early symptoms of osteoporosis are back pain, lower back pain or cervical lumbar pain. The common Chinese medicine prescription of Guilu Erxian Capsule for strengthening bones and replenishing vital energy has good results, especially for osteoporosis. It is made up of four kinds of herbs: plastrum testudinis, cornu cervi, ginseng radix and fructus lycii. Pills are made by grinding one or more herbs into fine powder and then adding a suitable binder to give them a solid structure. The solid structure/sphere can be made by hand or by machine. Pills are one of the oldest and most commonly used traditional Chinese medicine preparations. Their advantages are easy to take, easy to carry and long storage time. Common pills are honey pills and water pills. A honey pill is a round pill made of refined fine powder of the herb and honey as a binder. Taiwan's traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing industry has developed a number of its own brands. A higher level of commitment to meet consumer quality and price requirements is required. Recently, due to the increase in labor costs and raw material prices, the overall production cost has increased year on year. In order to improve the quality and eliminate waste, the operators have sought to continuously reduce the non-performing rate and costs. This research uses the theory of Lean Production, the Creative Problem Solving model, and the TRIZ method to deliver high quality medicine. Then a patent analysis is done to actually explore the Chinese medicine pill forming technology. A Chinese medicine producing company case is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the above-proposed techniques to efficiently produce high quality pills at a lower cost. At present, the Guilu Erxian Capsule produced by the case company is mainly composed of honey pills. The string of pills cannot be easily separated, as the pills are sticky. This research uses the innovative methods to improve the pill production process and eliminate the waste of process. This approach not only improves the speed of pelleting and protects the safety of personnel, but also reduces labor costs.