Lost and Found Stability Disaster

When moving from one end of a large manufacturing facility to our new fancy stability digs at the other end we shrink-wrapped each of the rolling racks inside our old walk-in storage units and rolled them down the long hallway for what should’ve been about 10 minutes out of condition. A special moving crew was assigned because they were qualified to access restricted areas enroute. To ensure success, we wrote clear instructions for them and labeled each rack to indicate final destinations.

During one of the transfer runs a moving crew was called to an urgent maintenance issue, so they left the stability material in a secure hallway that seemed safe enough to avoid tampering or any accidents. They were done in just 15 minutes but they unfortunately assumed the crew behind them had picked up the samples they’d left behind. As a result, three racks involving 29 annual stability studies of marketed products sat truly abandoned for the next three weeks until the error was discovered.

From what we can tell, the samples remained in the same location–a 25°C controlled temperature hallway–shrink-wrapped and looking like they belonged there. The location was not qualified or mapped, was not humidity controlled, and had not been monitored during the excursion.

What are some things we might have done better to prevent disaster in this seemingly straightforward stability transfer? Join the discussion to provide your thoughts or ask further questions. After 7 days, we’ll jump back in with our proposals to add to yours.

Head over to the discussion below to get more information about possible options and discuss with fellow stabilitarians.