What Can FOYA Do For You?

The submissions are in. The judges are preparing to meet.  That can only mean one thing: the 2014 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) Category Winners will soon be announced, kicking off our year-long celebration of industry’s dedication to excellence in pharmaceutical manufacturing facility design and technological innovation as exemplified by this year’s winning facilities. That’s great for them, you might be thinking as you read this, but my company didn’t submit a facility for FOYA this year, so why is this important to me? That’s an excellent question, and the answer lies in the core mission of the FOYA program:

The FOYA program showcases the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry’s accomplishments in facility design, construction and operation, while sharing the development of new applications of technology and cutting-edge approaches that it is adopting. The FOYA program celebrates the shared commitment and dedication of individuals working for different companies worldwide to enhancing patient health and safety through innovation and advancements in pharmaceutical manufacturing technology.

Whether you’re looking for a specific technology or practice that can help solve an issue in your plant or your company is considering building a new facility or renovating an old one, and is looking for ideas. Maybe you just want to be inspired by the amazing innovations our industry is capable of achieving. That’s where the FOYA program goes beyond being just a form of industry recognition to become a source of ideas and inspiration that can improve your company’s performance—and your own career. As part of ISPE’s mission to help pharmaceutical professionals share best practices with their industry colleagues, the FOYA program features a number of opportunities to meet the winners, celebrate their achievements and learn about their projects. In 2014 those opportunities will be expanded to include several new offerings as ISPE marks the 10^th anniversary of the FOYA program. These include an all-new gala celebration during Global Pharmaceutical Quality Week, which opens the official awards ceremony to the public for the first time in FOYA history, and a dedicated FOYA presence at the inaugural Pharma EXPO. Here’s a quick guide to the FOYA-related events that are happening in 2014:

• 2014 FOYA Category Winners Display at the 3^rd Annual ISPE-FDA CGMP Conference 2 – 3 June 2014 | Baltimore, Maryland USA
• 2014 FOYA Banquet (a Pharmaceutical Quality Week event) 3 June 2014 | Baltimore, Maryland USA
• Overall Winner Announcement and FOYA Display at the 2014 ISPE Annual Meeting 12 – 15 October 2014 | Las Vegas, Nevada USA
• FOYA Pavilion at Pharma EXPO 2 – 5 November 2014 | Chicago, Illinois USA

The 2014 Facility of the Year Awards Category Winners will be announced in late March of this year, and lists of previous winners are available here. What are you hoping to learn from this year’s Category Winners? What have you learned from past FOYA winners?  Is your company considering a submission for 2015? We want to hear your feedback – see you in the comments section!