Eliminating Remakes and Improving Quality of Medical Parts Manufacturing
Overview
A medical parts customer had a vascular instrument that needed proper assembly—more precisely, they needed to tighten up the amount of variation in laser marking, instrument operation, and the variation between each lot of manufactured devices. When it comes to medical safety and patient care, eliminating or reducing these issues is essential.
Together, we worked to reduce or eliminate the surprises that came with manufacturing each lot. Step by step, component by component, we examined where we could to tighten up the manufacturing process, from scheduling and timing to tolerances and quality.
Taking Action
Because of plating thickness variation, the parts needed a much closer tolerance in the assembly process. We were able to solve this with a two-step solution: providing an alternative material that did not require plating, thus eliminating the process that provided full print tolerances. This gave UMC more control over the manufacturing process and led to less rejects and fallout after plating.
Making Changes
Instead of making incremental changes—through some innovative thinking and a mutual willingness to try something new—UMC and our client were able to improve the process, the product, and the overall satisfaction for both manufacturer and client. Is there anything better than consistent production parts, better lead times, and higher quality? We think not.
Project Details
Project: Improving quality of medical assembly
Product: Vascular Instrument
Timeline: 6 months
Client Satisfaction: Approved process and parts led to eliminating any rework (and remakes) due to changes in quality management and inspection processes.
Project Highlights
• Transparent Communication
• Solution proposal prior to project kickoff
• Samples, quoting, and pilot lot provided for approval
• Exceeded expectations for part consistency, quality, and lead times