Efficiency may be a primary goal for manufacturers across many industries, but in medical device manufacturing, optimizing workflows is paramount to success. However, this is easier said than done, due to the highly complex nature of developing and producing healthcare industry solutions. Every inefficiency, every piece of waste, and every supply shortage can have significant consequences for both cost and productivity.
Pinpointing the Sources of Inefficiency and Waste
The journey to efficient manufacturing begins with uncovering and addressing the root causes of unnecessary waste, workflow bottlenecks, delays, and every other obstacle to optimization. Traditional manufacturing processes often involve overuse of materials, excessive inventory, and complex supply chains that culminate in suboptimal workflows. These inefficiencies not only increase costs and extend lead times but also pose a risk to quality. Crowded workflows are more prone to producing defective devices, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of reworking costs, regulatory compliance issues, and potential downstream liabilities.
Moreover, the time and resources needed to correct inefficiencies and errors further impede the ability to scale production and respond to market demands. With so many factors working against a successful launch, medical device innovators are turning to forward-thinking manufacturing solutions to find and close the gaps to create a time- and cost-efficient production process.
Lean Manufacturing: A New Approach to Sustainability
The key to empowering scalable and efficient medtech manufacturing is to leverage the “lean” approach. Lean manufacturing centers around eliminating waste and continuously improving efficiency in five core steps:1
- Identifying value. The first phase of lean manufacturing is to clearly define what constitutes value from the customer’s perspective. This requires an in-depth understanding of the specific features, functions, and benefits that customers are willing to pay for. By focusing on value-added activities, manufacturers can eliminate waste and maximize efficiency.
- Mapping the value stream. The next step is to map the entire value stream, from raw materials to the end user. This process includes identification of all the steps involved in delivering the final product as well as the flow of materials, information, and resources. Value stream mapping helps identify opportunities for improvement and workflow optimization.
- Creating flow. With a clear understanding of the value stream, the goal is to create a smooth, uninterrupted flow throughout the production process. This requires eliminating bottlenecks, reducing batch sizes, and synchronizing activities to ensure a steady flow of work. By minimizing delays and disruptions, manufacturers can improve lead times and responsiveness to customer demand.
- Implementing pull systems. In a traditional manufacturing environment, production is often driven by forecasts and schedules, leading to overproduction and excess inventory. Lean manufacturing leverages pull systems to trigger production in response to customer demand. This conservative approach helps reduce inventory levels, minimize waste, and improve overall efficiency.
- Striving for perfection. Lean manufacturing is not a stop-gap or band-aid solution. This approach emphasizes continuous improvement through regular collaboration on strategies to further eliminate waste, optimize processes, and strive for the highest level of quality and efficiency.
Implementing Waste Reduction Strategies
In addition to lean manufacturing, waste reduction strategies play a crucial role in building end-to-end efficiencies that improve both productivity and eliminate waste. These strategies include:
- Only ordering and producing materials as needed
- Establishing standard operating procedures
- Proactive maintenance to ensure equipment reliability
- Expediting changeover procedures
- Implementing smaller, more frequent production runs
By pairing these strategies with lean manufacturing practices, manufacturers can build a more reliable, sustainable, and resilient production workflow that delivers top-quality devices without wasting time, money, and materials.
Empower Efficiency With Vertical Integration
Despite best attempts to optimize workflows, multi-source manufacturers will inevitably struggle to create an efficient production process. Supply chain disruptions, logistical delays, and regulatory hurdles all stand in the way of this goal. Vertical integration, on the other hand, bypasses each of these obstacles to create a fully optimized manufacturing platform that can more easily adapt to industry challenges and fluctuations in customer demand.
As a single-source, finished-good manufacturer, Ranfac leverages deep industry and medical device expertise to create a unique one-piece flow that prevents bottlenecks and overproduction. By beginning each contract manufacturing or OEM medical device partnership with lower-level planning upfront, Ranfac ensures highly scalable production workflows that eliminate waste by practicing lean manufacturing and waste reduction strategies. Through continuous improvement and collaborative innovation, Ranfac is creating a new type of platform that achieves optimal efficiency and minimizes utilization while manufacturing industry-leading custom medical device solutions.
Sources
- Principles of Lean Manufacturing. (n.d.). Association for Supply Chain Management. https://www.ascm.org/lp/principles-of-lean-manufacturing/
