Increasing productivity in the medical technology industry
With excellent processes to higher output.
To meet rising market demand, a manufacturer of medical consumables must increase its production in the short term. Based on a potential analysis, production and management processes are optimized using coordinated methods and an integrated system is set up to determine manufacturing target times. At the same time, the project lays the foundation for systematic, continuous improvement of production. Within a very short time, the manufacturer achieves the required output, can meet the further increase in demand and further increase its productivity.
Challenge
In order to meet the sharp rise in market demand, a manufacturer of medical technology consumables must significantly increase output in the short term.
MOREROI-EFESO approach
Immediately effective, coordinated measures such as the introduction of the ROM® method enable hidden potential to be raised and productivity targets to be achieved.
MORELessons learned
By focusing on key success parameters, significant improvements and productivity gains can be achieved quickly, even under time pressure.
MOREROI-EFESO success model
The integrated perspective on shopfloor, R&D and management helps to solve problems quickly and sustainably in terms of continuous improvement.
MOREProductivity can’t keep pace with rising demand
The medium-sized manufacturer of medical technology consumables is a rapidly growing company. Production is primarily based on manual processes. At the time of the project, market demand had increased significantly more than the management had expected. Especially for consumables, it is crucial to be able to react quickly to changes in demand and ramp up production. In order to reliably supply customers and further expand its market position, the company had to take short-term measures to sustainably increase production capacity.
Due to the limited space available, a pure capacity expansion, such as adding a new line, was not possible. To achieve the goals, the productivity of the existing workforce had to be increased. The situation was aggravated by the fact that integrated productivity management, performance-related key figures and continuous improvement processes had hardly been used to date, if at all.
„The predominantly manual production must become significantly more efficient within a few weeks - while maintaining constant quality.“
Targeted measures immediately raise potential
In a targeted analysis, ROI-EFESO quickly identified the main potential for increasing productivity. At the same time, the causes for the lack of performance were determined. Together with the customer, a coordinated package of immediately implementable measures was defined. This consisted of short- and medium-term effective components, primarily for optimizing workflows on the store floor, as well as complementary improvements in production layout and logistics. For example, a serious disruption in the area of individual parts supply was identified and sustainably eliminated.
A central measure was the integration of the ROM® operational sequence method developed by ROI-EFESO. With this method, the product parameter-related assembly schedule times can be flexibly determined on the basis of the respective parts list. In addition, the method enables continuous further development of the working methods and workplaces with regard to optimum productivity.
„With the ROM® method, workflows are optimized and integrated productivity management is set up.“
Proper focus delivers results quickly
Due to the spatial restrictions, the management initially saw no possibility of eliminating the worsening production bottleneck. In the project, a strictly target-oriented approach and a focus on the performance parameters that could actually be influenced proved decisive for success. Even in sensitive production environments and under severe restrictions, significant productivity increases can be achieved quickly and reliably by this way.
By combining proven methods such as disturbance analysis, productivity analysis and ROM® with safeguarding management processes for performance control, it was possible to realize the output targeted in the short and medium term. In addition, the basic processes were introduced to measure the company's productivity on an ongoing basis and to optimize it continuously in the sense of a continuous improvement process.
Measurable success and continuous optimization
ROI-EFESO's integrated view of the shopfloor, development and management makes it possible to reliably identify acute and profound problems in production and to remedy them sustainably. One key is the high methodological competence and experience of our consultants in combination with the ability to develop lean and quickly implementable, customized solutions.
The basic model for continuous improvement in the shopfloor, which was also successfully adapted in this project, is the ROI-EFESO Infinity Loop. Fast and sustainable improvements are achieved through defined and transparently communicated goals, daily performance management and initiatives to solve individual problems.
The Infinity Loop as the basis for continuous improvement
