Medical device manufacturing success depends on quality as it can be a life-or-death situation if a flawed product gets to market. Because of these stringent demands, manufacturers often feel their only choice is to invest in technology, more specifically automation. However, it’s not an investment in automation to replace employees but rather to supplement and support them. One key reason is that today’s automation doesn’t possess the level of cognition and dexterity required for many manual assembly tasks that production-line workers deliver. In fact, even with companies noting the need to invest in automation, 73% of manufacturers recently surveyed by Drishti agree that “the more manual you are, the more adaptable you are.”

So, there’s another choice beside automation and that would be people.

The Drishti survey of 400 manufacturers explored adaptability and efficiency in lean operations while also looking at the pandemic’s impact, productivity concerns, quality issues, supplier price increases, supply chain disruptions, and training/onboarding new employees.

“There’s a misperception in manufacturing, including in a number of lean manufacturing shops, that the performance of people has reached its peak,” says Dr. Prasad Akella, Drishti’s founder and chairman. “So, while manufacturers know that people bring a lot of strengths to the table in terms of flexibility, cognition, and problem- solving skills, they also assume they can’t be any more productive or mistake-proof. That’s simply not the case.”

It’s not a matter of humans versus automation, rather it’s taking the approach that the two together can achieve the best from both, but it will take more than the 33% of survey respondents who said they were investing in human-centric technology such as virtual or augmented reality (VR/AR) or sensors.

That’s what Drishti has set out to change. Its focus is to minimize production variables so people can work more efficiently and confidently. Drishti extends human capabilities in an increasingly automated world by creating data streams from manual activities on assembly lines, enabling true continuous improvement of human performance – at scale. Implementing AI-powered manufacturing technology via video analytics, data, and insights, the company brings benefits to manufacturers and employees by increasing productivity, quality, and standardized work adherence on manual assembly lines. In addition, the company has shown through user case studies that it can enable double-digit gains in efficiency and quality, proving that people can increase production when given the right tools.

What is your company doing to prepare and be adaptable to better weather the next external disruption – anything from natural disasters to political instability or global pandemics?

Medical tool grinding package preloaded with NXT grinders

Star Cutter NXT 5-axis grinders will now be sold with a seat of preloaded Esprit CAM software. This packaged solution assists manufacturers of complex medical tooling – such as hip rasps, rotary files, bone files, and drills – to have certified Esprit post-processors on their NXTs for faster launch and error-free program code.

“Esprit’s proven ability in easing the programming and production of intricate parts makes it a perfect partner for optimizing the performance of our NXT grinding machines,” says Brad Lawton, Star Cutter chairman and CEO.

The NXT grinder 5-axis CNC machine has a small footprint, large grind zone, and modular design that quickly adapts to demanding application requirements. Esprit uses a digital twin of the manufacturing envelope to simplify the programming process and deliver edit-free G-code.

Sandvik acquires medical wire forming company

Switzerland-based Accuratech Group has been acquired by Sandvik and will be reported in Kanthal, a division in Sandvik Materials Technology. A niched medical wire forming and component manufacturer, Accuratech product offerings include ultra-fine wires and micro-tubes, semi- finished wire components, electroplating, and other products and services mainly used in the medical industry.

“I am pleased that we are continuing to execute on our shift to growth strategy. This acquisition is an important step for Sandvik Materials Technology in the preparations to become a separately listed company. With its increased focus on areas with high growth and strong earnings potential, Sandvik Materials Technology is strengthening their position for the future,” says Stefan Widing, president and CEO of Sandvik.

“The medical sector is one of Sandvik Materials Technology’s defined areas of growth, and through this acquisition we are strengthening our position by adding wire forming and component manufacturing capabilities,” says Göran Björkman, president of Sandvik Materials Technology.

As we entered 2021, I believe we all anticipated a less dramatic year than 2020. Putting the first waves of COVID-19 and a highly charged election behind us, it seemed 2021 had the makings to be calmer.

As we are now moving into 2022, it appears that while 2021 was less volatile than 2020, it certainly has had its own drama which will impact us as we head into a new year.

Here are some of the high impact areas affecting the healthcare industry for 2022:

Labor shortages: Anyone in manufacturing understands there are current challenges maintaining a steady workforce for production jobs. Some workers continue to have a legitimate fear of working while there’s an ongoing pandemic. Others simply don’t see the incentive to find employment when they can receive government subsidies and not work. This challenge likely continues through the first half of 2022. After that, it’ll depend on the status of the pandemic – let’s all hope cases continue to decline in our communities.

Supply chain challenges: If you’re in manufacturing, I don’t have to inform you about the supply chain challenge. You’re living it every day! Some lead times have gone from 12 weeks to 12 months. Supply chain leaders are scrambling to be creative in finding new sources to obtain key components to keep manufacturing going.

Re-shoring (vs off-shoring): This was a trend started pre-COVID due to the necessities of dealing with the U.S./China trade war. Obviously, COVID-19 has further emphasized the risks of having manufacturing plants in regions where key executives can’t travel to see their own facilities. While manufacturing in the region to sell in the region continues to make sense, off-shoring for the purposes of low cost manufacturing is no longer a priority. It’s becoming clear the extraordinary costs of managing an off-shore facility may negate some of its low-cost labor benefits. Being close to your customer is continuing to make more sense.

Vaccine mandates: Right or wrong (could be a separate topic for debate in another blog), employees are being terminated (at the request of governments) for not getting vaccinated, adding additional pressure to both the availability and the mental mindset of the workforce. Even those vaccinated aren’t necessarily excited to lose their colleagues and have extra burdens placed on them.

New potential taxes: While still fluid at press time, a wide range of tax increase proposals from Washington D.C. may impact businesses of all sizes in our industry. As seen in previous tax increases, this may lead to further reductions in workforce – depending on the final legislation.

In summary, all of us enter 2022 with some degree of uncertainty. I didn’t even mention things such as inflation and interest rates that may be more volatile in the near future. My suggestion is to remain calm and plan to be flexible through the changing dynamics in the coming year. As always, you’ll find bumps in the road, but you’ll reach your destination if you know where you’re going.

Dave Sheppard - MedWorld Advisors
https://medworldadvisors.com

About the author: Managing Director Dave Sheppard is a former medical OEM Fortune 500 executive and an experienced medtech M&A professional. He can be reached at davesheppard@medworldadvisors.com.

Caretaker Medical’s FDA clearance of its VitalStream wireless blood pressure and hemodynamic monitoring platform expands the company’s clinically validated PDA waveform analysis technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to measure blood pressure and hemodynamic parameters with every heartbeat. Using a low-pressure finger sensor, VitalStream is a non-invasive alternative to A-lines and arterial catheters, enabling ICU-grade patient monitoring at all points of care to provide clinicians with streaming patient data for early indications of patient deterioration, faster life-saving interventions, and better treatment decisions.

VitalStreams’s hemodynamics, waveforms, and vital sign data can be streamed remotely to the company’s mobile app or secure cloud portal, or integrated into other monitoring systems and electronic medical records (EMRs) with their FDA-cleared software interface software development kit (SDK).