Medical Device Manufacturing Area Waste Elimination and Efficiency Improvements Project

Abstract

This project describes a process for waste elimination and efficiency improvements in a manufacturing area at a medical device company. It uses the DMAIC methodology for the development of the improvements. Throughout the elaboration of the project, there were different Lean tools applied. These tools supported the understanding of the current state of the area, the identification of non-value added activities and the generation of the future state. As a result of this project, wastes such as over processing, inventory, motion, transportation, among others were eliminated, resulting in a 24% increase in productivity. In addition, lead time of the product and traveled distance required to manufacture it were improved by 80%. The results of this project contributed in over $200k savings to the company, in addition to having a positive impact in the performance metrics of the device manufacturing area. Key Terms - DMAIC, Efficiency, Medical Device, Waste Elimination.