A ~$10B global business unit for a Fortune 500 company producing and selling productivity and protective equipment struggled to implement a cost-viable assembly line in the United States (per Customer request) for the medical industry. The processes for manufacturing pressure sensors in the US vs. emerging regions were too disparate, mainly due to the labor-intensive process.
Services Provided
Working collaboratively with the client, the team executed:
- Design of a fully automated high volume assembly line and connect them via SMEMA protocol and magazines in a clean room
- An effective solution in the US to compete with manufacturing costs from China and Mexico
- Full early engagement with product engineering to design for manufacturing from Phase 1 (of 6)
- Implement in-process verification of quality of process steps
Results
The client implemented a one-of-a-kind micro-sensor process similar to a surface mount electronic process, which was the first fully automated line for the medical sector in the business unit. Metrics of the new operation included:
- Fully automated line that requires three FTEs versus similar assembly lines with 17
- Total process cycle time reduced by 55%
- In-transit inventory reduced by 75%
- Consignment at Customer reduced by 50%
- Conversion cost versus China was only a 2% increase
