Manufacturing Transfer: Viant Ramps Volume and Reduces Cost of Endoscopic Device
CUSTOMER SITUATION
A mid-sized medical device company was ready to ramp up production of a complex, single-patient-use endoscopic device, but its initial supplier was unable to meet the volume requirements.
The customer chose to work with Viant because it could meet their goals of transferring manufacturing within 9 months and quickly ramping up production, and the unit pricing met their long-term objectives. In addition, the customer had previously worked with Viant on the successful manufacturing transfer of another device.
VIANT SOLUTION
Cross-functional Viant team members held several meetings and technical reviews with the customer to ensure they understood the requirements for transferring this product. The team spent several days on a Lean 3P (Production Preparation Process) event that evaluated each step of the manufacturing and assembly process to identify opportunities to achieve efficiencies and reduce waste.
This project involved a high level of supply chain management, with both metal and injection-molded components sourced from many suppliers. In support of this project, Viant:
- Invested in automated optical inspection equipment and specially trained inspectors to ensure the components met tight dimensional requirements
- Developed a laser welding process to facilitate assembly of the metal components
- Designed and manufactured tooling for the laser weld and final assembly processes
- Planned and built an ISO 8 certified cleanroom for assembly of this sterile device
OUTCOME
The Viant team was able to smoothly transfer the technology and ramp up manufacturing volume to a level that the initial supplier was never able to reach, with an increased first-pass yield. As part of its continuous improvement efforts, Viant is working with this client on optimizing supply chain to further reduce costs. Viant has become a long-term manufacturing partner for several of this customer’s devices, and is currently working on another manufacturing transfer.
