MRPC, a fully integrated contract manufacturer of medical device assemblies and components, has incorporated two new Islands of Excellence into their Butler, WI manufacturing facility. The creation of these two Island of Excellence cells further demonstrates MRPCs focus on medical device manufacturing excellence and highlights their approach to providing more value to their customers.
MRPC has experienced continued growth over the past decade, which has led to a need for expansions and repurposing manufacturing space across their locations in Butler, WI, Hudson, NH and Largo, FL to support customer initiatives. Developing an Island of Excellence and the supporting best practices, creates a baseline for the organization that can be applied to future manufacturing space buildouts across locations. This will ultimately reduce manufacturing space complexity and speed up the implementation of new manufacturing areas, while maintaining the design intent.
“Islands of Excellence act as a guideline for developing manufacturing space and working in those spaces,” said Carl Lider, MRPC’s Chief Operating Officer. “We focused on a lean and visual workspace in our two new cells, which means we approached the development from the perspective of adding value for the customer, optimizing flow and removing waste. Additionally, everything within the cell has its place aligning with 5S workplace organization. In addition to automation, we also implemented other technology such as tablets and computer screens, to reduce the reliance on paper, and to make the manufacturing process more visual.”
Both Island of Excellence cells emphasize standardized technology for access to real-time monitoring. This includes workplace monitoring cameras, production and process parameter monitoring via machine interface units, and environmental sensors that track temperature, relative humidity and positive pressure. This type of real-time monitoring ensures an optimal environment for the manufacture of medical devices and components, and historical trend data and documented control, which supports the needs of MRPCs medical device OEM customers.
Both Island of Excellence cells are located in the Butler, WI facility. One cell is located in the thermoplastics bay and where an FDA compliant thermoplastic material is molded, while the other cell is located in their recently expanded ISO 8 cleanroom. Combined, the cells make up several thousand square feet of manufacturing space. New injection molding machines and integrated automation, including cobots and vision systems, were brought in for these two cells.
“To be considered an Island of Excellence, we need a work center that focuses on safety and ergonomics, lean principles for material conveyance, point of use, inventory control and SMED, and the employment of technology that supports the overall processes”, said Shane Butcher, Plant Operations Manager at MRPC. “These two cells check the necessary boxes, but more importantly create best practices that can be deployed across the organization, set up our employees for success and manufacture a better, more consistent product for our customers.”
The two Islands of Excellence at the Butler facility are just the beginning. MRPC has an established Manufacturing Excellence Steering Team, which includes representatives from each of their three manufacturing locations. This team meets regularly to discuss the Island of Excellence vision, best practices and how to roll them out company-wide.
Over the past year MRPC has completed numerous facility and customer enhancement projects, including expanding manufacturing space in their Largo, FL location, a cleanroom expansion in their Butler, WI location and numerous facility upgrades to their Hudson, NH location. These facility enhancements set MRPC up for growth and future opportunities across the organization.