Learn how technology can enable you to produce top-notch medical devices in less time, go to market faster, and increase your bottom line.
When it comes to precision, when is it most important?
Of course, we all want our lawyers, accountants, and mechanics to get things right the first time. But let's say you or a loved one is going under the knife... now the ante is upped.
And for medical device manufacturers, the liability risk in faulty devices is potentially devastating.
As a medical equipment manufacturer, you actively seek ways to produce high-quality medical devices as quickly as possible in today's competitive and fast-paced manufacturing industry. And as hospitals and individual consumers continue to demand the most innovative and cutting-edge medical devices, manufacturers have seized the opportunity to excel in the competitive market by quickly bringing medical devices to market.
The sooner you introduce your medical devices to your target market, the sooner your products can generate revenue for your company or brand.
When you are the first manufacturer to market a new medical device, you up your game, stay ahead of competitors, and establish your company's reputation as a leader in medical device innovation.
The Best Ways to Ensure Medical Device Manufacturing Speed and Quality
To speed up production, medical device manufacturing companies might keep quality and excellence in mind when producing medical devices. As a result, having a clear production action plan ensures that quality, consistency, and speed are aligned to streamline the manufacturing process.
The following suggestions may be helpful if your organization is looking to achieve an agile medical device manufacturing process while maintaining quality.
Form a Powerful Development Team
A strong and competent development team is critical to accelerating your manufacturing projects. It is vital to assemble your strongest team of device designers, quality assurance managers, and usability engineers. These individuals will ensure that your medical device manufacturing projects take a comprehensive approach.
Furthermore, the team can develop action plans by budgeting, establishing timelines, assessing risks, uncovering hidden costs, and calculating potential revenue. Following an action plan ensures that the entire manufacturing process is quick, efficient, and risk-free.
Include Compliance in Device Design
Standards ensure that all medical devices are of high quality and usability and can successfully meet customers' needs. Every medical device you manufacture must meet regional and international compliance requirements. To avoid delays later in the process, remember to prioritize compliance during the early stages of the manufacturing process.
Suppose a medical device fails to meet these standards. In that case, it will have to go through the manufacturing process again, delaying the product's release and consuming more of your company's time and money. As a result, you must ensure that your manufactured medical devices meet the standards imposed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Experiment with Rapid Prototyping
When a product goes through the manufacturing process again, its delayed release will require the company to invest more resources. Rapid prototyping can help you avoid this and speed up the manufacturing process.
Rapid prototyping can help you identify potential design flaws in a medical device even before production begins. Medical prototyping services will allow you to validate and optimize your design, ultimately speeding up the production of your medical device.
Develop an Effective Test Strategy
The manufacturing process testing stage allows you to verify and validate whether the medical device is reliable, durable, and of high quality. Verification is an internal testing process that determines whether or not the device meets the requirements. In contrast, validation is an internal-external testing process that determines whether or not the device provides the promised benefits. Such techniques help reduce the risk of a device recall and expedite the release of your medical devices.
Make Use of Automation
Automated medical device manufacturing is a low-cost practice that improves quality control.
Mechanical systems assist the development team in identifying and resolving device issues more quickly, allowing products to reach the market sooner. Automation can speed up your medical device manufacturing process at any stage while maintaining device quality.
Leverage Precision Tools
Precision tools ensure greater accuracy when manufacturing and machining medical devices. With the right tools, you can provide superior quality and accuracy in medical devices while maintaining production speed.
If you intend to use precision tools in your manufacturing process, you should also conduct regular maintenance checks to avoid malfunctions that could cause production delays.
Create a Quality Culture
As mentioned above, tools and techniques can quickly produce high-quality medical devices. However, there are limitations depending on the speed and performance of your workers. As a result, you must also foster a quality culture among your employees. Manufacturing firms that promote this culture take a systematic and standardized approach to improve their processes and products. Quality is also an essential criterion for employee evaluation.
Sharpen your competitive edge
Many medical device manufacturing companies are still looking for ways to gain a competitive advantage. They are heavily regulated and face numerous challenges daily. To meet strict quality standards and comply with the FDA and other government regulatory agencies, they must trace products from the source to the recipient.
Ensure the speed and quality of your manufacturing process
When you rapidly develop superior-quality medical devices, you have a better chance of forming long-term partnerships with renowned hospitals, healthcare providers, and other consumers. Overall, increasing the speed of your medical device manufacturing process is a surefire way to boost your company's revenue and brand reputation.
Your company relies on strict adherence to controlled processes to produce products that meet stringent quality standards and create documentation to validate all procedures. That's why many medical device manufacturers engage with a knowledgeable Microsoft partner who understands their industry to increase their competitive advantage and profitability.
Ready to sharpen your medical device manufacturing edge?
Contact Turnkey Technologies, your Microsoft ERP software partner, to track all the steps to rapidly manufacture top-quality medical products.
This blog is the first of our medical device manufacturing education series. Look for our part two blog in the next few weeks to help you understand the challenges of tracking devices from manufacturing to the recipient (and all the places devices land in between).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Turnkey Technologies has empowered B2B, mid-sized to enterprise organizations to optimize their data and processes to achieve more, in less time, with less expense, for over 27 years. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we turn our magic using Microsoft technologies, our singular focus. We support Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Finance & Supply Chain Management, Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, and more with a dedicated and trained professional team in all things Microsoft. www.turnkeytec.com
