The global medtech industry has seen a lot of changes in recent years. Rapidly emerging technologies, ever-changing regulatory requirements as well as limited environmental and financial resources to name just a few. Each change, big or small, plays a part in how our industry develops. One very positive development to come from recent changes, in our industry and the business community as a whole, is a growing focus on the talent within an organization. Companies in all sectors are starting to realize that their greatest asset is in fact their workforce.
The approach at Elos Medtech is about investing in people, sharing experiences with each other and making the most of combined expertise. From insights about how to improve the surface-treatment on the tiniest orthopedic screw to modernizing and streamlining an entire medical device production facility.
Modernizing the Timmersdala site with the workforce
When we recently began streamlining and modernizing our Timmersdala production site in Sweden, we involved everyone at the facility. We inspired each other and focused on areas we knew we could improve and that would create a more practical, fun and rewarding workplace for everyone. And do you know what? We achieved it! Now we truly believe that the entire medtech industry could benefit, not just from having more efficient production facilities, but also from having more rewarding workplaces. Teams are not born, they’re built. And from the very beginning we worked together to get everybody onboard and contribute to the overall team effort.
Medical device facility with a cutting-edge production line where everyone focuses on what they do best
To start with, we thought long and hard about which machines to replace, taking into account maintenance costs, necessary operator skills, environmental impact and equipment bulkiness. The end result is a highly efficient, cutting-edge medical device production line.
We also invested in machines that eliminate unnecessary repetitive tasks, like our new collaborative robot (cobot) that enables the production engineers to spend more time doing what they do best. And everyone knows you have more fun at work when you’re doing what you’re good at.
Reorganizing our layout has had a positive impact on production workflow and output
By now, you might be thinking that we just replaced a few old machines and stopped there. Not at all. Let’s talk about some of the other changes. We had a good clear out for a start and, once we’d done that, it was much easier to reorganize the layout around the new equipment. So now each machine is closer to the materials it uses, and the production engineers don’t have to keep shuttling back and forth between the two. That in itself has had a really positive impact on production workflow and output.
Then there’s our new morning scrum meetings. Every single morning, the entire production team gathers for a micro-meeting. Ten minutes later we all know exactly what we’re focusing on that day and what is expected from each of us. No second-guessing, no explaining to someone who isn’t up-to-speed, just easy communication and supercharged teamwork. You could say we’ve recalibrated our mindset.
A modern, efficient production line delivers consistent quality on time every time and gives peace of mind
With a modern, efficient production line we are able to deliver a consistently high quality, on time every time. Naturally, this means a great deal of job satisfaction for myself and the rest of the production team. But just as, if not more, important is the fact that it makes us a more cost-effective and reliable supplier which, at the end of the day, means peace of mind for both us and our customers.
By involving everyone with open and honest communication and making the workforce part of the strategic planning process and aware of the company goals, we’ve built a stronger team spirit than ever before at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala. Everyone’s highly dedicated, we cooperate and we take pride in our work. And we all want to do a good job and deliver according, and even beyond, expectations.
I hope you enjoyed hearing directly from me and the production team here at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala! If you’d like to know more about medical device production or the recent improvements we’ve made here, please don’t hesitate to contact me. And don’t forget to explore some of our other articles on the Elos Medtech Blog, where we share our industry knowledge and insights.
