DemandPoint client Philips Respironics' meticulous attention to production results in healthcare products patients can rely on.
Highlights:
- Reduced total product cycle times from 10 days to three hours on most electromechanical products
- Reduced assembly errors by nearly 50% in 2008
- Reduced landfill content by 57%
- Named Pittsburgh's Advanced Manufacturer of 2008 by Pittsburgh TEQ
- Received 2007 Zenith Award from American Association for Respiratory Care
Continuous improvement is an easy phrase to use but the reality behind it is constant self-awareness and acceptance of change. At Philips Respironics' Murrysville, Pa., facility, that effort is fueled by a self-directed workforce that embraces the potentially life-saving nature of its products.
The Murrysville plant produces six product lines, including CPAP and BiPAP devices for people with sleep apnea, a problem affecting some 12 million adults in the United States. These devices deliver air under pressure to prevent airways from constricting. Other products include heated humidifiers, sleep lab systems, infant apnea monitors and positioning aids. With customers ranging from premature infants to the elderly, notes Bill Flynn, a manufacturing manager, "what we do here is so important and so rewarding."
While plant officials have no doubt that their continuous-improvement efforts are paying off financially, they focus on driving employee participation, not financial return. "Oftentimes, programs force the participants to spend more time trying to predict cost savings and less time actually solving the problems," says Eric Kulikowski, director of North American operations.