Medical molder integrates CIM with people.

In putting together its new CIM system, MedTech designed a careful selection process and empowered its workers.

Over the past year, the MedTech Group of South Plainfield, N.J., has assembled a comprehensive multi-vendor array of computer technologies--everything from shop-floor process and production monitoring to MRP-II, EDI and bar coding. Many processors may not need the kind of extensive computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) system implemented by this custom medical molder. Yet, the instructive aspect of MedTech's experience reaches beyond the realm of hardware and software.

To make sure the new technologies fit into an established organizational culture, MedTech focused on human factors and adopted a grass-roots strategy of employee empowerment in choosing its CIM system. At the same time, the company has taken pains to use its new-found data-collection and production-planning capabilities wisely, avoiding information decisions that run against the grain of existing operations. "We were never interested in technology for technology's sake, and we didn't want to generate information for information's sake either," says Stephen Richards, special projects manager in charge of the company's CIM efforts.

MedTech's CIM strategy also demonstrates how to deal effectively with a diverse group of vendors to meet goals dictated by internal needs and by the market--in this case, the obsessively quality-conscious medical industry. And even molders with the most modest CIM needs can learn plenty from MedTech's reasoned method of pulling together a highly integrated manufacturing system. "It's far better to bring on computer technology that's not as sophisticated if a company will embrace and use it than it is to bring on a fancier solution that will sit in the box," Richards says.

LEADING EDGE

MedTech, however, had no choice but to go high-tech because of the stringent regulatory requirements of the medical industry, which provides 100% of the company's business. Many of the company's needs revolved around reporting capabilities--the documentation of production information for the sake of customers and ultimately the federal Food and Drug Administration. "Our whole system is geared toward a highly regulated environment, so our document control has to be airtight," says Richards. What's more, the company plans to undergo an ISO 9000 certification audit in the coming year, so its documentation efforts have taken on added importance.

To govern a complex operation that includes in-house injection molding, printing and assembly, MedTech's CIM system had to link several software applications. Foremost among them is the Plastic Management System, an MRP-II package from Data Technical Research Corp. of Jacksonville, Fla. "DTR's PMS is really the backbone that supports the other modules," explains Richards. PMS handles all the company's enterprise-wide scheduling and production planning, tracking information about each part produced. A question about a specific part's cost, for example, can be answered by anyone who can access PMS from the PC on their desk. For convenience's sake, MedTech typically "dumps" information from the PMS into commonly available spreadsheet and graphic programs to create easily intelligible reports.

An equally important facet of the overall CIM setup is the Series 4000 data-acquisition and process-monitoring system from Epos Corp. of Auburn, Ala, At the machine level, the Series 4000 relies on a data-acquisition module called the IMAC, which monitors up to 32 process points at once. It provides an alphanumeric keypad and barcode wand for operators to enter reject and downtime data manually. Nearly all of MedTech's injection presses--the company has around 40 of all different sizes and brands--have an IMAC module. These send data to a "host" computer serving several "client" PCs on a distributed network. This Epos network, in turn, is linked to a Digital Equipment Corp. VAX minicomputer on which DTR's PMS system runs. Many of the same PC-based terminals running the DTR system serve as "nodes" for the Epos network, permitting extensive access to both real-time production and forward-planning information.

As viewed on the system's host computer, the Series 4000 display features a graphical representation of the entire shop floor. With a mouse, users click on the representation of a specific machine to get information such as temperatures, pressures, cycle times, and other process data that MedTech won't divulge. Whenever the process drifts, the on-screen representation of the machine will turn from green to yellow and sound an alarm.

Customer needs drove MedTech to adopt other computerized manufacturing solutions as well. "We wanted to offer a menu of services to give different customers different capabilities," says Richards. For example, PC-based Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) software from Supply Tech lets customers send in new orders or check existing ones via a computer modem and ordinary phone lines. What's more, the EDI system boosts the company's design capabilities because customers can transfer CAD/CAM files.

All these software applications come together on a client/server computing network built around the DEC VAX and IBM-compatible PCs running software called Reflection 2, which allows the PCs to emulate a minicomputer terminal. "It all works together quite naturally," says Richards. The choice of PCs over workstations was dictated by price. "PCs did the trick and were much less expensive than work-stations," Richards says. A variety of links--primarily Ethernet on the network and RS232 for the Epos modules--tie all the hardware together.

Last but not least in the company's computer arsenal is bar coding. MedTech uses it to track materials, inventory transfers, warehouse locations and shipping information--all but eliminating chances for human error, Richards says. The IMAC units at the molding machines also have bar-code wands to tie lot-tracing information into the process-control system.

SMART SHOPPERS

In selecting the actual pieces of the new system, a reliance on its own resources and staff formed the cornerstone of MedTech's efforts. "The actual users were in a much better position to judge the products than anyone else," Richards says.

Toward the end of the selection process, between two and five software packages were turned over to staff from all levels of each department for extended testing--from a few days for the MRP II to over a month for shop floor packages. Without this testing process, it would have been tough to narrow the field of shop floor packages to Epos, which won raves from users for its ease-of-use.

According to Richards, two important "cross benefits" emerged from the user testing. When it came time to implement the chosen products, everyone knew at least the basics of operating them. "Implementation is the hardest part of CIM, but it's greatly facilitated in an environment where people feel empowered," Richards says. "Also, with the strategic use of groups, you tend to find out which people should perform specific tasks." For example, groups helped answer questions about who should properly administer the bar-coding system.

Rather than representing a first step, however, the grass-roots involvement was the culmination of a rigorous screening by Richards. "We really opened our nets wide at first," he says. Then the field of potential vendors was progressively culled as some fell short of the company's stringent list of requirements.

Intensive phone interviews with suppliers made up the bulk of the screening work. At least 50 questions per vendor kicked off this part of the screening process, and the user groups ultimately generated hundreds more queries. For the MRP software, MedTech initially looked at 50 suppliers, narrowing that number down to the five that went to the user group for final selection. For process-monitoring software, MedTech looked at eight to 10 companies; the user group ultimately received two packages to evaluate.

This whole selection process took over a year and a half, but it enabled MedTech to make the leap from a less-fully-used MRP package and some "islands" of individual machine automation to where it is today.

Many of MedTech's screening criteria were specific to its requirements as a medical molder with multiple manufacturing sites--the company's Puerto Rico facility will soon be a part of the overall CIM system pioneered in New Jersey. Many other screening questions, of course, were designed to get a handle on a potential supplier's commitment to support and training.

One selection criterion, flexibility through open-systems technology, loomed particularly large. "We wanted a truly open system," explains Richards. Indeed, MedTech has a conception of CIM as being compatible with continuous-improvement principles, so the door to future refinements had to be left open.

So-called open systems rely on common communication standards, which enabled MedTech to weave together the products of different vendors into an enterprise-wide system. "I would have been amazed if any one vendor had 100% of what we were asking for," Richards says. An open system also meant that the company's substantial investment in CIM did not have to depend on a specific hardware platform. "We wanted our software and data to be portable across a variety of hardware platforms," says Richards, who points out that MedTech currently uses a diverse collection of computers running DOS, QNIX and even Apple operating systems.

DTR President Dan Dudley agrees that MedTech's choice of an open-systems approach will pay off in the event that the company's needs change. Far from being locked into the DEC VAX platform, for example, MedTech "could switch to another box tomorrow and we'd never need to know," he says.

TOUGH CUSTOMER

There is a final lesson related to MedTech's choice of technology: Take a forceful stance with vendors when putting together a system. "MedTech tends to be the first company to request a new feature and tends to be more aggressive about applying that computer tool intelligently," says Dudley.

For MedTech's part, Richards says vendors should be treated "as a working partner." But that partner better work pretty hard to win MedTech's business. "We go the second mile for our own customers. It's fair to ask for the same from our vendors," Richards says. The software and hardware "partners" eventually chosen by MedTech "stepped up to the plate" when MedTech needed features added to a package. For example, Epos customer-service manager Tim Johnson recalls that MedTech demanded a new way to log actual operator hours at a given machine--using an approach that did not then exist in the Epos package but does now. Johnson adds that this sort of "useful feedback" drives system development. "I feel many other customers could start using this new feature," he says. Likewise MedTech has asked for and received some customizations from DTR--particularly to accommodate scheduling and bar-coding needs.

Aside from customizing to meet MedTech's specs, each potential vendor's strategy for future upgrading took on importance as well. DTR, for instance, has moved in recent months to a new MRP product, called Manufacturing Manager. Built around a more advanced programming language than its Plastics Management System, the new package features an icon-driven interface and eases user-defined reporting by enabling data fields to be connected in a simpler way. Richards notes that DTR's upgrade and an imminent move at MedTech to the TCP/IP protocol will allow an even "more seamless" integration of MedTech's EDI, bar-coding and machine-monitoring packages.

EXISTING PRACTICE

It would be easy, but wrong, to assume that all MedTech had to do after its exhaustive search is take the shrink wrap off its computer equipment, plug everything in, and start reaping the benefits. Rather, the CIM efforts merely supported advanced manufacturing practices that were already in place. "Fancy software won't do you a bit of good without the know-how to back it up," Richards cautions.

The company's continuing use of advanced statistical quality methods furnishes a prime example. MedTech long has used a design-of-experiments (DOE) methodology to define the important molding variables and best processing window for each part the company makes. Now, the current CIM system supports this kind of on,going experimental activity because the DOE results are embodied in the Epos "process sheets"--master files containing the anticipated processing conditions for a given part. Similarly, the company has long tracked and documented process-capability-index (CpK) levels. Its customers typically demand Cpk's between 1.33 and 2.0, according to manufacturing manager Ron Stanton. "The Epos system helps us correlate the dimensional and production data," Stanton says. And Johnson notes that the monitoring system supports numerous means to receive quality data electronically--a feature MedTech plans to use within the next six months to further automate its quality control program.

Report writing provides another example. Owing to regulatory and customer requirements, MedTech had to use the same shift-report format as in its pre-CIM days. These documents include machine hours, cavitation status, scrap, downtime, lot tracing, material data, and other information specific to MedTech's needs. Thus, a strong selling point for the Epos system was its user-definable report-writing functions. Richards explains that he can tailor production reports to existing company requirements or to new ones in minutes and without professional programmers. The Series 4000 also produces reports automatically at predetermined intervals--a brand-new function, according to Johnson. Every morning, these reports are downloaded to a floppy disc and routed to managerial and engineering staff.

WHERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE?

Given MedTech's focus on quality, it may come as no surprise that return-on-investment considerations do not dominate the company's descriptions of its CIM efforts. Of course, Richards concedes that the system already has "produced beneficial financial effects" through increased human and machine productivity. And more savings have been realized as the CIM system generates data that pushes along the company's year-old Total Quality Management (TQM) efforts. "It's always cheaper to be preventive and look for root causes of problems than always be fire-fighting," Richards maintains.

At the end of the day, however, MedTech's efforts are not about short-term savings but long-term competitiveness. "All the best companies are walking this path right now, striving to be world class. So it's not a question of a dollar figure for us," Richards says. "We wanted to thrill our customers and we have."