Means Engineering, Inc.

Product development engineering in medical, industrial, semiconductor equipment & military with a standard of excellence in form, function and design.

(760) 931-9452 | info@meanseng.com
5927 Geiger Court, Carlsbad, CA 92008-7305

New Product Introductions (NPI)

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The NPI process is one of the most important parts of contract manufacturing. This is especially true for contract manufacturers responsible for the creation of electronic products and components.

It’s important to ask about NPI processes when choosing a CM to work with. The company you choose should have robust processes in place. They should take care to ensure every product is introduced into their manufacturing operation in a tightly controlled manner.

Visibility

Contract manufacturers often have several different projects going at once. It’s important that the CM you work with has a way to alert the engineering team of new builds. Ideally, the engineering team should receive a report detailing the customer name, batch quantity, part number, work order number, customer request date, order acknowledgement date, and the name of the customer’s account manager. Once the engineering team has the report, they can create an NPI number for the order.

Data Verification

While it’s not uncommon for additional data to come after the original request for quote, this can lead to problems with production. Before beginning any work on the project, the engineering team must first verify that they have all data and equipment needed to complete the first build.

Batch Size

Prior to production, the CM must determine how many products to produce. While it can be tempting to run the entire batch quantity on the first run, this is never a good idea. Running a smaller quantity allows CMs to catch potential problems with the product prior to volume manufacturing. This can save a considerable amount of time and effort in the future.

Assembly

It’s important that the NPI engineer oversees all parts of production including testing. The notes they keep throughout this process can be used to improve the quality of the next batch.

New Products

It’s important to note that the NPI process shouldn’t be limited to brand new products. It should also apply to products that are essentially new to the CM, meaning they’ve never worked on them before.

Means Engineering, Inc. provides a variety of contract manufacturing services. Our team works directly with you throughout the NPI process. Please contact us for more information about our comprehensive services.

Wastes of Lean Manufacturing

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In the manufacturing industry, waste refers to any action or step that does not add value to the customer. These are all of the little extras within a process that the customer does not want to pay for. The goal of lean manufacturing is to remove waste from the manufacturing process.

Taiichi Ohno, father of the Toyota Production System (TPS) identified the original seven wastes of manufacturing. An eighth waste was added in the 1990s when TPS was adopted by the western world. The 8 wastes of lean manufacturing include:

  • Transportation
  • Inventory
  • Motion
  • Waiting
  • Over-production
  • Over-processing
  • Defects
  • Skills

It’s important that manufacturers learn all they can about wastes in the manufacturing process.

Transportation

Waste in transportation occurs when people, tools, inventory, equipment, or products must be moved further than reasonably necessary. Manufacturers can eliminate transportation waste by ensuring workers have everything they need to complete each project close at hand. This includes, but is not limited to, all necessary people, equipment, tools, and materials.

Inventory

Excessive inventory can cause problems for manufacturers. Having too much inventory can lead to damaged materials, greater lead times, and inefficient allocation of capital. Problems such as over-purchasing and over-production often result in extra inventory. In order to combat waste, manufacturers should purchase raw materials only when they need them, reduce buffers between production steps, and create a queue system to prevent over-production.

Motion

Waste in motion includes any extra movement required to complete a task. This includes having to walk to fetch tools or materials and spending excessive amounts of time searching through inventory. Keeping work spaces organized, materials close at hand, and reducing inventory can help eliminate waste caused by motion.

Waiting

Waste occurs when staff must wait for materials or equipment, email responses, and computer programs to load. Using standardized work instructions and utilizing multi-skilled workers who are better equipped to adjust to changing demands is the best way to eliminate waste caused by waiting.

Over-Production

Producing more products than required can create a lot of waste. Manufacturers should take care to only produce as many products as required.

Over-Processing

Over-processing occurs when staff performs more steps or adds more components than required to complete the project. Before starting any project, its important staff fully understands what the customer wants. This sets the standard for what needs to be done.

Defects

An obvious cause of waste, defects require scrapping and reworking of products. The best way to prevent waste caused by defects is to fully test all components throughout production.

Skills

Although not part of the original seven wastes, most manufacturers recognize the waste caused by not utilizing employee skills and talents. Manufacturers can prevent waste by allowing staff members to provide input and throughout the manufacturing process.

 

How Outsourcing Can Give You a Competitive Edge

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Working with a contract manufacturer is an excellent way to cut costs on production. However, this shouldn’t be your only focus. The right contract manufacturer can provide your company with the competitive edge you need to excel in your industry. There are numerous benefits to outsourcing if you’re able to properly leverage the value of your manufacturing partner.

Free Up Resources

Companies spend a significant amount of time and money producing new products. Outsourcing part or all of your production helps free up your resources. This allows you to focus on what really matters; growing your business.

Improve Time to Market

Thanks to advances in technology, consumers expect new products at an alarming rate. Many companies find it difficult to meet consumer demand. Outsourcing increases operational efficiency and reduces the time it takes to bring new products to market. This allows you to react faster to consumer demand, putting you ahead of your competition and increasing consumer trust and loyalty in your brand.

Improve Quality

Quality is extremely important to consumers today. Outsourcing helps improve the quality of finished products. During the design process, a contract manufacturer can help locate areas of your design that could benefit from improvement. This further reduces the cost of production and results in a better quality product. Your contract manufacturer will fully test all components throughout production to ensure their proper operation.

Expand Into New Markets

A quality contract manufacturer has years of experience working with several different industries. This provides you with access to the right tools, resources, technology, and knowledge to expand into new markets.

Final Thoughts

Outsourcing can provide your business with numerous benefits. In addition to cutting costs, the right contract manufacturer can help your business improve its chance of success. This is especially important in today’s competitive world.

Means Engineering, Inc. has years of experience working with a wide range of industries to provide a variety of services. From design to production, our team is well prepared to help your business succeed. Please contact us for more information about our contract manufacturing services.

 

 

 

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

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For many people, selecting a contract manufacturer is a complicated process. From geographic location, to services offered, there are so many things to consider. Even though you might be tempted to go with your first choice, it’s important to learn all you can before selecting a contract manufacturer to work with. The time and effort spent now is sure to pay off in the future.

Through years of experience, we’ve identified the most common mistakes people make when choosing a contract manufacturer to work with. Unfortunately, mistakes related to price, time, experience, and quality often cause more harm than good.

Price

It’s a common belief that cheaper is better. While this might be true for some things, it isn’t true for electronic components. Cheap components can lead to the creation of poor quality products. This can impact the reputation and credibility of your brand.

When choosing a contract manufacturer to work with, it’s important to remember that several issues can affect the price of your product including changes you make to the design. If materials, finishes, or processes change, so will your price.

Time

It takes time to develop high quality products. While working with an experienced contract manufacturer can help reduce the time it takes to go to market, they aren’t miracle workers. Be reasonable with your production timeline expectations.

Experience

It’s easy to find a contract manufacturer that can promise to create the product you desire in the timeframe you need. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to find one that can actually deliver what they promise. This is why it’s so important to work with an experienced contract manufacturer.

An experienced contract manufacturer knows how long it will take to create your project. They can provide you with realistic timelines. They also have the people, skills, and technology in place to complete the work. If they can’t do what you request, they can usually direct you to someone who can.

Quality

Forgoing quality for speed is never a good idea. While high quality products might take a little longer and cost a little more to produce, you can rest assured that you’ve done all you can to ensure the quality of your products. This improves consumer trust and increases the chance of repeat sales and referrals.

Best Practices When Selecting a Medical Device Contract Manufacturer

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Contract manufacturers provide a variety of services to businesses across a wide range of industries. When it comes to the medical industry, you must take care to ensure that everyone understands the rules and regulations surrounding medical device creation. Humans often rely on these devices for their health, safety, and well-being. If the device fails, it can lead to serious consequences.

There are numerous benefits to working with a contract manufacturer. An experienced contract manufacturer can typically produce high quality products in less time and for less money than producing products in-house. However, it’s crucial that companies in the medical industry select a contract manufacturer with the skills and experience needed to produce high quality, reliable parts and products.

Ability to Create Complex Devices

Locate a contract manufacturer with the equipment and techniques needed to create complex electronic devices. In order to create the types of products used by the medical industry today, the CM must be competent in more than just basic electro-magnetic assembly.

Adequate Support

Make sure the contract manufacturer you choose can adequately support your project. Locate a contract manufacturer with the skills and people needed to provide a variety of services. It’s much more beneficial to hire a partner that can look over your design plans and help you locate ways to cut costs and improve quality than hiring a CM that simply gets the project done.

You also want to make sure that you choose a CM that can support the entire lifecycle of your product. While some CMs only deal with small development projects, this doesn’t leave much room for growth. If you outgrow your CMs capabilities you might find yourself scrambling to find someone else. You’ll want to avoid this type of situation.

Quality System Requirements

Make sure that you fully understand the quality system requirements for your project. Look for a contract manufacturer with similar quality systems in place. Make sure the CM has a robust method for documenting and executing quality system interfaces.

Means Engineering has years of experience creating devices for the medical industry. Please contact us to learn more.

ABOUT US

MEI features depth of experience in medical, industrial, semiconductor equipment and military products. All product development efforts start with a unique set of requirements, yet we deliver results that share a common standard of excellence in form, function and design.

Our turn-key capabilities provide smart, simple solutions to cumbersome outsourcing issues, and provide our clients with an intelligent route from concept to market.

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