Riverpoint Medical was founded in 2008 by the Ferguson Family as a specialty medical device company. They design, develop, market and manufacture next generation medical devices for the veterinary and health care markets. Riverpoint specializes in sutures, implantable bioabsorbable fibers, and surgical LED lighting products.
Success Story
Riverpoint Medical
Industry
Medical Devices
Location
Portland, Oregon
Date Founded
2008
Number of Employees
118
Background
7 Days
Reduced Leadtime from 20+ days
136%
Capacity Increase
$750,000
Savings
The Situation
Riverpoint Medical’s leadership team contacted OMEP in 2013 seeking help with facility layout to increase production capacity. Their sales were projected to grow 128% over the next 3 years and they were struggling just to meet the current demand in the current facility. Because of some of the processes, adding an additional shift was not an option.
The Solution
OMEP worked with the leadership team to understand the process constraints and developed value stream mapping systems around each product family. Highly balanced assembly cells were developed around the product families. Then, visual management systems for tracking and reporting cell performance were implemented, so results could be managed and reported by the employees on a daily basis. Once predictable product flows were established planning and scheduling tools were developed to manage production using a combination of build-to-order, build-to-stock, and configure-to-order methods. Current improvements efforts are focused on automation, ergonomic improvements and product / process performance improvements.
The Results
After working with OMEP for the past 3 years, Riverpoint’s growth has increased beyond their original projected plan. The space limitations also created the impetus to reduce the manufacturing lead-time from 20+ days to 7 days. Performance results were a sales growth and capacity increase of 136% and savings of $750,000.
Get in touch with an OMEP Consultant Today!
TALK TO US
At Riverpoint we continue to gain an understanding of our customer’s demands and facilitate excellent surgical outcomes. OMEP’s help has allowed the company to improve and design our value stream with a cradle to grave approach, implemented across the whole company.