Fordsell Teamwork Gets a Clean Bill of Health from Medical Equipment Maker

One of Fordsell Machine Products major customers came to us and requested that we provide parts specially cleaned for medical purposes. What we were providing them were very clean parts however their requirement called for a complete absence of any organic residue and a minimum level (both in size and quantity) of particulate matter. This requirement was being met by our customer in their facility using their receiving area cleaning system, but understandably, they wanted to eliminate this additional step.

 

For us, it was a double challenge. Not only did we need to learn how to clean parts more thoroughly, but we also needed to learn how to protect the parts from the oil particulate in our plant atmosphere. We found we could address the cleaning operation easily enough, but we were still left with the issue of contamination afterwards.

Step one: Ask for help.

One thing you’ll learn about Fordsell—if you don’t already know it—we’re not too proud to admit when someone else knows more about a subject than we do. Because many of the parts were also electroless nickel plated, we contacted our long-time plating supplier and explored part-cleaning alternatives. The key to successful plating is to ensure that the parts are properly cleaned, so we knew these plating pros were also cleaning experts.

After several meetings, tests and validations, a system was developed and implemented where our customer’s parts are counted, cleaned, double bagged and certified clean, then returned to Fordsell where they are stored in an office-type environment, away from the worst exposure to the oil particulate.

A healthy diet, but minimal exercise.

Fordsell manages the inventory so our customer receives timely shipments of these ready-to-use medical components. We’ve eliminated their part-cleaning operation and the related work in process, inventory control and delays. The customer is extremely pleased with this solution; these medical components can be opened and assembled without additional processing steps following delivery.

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