NOVEMBER 20239by the potential here in terms of human error elimination, the opportunity to improve efficiency, and the promise of cost reduction. We're implementing a Manufacturing Enterprise System (MES) that connects all the systems so, for example, if I'm a technician sent to do a particular job on the floor, the MES would be able to automatically "talk" to our training system and confirm my training is up-to-date for this task. If I'm not trained for this process, the system would block me from being on this job. This MES system will be very helpful because it eliminates significant paperwork from the shop floor. For another example of the power of these digital technologies, you can consider a product issue situation. In those cases, you need information available in an instant about the product, such as when it was made, who made it, how many like it were in the batch, the kind of actionable data that technology can track. We don't want to use our valuable human resources on inefficient and costly search and data-gathering missions ­ this technology will automate our ability to quickly address issues and be more responsive.Which are some of the technological trends which excite you for the future of the Medical Equipment Manufacturing space?Like in many industries, human error makes up the bulk of errors that occur on the manufacturing floor, whether in the manufacturing process or on the customer side. The same types of digital technologies that have us excited about our manufacturing floor are being evaluated for future improvements with capital products. The technology will provide us with the ability to monitor customer experience in the field so we will know about an occurrence even before they may have noticed. With such technology we can receive a signal regarding an issue of misuse, error or malfunction. In this way we can proactively engage with the customer, rather than waiting for them to file a complaint. We are creating digital capabilities focused specifically on these customer-interface solutions and how they connect to our manufacturing operations. With this kind of data, we won't be wondering why there was a product failure, we'll be able to pinpoint down to the level of detail like, "here we can see the customer using the device outside of recommended speeds..." or temperature or other parameters. The engineering team can use such instant feedback to problem solve. These are capabilities that will improve customer experience in future generations of our products.How can budding and evolving companies reach you for suggestions to streamline their business?We participate in manufacturing trade industry groups, and a lot of networking is conducted there. These groups are available to any company that wants to participate, for example Medical Alley and the Manufacturers Alliance are groups where we are active in Minnesota. On occasion we'll invite regional stakeholders to tour our facilities, or we'll tour the facilities of sites comparable to ours. It's always great to share success stories and reflect on challenges, and it's possible to do this without infringing on trade secrets. We're always interested in learning more about innovations, particularly in terms of components assembly and packaging ­ those are hot areas for us. LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TO BOOST MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURINGLike in many industries, human error makes up the bulk of errors that occur on the manufacturing floor, whether in the manufacturing process or on the customer side
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