Lean and Environmental Sustainability within the Medtech Industry

Introduction

The ‘Future in Medtech Ireland’ conference was held in Croke Park on September 12th. There was strong emphasis on Lean manufacturing and its benefits, with interesting presentations from the SEAI (Sustainably Energy Authority of Ireland), Teleflex, Abbvie and the Irish Medtech Association of Ireland. The main themes of this conference included: Implementation of ISO 50001, Water Stewardship in Ireland, Lean Manufacturing and Funding Availability

Implementation of ISO 50001

Abbvie gave a very interesting presentation on their journey to ISO 50001 certification, which was successfully implemented in 6 months. There was a full site commitment to reduce their carbon foot print by 25% by 2025 and 50% by 2030. Management review meetings take place 4 times a year where objectives and targets are set. An Energy Awareness week was promoted within the company where Energy ideas were raised through an e-archive. The importance of energy metering was emphasised as part of the standard implementation. There was a total of 58 physical monitoring points used. The successful reduction of energy use in their clean room was also highlighted. Originally, there were 37 air changes/hour – there are now 12 – 16 air changes. ISO 50001 has been a success at the plant with savings of €200,000.

 

Water Stewardship in Ireland

Skillnet spoke about the importance of Corporate Water Stewardship and how Six Sigma could be applied to water management. Water is a critical part of the Medtech industry and many different types of water are used during the processes. One client used Lean and Six Sigma tools to review 40 production lines, resulting in cost savings of €150,000. Skillnet are also considering Best Practice of Water Risk Management.

 

 

 

 

Lean Enabling Green: MOR Benchmark Model

The MOR Benchmark model was created by industry members of the Irish Medtech Association. As one of the most influential medical technology organisations in Ireland, Medtech felt there was a need for a Benchmarking model. The MOR model allows companies to measure and enhance their Lean journey. The Association also initiated a Lean mentoring partnership in 2015. Since then, there have been 4 partnerships. Among them, Abbott Longford (Mentor) and KPW have worked successfully together to implement lean training and projects with many financial gains.  Teleflex is now utilising the MOR Model to create a multisite Sustainability Strategy. To find out more about Lean, please click http://www.crystalleansolutions.ie/consulting

 

 

Available Funding

There are many sources of funding available to the Medtech industry. Enterprise Ireland provides funding through Lean Start, Lean Plus and Lean Transform grants. The SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) provides funding of up to €250,000 through the EXEED programme. This programme allows systems energy upgrades through the certification of assets. There are also tax credits available for RnD projects. When applying for the tax credits, it is recommended to gather information using the acronym ‘DEAD’ (Document, Eligible, Activities and Diligence). For further information, please click https://crystalleansolutions.ie/funding

 

Conclusion

Overall, Lean can be used to create sustainability in a competitive market was the main theme of the conference. Companies have used Lean to become more environmentally sustainable. Abbvie has also become more environmentally sustainable by implementing ISO 50001 with savings of €200,000.
To find out more about any of these topics, please contact Maria Ryan at maria.ryan@crystalleansolutions or Maireád Ryan at mairead.ryan@crystalleansolutions.ie