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Spacelabs monitors suspension packaging

This global maker of patient monitoring systems replaces foam with a protective packaging system that saves storage space, more efficiently uses labor, and eases disposal for hospital customers.

Changing from batch production of patient monitoring systems to building and packaging them on-demand to meet sales orders led to a switch in the packaging used to protect the $4,500 to $7,500 medical devices in transit. That move is saving money for Issaquah, WA-based monitor manufacturer Spacelabs Medical, a division of Spacelabs Healthcare. The new elastomeric Korrvu® packaging from Sealed Air (www.sealedair.com) also helps Spacelabs’ global hospital customers more easily discard the materials.

Jaime Cardenas, master production scheduler at Spacelabs, explains, “With batch production, we built anywhere from 100 to 200 units at a time. Now, we only build to actual sales orders as we need them.”

That switch, he says, “saves 400- to 500-square-feet of space in the Isaaquah facility. “When we used fabricated polyethylene and polyurethane die-cut foam, we had to store large boxes of them,” says Cardenas. At one point we leased warehouse space because we didn’t have enough space here. Plus, we moved here from a larger facility a couple of years ago where we had plenty of space.” He estimates the newer facility is about 10,000 square’. “We now can store other finished goods or other products in that space,” Cardenas says.

Labor savings are another benefit of the switch to Korrvu. During batch processing, employees created makeshift assembly lines to put together packages of foam and corrugated shipping cases. “We weren’t really utilizing our employees [effectively], or packaging the units in a timely manner,” Cardenas admits.

Although specific labor comparisons between batch and on-demand packaging aren’t available, he conservatively estimates that the change provides Spacelabs with a 10% savings.

Manual packaging process

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