FactoryFour Case Studies Comprehensive P&O

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	Comprehensive P&O FactoryFour

Comprehensive P&O

FactoryFour

Technology Category	Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries	Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions	Discrete Manufacturing Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Predictive Maintenance Supply Chain Visibility
Services	System Integration Software Design & Engineering Services
Challenge	Comprehensive Prosthetics & Orthotics (CPO) was facing challenges with their order processing and manufacturing workflow. The company's clinicians were sending plaster casts and clay impressions along with paper forms to their central fabrication facilities. This process often involved back-and-forth calls to rectify errors or clarify details. The order data was then manually transcribed and issued to the floor as a paper work order. During production, a job traveler moved through each work center, and technicians referenced the paper work orders for fabrication. Whenever a customer called with an order inquiry, it required a tedious process of going to the floor, locating the job traveler, and relaying the order status back to the customer. CPO needed a solution that would connect their clinics directly to the manufacturing floor, providing immediate visibility for customers and managers while streamlining the process for their technicians. Read More
About Customer	Comprehensive Prosthetics & Orthotics (CPO) is one of the largest orthotic and prosthetic service providers in the US. They receive orders to manufacture medical devices from their own network of brick-and-mortar clinics, which span across Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri. Hundreds of their clinicians submit orders to two central fabrication facilities, in which they manufacture each product custom to their patients’ needs. The company was facing challenges with their order processing and manufacturing workflow, which involved manual processes and often resulted in errors and delays. They needed a solution that would streamline their operations, improve visibility into the production process, and enhance customer service. Read More
Solution	CPO implemented FactoryFour to streamline their order flow from their network of clinics to their manufacturing facilities, while increasing supply chain transparency through greater visibility into production. CPO used Forms in FactoryFour to configure custom digital order forms for their clinics to submit detailed order information directly to production facilities. Support for uploading media file types such as 3D scans enhanced the order experience. Each clinic was given access to a FactoryFour portal where they could view these forms and see the status of their submitted orders in real-time. Error validation and autofill templates were added into the forms to reduce human error and increase speed of order submission. Once an order is submitted by a clinic, it automatically appears in the manufacturing facility’s queue for approval. CPO then uses Workflows in FactoryFour to move the order through the production process. As a device is being manufactured, CPO’s clinics can immediately see the status of their order and receive email notifications when certain events occur, such as when their device is completed and shipped. Managers can also gain deep insights on order progress, creating dashboards to monitor specific metrics on the manufacturing floor in real-time. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Healthcare & Hospitals

Applicable Functions

Discrete Manufacturing

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Predictive Maintenance

Supply Chain Visibility

Services

System Integration

Software Design & Engineering Services

Challenge

Comprehensive Prosthetics & Orthotics (CPO) was facing challenges with their order processing and manufacturing workflow. The company's clinicians were sending plaster casts and clay impressions along with paper forms to their central fabrication facilities. This process often involved back-and-forth calls to rectify errors or clarify details. The order data was then manually transcribed and issued to the floor as a paper work order. During production, a job traveler moved through each work center, and technicians referenced the paper work orders for fabrication. Whenever a customer called with an order inquiry, it required a tedious process of going to the floor, locating the job traveler, and relaying the order status back to the customer. CPO needed a solution that would connect their clinics directly to the manufacturing floor, providing immediate visibility for customers and managers while streamlining the process for their technicians.

About Customer

Comprehensive Prosthetics & Orthotics (CPO) is one of the largest orthotic and prosthetic service providers in the US. They receive orders to manufacture medical devices from their own network of brick-and-mortar clinics, which span across Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri. Hundreds of their clinicians submit orders to two central fabrication facilities, in which they manufacture each product custom to their patients’ needs. The company was facing challenges with their order processing and manufacturing workflow, which involved manual processes and often resulted in errors and delays. They needed a solution that would streamline their operations, improve visibility into the production process, and enhance customer service.

Solution

CPO implemented FactoryFour to streamline their order flow from their network of clinics to their manufacturing facilities, while increasing supply chain transparency through greater visibility into production. CPO used Forms in FactoryFour to configure custom digital order forms for their clinics to submit detailed order information directly to production facilities. Support for uploading media file types such as 3D scans enhanced the order experience. Each clinic was given access to a FactoryFour portal where they could view these forms and see the status of their submitted orders in real-time. Error validation and autofill templates were added into the forms to reduce human error and increase speed of order submission. Once an order is submitted by a clinic, it automatically appears in the manufacturing facility’s queue for approval. CPO then uses Workflows in FactoryFour to move the order through the production process. As a device is being manufactured, CPO’s clinics can immediately see the status of their order and receive email notifications when certain events occur, such as when their device is completed and shipped. Managers can also gain deep insights on order progress, creating dashboards to monitor specific metrics on the manufacturing floor in real-time.

Impact #1	Streamlined order-to-production flow: CPO used FactoryFour to create a streamlined workflow of processing orders and tracking them through production. Orders were previously submitted in various forms ranging from paper to email, and errors often occurred during processing. Now, CPO’s network of clinics submit orders digitally via customized forms, that automatically validate for errors before reaching the manufacturing floor. During production, the order enters a workflow configured in FactoryFour, which notifies technicians of the next step to complete at each station.
Impact #2	Real-time dashboards for production management: CPO’s managers needed greater control over production, and FactoryFour delivered through real-time dashboards that monitored the progress of each order. These dashboards are configured to provide metrics, such as the number of outstanding work orders from each clinic, productivity of individual technicians, number of active work orders at each station, and turnraround time for each order.
Impact #3	Improved transparency with order status visibility: Before FactoryFour, phone tag between clinicians and the manufacturing floor was a time-consuming daily activity. Now, as technicians complete tasks to manufacture each device, clinicians are provided with real-time visibility on their orders. CPO configured automatic email notifications to be sent to clinicians by FactoryFour when certain events occur, such as when an order is shipped. With the FactoryFour portal, clinicians receive full visibility with real-time order status, and have a way to directly message fabrication facilities.

Impact #1

Streamlined order-to-production flow: CPO used FactoryFour to create a streamlined workflow of processing orders and tracking them through production. Orders were previously submitted in various forms ranging from paper to email, and errors often occurred during processing. Now, CPO’s network of clinics submit orders digitally via customized forms, that automatically validate for errors before reaching the manufacturing floor. During production, the order enters a workflow configured in FactoryFour, which notifies technicians of the next step to complete at each station.

Impact #2

Real-time dashboards for production management: CPO’s managers needed greater control over production, and FactoryFour delivered through real-time dashboards that monitored the progress of each order. These dashboards are configured to provide metrics, such as the number of outstanding work orders from each clinic, productivity of individual technicians, number of active work orders at each station, and turnraround time for each order.

Impact #3

Improved transparency with order status visibility: Before FactoryFour, phone tag between clinicians and the manufacturing floor was a time-consuming daily activity. Now, as technicians complete tasks to manufacture each device, clinicians are provided with real-time visibility on their orders. CPO configured automatic email notifications to be sent to clinicians by FactoryFour when certain events occur, such as when an order is shipped. With the FactoryFour portal, clinicians receive full visibility with real-time order status, and have a way to directly message fabrication facilities.

Benefit #1	Saved 20 minutes of labor in producing each medical device

Benefit #1

Saved 20 minutes of labor in producing each medical device

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Overview

Comprehensive P&O

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit