Working as part of the consortium supporting the ramp of Penlon's ventilator production in Abingdon, QR_ has implemented systems and human processes that ensure there is a plan for every part. These manage and report a component's journey from an engineer's screen, through prototyping, procurement, and onto the assembly line.
Key focuses: the rollout, maintenance, and validation of a Bill of Materials that tracked component design maturity, the interactions and interdependencies of one part relative to others, and quantities required.
Moving from design to procurement, a bespoke, lightweight Material Requirements Planning system comprising over 10,000 lines of code was created and deployed in under a week — while production training packages were devised and delivered across multiple sites. Additional support came through the creation of a helpdesk, an information management system, and a consortium-wide operating handbook. Leveraging QR_'s UK, German, Australian, and US-based teams ensured 24-hour progress.
A sprinting marathon is probably a good analogy for what the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium has achieved over the last four weeks; a more usual development and approval timeframe for a new device would be around 18 months, so delivering this first shipment in around a month is a real testament to the dedication of our team. It's also a great example of how a dedicated PDM function can release engineers to focus on the product.Ian Quest, Director of Consulting, QR_
Expanding on QR_'s work, Ian added: "We've focused on curating information that can inform data quality and drive action, rather than merely report. The foundation of this is product data quality, which is where our BoM management and validation work has really paid dividends across the whole project cycle. Similarly, the lightweight MRP system coded from scratch in under a week focuses on what is needed to drive action, and no more."
"Of course, while systems and data flows can inform decisions, actions are driven by people — so we've put a lot of emphasis on getting the processes right around change management and deviation sign-offs, assembly training and reference materials for those rotating onto the project."