Challenge
The customer’s production team spends up to eight hours a day working on precision medical components. Their existing workstations were standard-height benches, forcing workers into uncomfortable positions throughout entire shifts. Over time, this caused fatigue, ergonomic strain, and inconsistency in output quality unacceptable in a zero-defect manufacturing environment.
The team also tends to have smaller builds, which helps with precise work but makes standard industrial benches an even worse fit.
When PIH visited the facility, workers had built makeshift models from cardboard, tape, and office supplies to show what a workstation should look like.
Solution
PIH brought in MTpro, a design software built to generate precise CAD models on the fly. Rather than waiting on formal specifications, PIH’s team worked directly from what they observed on the floor, including those cardboard models, and got to work the same day.
That day, PIH used MTpro to model a workstation that matched the heights, reach zones, and tool placement the workers had been demonstrating with office supplies. The customer saw it and approved it immediately.
“Their team had spent a lot of time building cardboard models to show us what they needed. That same day, we designed it with MTpro, and they approved the concept to head to our CAD team.”
The final workstation design included:
- Low-level workstation height to accommodate for user specific ergonomics
- Adjustable footrests
- Suspension Profile to allow for easy access of grab bins
Before anything shipped, PIH’s CAD team produced detailed 3D layouts for each station type so the customer could review and approve the design visually. Workstations were partially preassembled at PIH’s facility in Tacoma, WA, which kept on-site installation fast and minimized disruption to the production floor.
Results
The new workstations addressed every issue the team had been working around for years. Tailored workstations allowed a comfortable and efficient workspace for users. Clean, sealed work surfaces using cover strip eliminated gaps where particles could collect, and organized grab bin locations gave workers a consistent place for parts and tools, improving workflow and traceability on the floor.
What stood out as much as the workstations themselves was how quickly it all came together. From an initial site visit, the customer had CAD models of their custom workstation designs in hand within a single day.
