Success Story
How Program Management Improved Yield and Capacity for a
Urinary Placement Catheter
Customer
Challenge
A medical device customer partnered with Freudenberg Medical to support the development and manufacturing scale-up of a Urinary Placement Catheter (UPC). One critical manufacturing step involved the tipping process, which required precise thermal forming to achieve consistent tip geometry and performance.
Early production runs revealed that the tipping process was limiting manufacturing efficiency. Yield rates were lower than desired, and production capacity needed to increase to meet anticipated demand.
Our
Approach
Freudenberg Medical applied its structured Program Management Process to guide the cross-functional project team through problem definition, process optimization, and implementation. Working closely with the customer, the Freudenberg engineering team:
- Analyzed the tipping process to identify sources of variability affecting yield
- Applied structured problem-solving methodologies within the Program Management framework
- Optimized process parameters and tooling design
- Implemented improvements that enabled more consistent and repeatable production
The Program Management Process ensured that engineering, operations, and customer stakeholders remained aligned throughout the development and optimization phases.
Results
Through this collaborative and structured approach, Freudenberg Medical achieved significant improvements in manufacturing performance:
- Yield rates nearly doubled, improving production efficiency
- Monthly manufacturing capacity doubled, enabling higher output
- A scalable, repeatable process was established to support future product demand
Impact
This project demonstrates how Freudenberg Medical’s Program Management Process provides the structure and cross-functional collaboration needed to solve complex manufacturing challenges.
By combining engineering expertise with disciplined program oversight, Freudenberg Medical helps customers accelerate development while ensuring robust and scalable manufacturing processes.
