Last spring, Vexos Inc. received a federal contract to produce 10,000 mechanical ventilators for COVID-19 patients in Canada. The global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and custom material solutions provider was part of a consortium that worked to ensure the Land of Maple Syrup had a sufficient ventilator supply for its hospitalized patients.
 
Vexos worked with Elemaster Group and JMP Solutions to manufacture the Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), an electrically operated, microprocessor-controlled, pneumatically driven machine. The project truly was a collaborative effort: Elemaster designed the ventilator, JPM Solutions made the mechanical sub-assembly, and Vexos provided the electronics (and tested the device).
 
“We recognized the need to partner with an experienced EMS organization with strong manufacturing and supply chain presence in the medical sector, and the ability to meet U.S. and Canadian regulatory requirements,” Elemaster President/CEO Gabriele Cogliati said. “In Vexos, we have a partner that aligns with us and our goal, to provide the MVM Ventilator globally.”
 
Such partnerships were commonplace in the pandemic’s early days as companies from all walks of life (including healthcare) turned to EMS providers for help in navigating COVID-19-induced supply chain challenges and equipment shortages. Their expertise particularly was crucial in maintaining device connectivity and meeting the skyrocketing demand for telehealth services and remote patient monitoring technology.
 
Medical Product Outsourcing’s January/February feature, Virtual Allies, examines the key role EMS providers played in helping address the medtech industry’s quickly-changing needs. Rick McClain, president and chief operating officer of Milwaukee Electronics Corporation, was among the experts interviewed for the story. His full input is provided in the following Q&A.
 
Michael Barbella: What are customers demanding of their EMS providers?
Rick McClain: Demand is more unpredictable. OEMs are also under pressure to reduce cost and shorten production lead-times. I think management teams worldwide will agree this year has set a record in operational surprises that add to the complexity of addressing those issues. But the bottom line is that the EMS value proposition is that as manufacturing experts, we get things done faster than our customers can do it in-house. So, our goal is to navigate through the surprises and help our customers achieve their goals.
 
Barbella: What qualities do OEMs look for in selecting EMS providers? How has this changed over the last five years (if at all)?
McClain: I think the biggest change we’ve seen this year is growth in the number of customers using our engineering resources. Interaction with engineering has doubled this year. Unpredictable demand, a need to reduce cost, and shorter production lead times all translate to earlier interaction with our engineering team on new products, because those challenges are more easily solved when the product development process is collaborative.
 
Barbella: How has IoT and IoMT influenced the kinds of products and technologies EMS providers have helped develop in recent years?
McClain: Our quickturn prototype division, Screaming Circuits, has seen a number of new projects that involve wearable sensors and monitoring equipment for in-home and hospital monitoring. The goal is patient comfort and giving medical professional the data needed to make good treatment decisions. I think this is an area where there will be continued growth because it lowers medical costs while improving patient-doctor interaction.
 
Barbella: Please discuss the biggest challenges EMS providers face regarding technology in the next five years. How is your company addressing these challenges?
McClain: Shrinking components and denser boards are a trend in all industries. We address it with a two-part strategy. First, we are an engineering-centric company. We have a product engineering group and a division focused on PCB layout, able to help customers address design for manufacturability challenges and test challenges during product development. Second, we’ve made investments in the equipment and manufacturing execution software necessary to accurately place smaller components and inspect them, while collecting the quality data necessary to ensure tight process control and satisfy customer device history recordkeeping requirements.
 
Barbella: How has the OEM-EMS provider relationship changed in the wake of COVID-19?
McClain: If there is a positive from COVID-19, it is that it has driven closer relationships with customers. We communicate more frequently and we are becoming more involved in their logistics planning. We’ve also seen increased customer engagement with our purchasing and engineering teams to solve spot shortage materials challenges.
 
Barbella: What lessons—if any—have EMS providers learned from the pandemic that they can carry forward once the virus is brought under control?
McClain: First, we’ve learned more about risk assessment and supply chain vulnerabilities. Most supply chain disruptions of the past relate to classes of components with unexpected high levels of demand or issues with a particular supplier. In this case, we had disruptions and/or shortages driven by regional shutdowns, transportation limitations and unforecasted spikes in demand. Just-in-time inventory is great with a constant supply and predictable logistics. However, when every possible variable is in flux, you need to be nimble to successfully address that.  Second, you simply have to be nimble.  Your team has to be able to react to the changing winds on a moment’s notice.  If you move too slowly you lose.
 
Barbella: How were EMS providers’ supply chain management skills tested by the pandemic? How did your company respond to the challenge?
McClain: We had learned a lot about dealing with supply chain constraints in 2018 and it helped when encountered spot shortages this year. We worked closely with our customers in identifying alternatives or utilizing their essential product classifications to ensure critical component availability. In some cases, we needed our engineering team to provide a redesign option.