APC Intern Creates Enormous Impacts at Steris Animal Health

The Challenge

Steris, located in Birmingham, AL, identified several opportunities within its Continuous Improvement Department that required additional resources to complete. To support these efforts, Steris partnered with the Alabama Productivity Center (APC), assigning intern Olivia Simmons to assist employees on multiple high-impact projects.

The projects focused on:

• Developing a reliable and visible surgical instrument identification system.

• Streamlining surgical gown patterns to reduce material waste.

• Studying and analyzing surgical tape, which had been the subject of customer complaints.

Solutions Implemented

**Instrument Identification**

Simmons led research and experimentation on the liquid conversion of ceramic identification inserts used in surgical devices. Factors evaluated included:

• Biocompatibility

• Adhesiveness

• Viscosity

• Melting and boiling point

• Color options

• Ability to withstand autoclave testing (both manual and visual)

Her research and testing provided Steris with critical data to make an informed decision regarding proper instrument identification methods.

**Surgical Gown Patterns**

To ensure compatibility with incoming outsourced gowns, Simmons developed new gown patterns for all four gown sizes. Using AutoCAD and SolidWorks, she created optimized designs that reduced scrap material per gown cut, improving efficiency and reducing waste.

**Surgical Tape Analysis**

Steris had received customer complaints regarding a specific surgical drape tape included with a purchased product. Simmons conducted studies and correlating experiments to identify variables impacting performance, particularly focusing on pull strength differences between older and newer tape lots. Her analysis provided valuable insight into quality control and customer satisfaction.