Fully exploiting a device’s lifecycle makes sense both from an economic and an ecologic perspective.

Though numerous devices are becoming ever more complex and product lifecycles ever shorter, a trend toward general overhauling is on the rise. Consumers are realising that the repair, refurbishment and updating of equipment offers ecological advantages and saves money. At the same time, manufacturers are increasingly appreciating that repairs and refurbishments can help extend their products‘ lifespan. What ideally begins early in the development phase with a modular design will later require suitable processes to safely and efficiently transfer equipment ”from the field“ to a regulated repair and upgrading process. WILD is an expert in both areas – both in the development of modular systems and in repair and refurbishment with the corresponding spare part management. “Currently, almost 95% of our customers are ordering such services with us. In addition to conventional repairs, they primarily take advantage of services in connection with software and hardware updates”, explains Stephan Payer, Head of Business Unit WILD Electronics.

GETTING THE BEST OUT OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES
For our customers, the decision to outsource repair and refurbishment services is based on organisational and economic considerations. ”As a technology partner, we have the advantage of exploiting numerous synergies. The infrastructure and the human resources are in place. Moreover, it is possible to cost-effectively manage spare parts along the away and assembly documents and test reports are always available in the most updated version. In addition, we either take care of the corresponding line clearance or we set up dedicated service and refurbishing workplaces in the vicinity of the serial production,“ says Payer. WILD thus makes the best use of the resources available, while complying at the same time with the applicable regulatory provisions that, in the case of medical products, require separate workplaces for serial production and repair.

This one-stop solution offered by WILD is very much appreciated by a manufacturer of IVD devices: when repairs are necessary, WILD also takes care of the replacement and the return of the device to the product cycle as a new-device equivalent. In the case of revision changes, devices currently in operation are replaced accordingly and brought up to the state of the art so that all assemblies correspond to the latest stage of development.