Actalent Redesigns Stretchers Used in Emergency Extractions and Evacuations

The Client

The client produces a wide range of medical device products, including stretchers used by emergency responders for extractions and evacuations.

The Challenge

On a short deadline and a limited budget, the client needed to remaster the design of 18 different stretcher models within its product line.

However, they lacked the engineering resources in-house to complete the project according to plan.

Trusting Actalent’s engineering expertise and quality, plus our ability to scale and complete projects on budget and on schedule, the client turned to us for help.

The Actalent Solution

First, Actalent assembled a team consisting of:

• One U.S.-based project manager
• One India-based senior engineer
• Two India-based design engineers*

Next, Actalent’s engineers created drawings and 3D models in SolidWorks for multiple components and each stretcher model, all according to the client’s specifications.

Multiple similar stretcher variations were combined into a single model showing several configurations.

Stretchers with standalone designs retained single assembly models and drawings.

*As an added benefit, one of Actalent’s design engineers had prior experience working with this client. Thus, even before the project started, we had a solid understanding of their specific CAD formatting needs.

The Results

Completed in 11 weeks — ahead of schedule and under budget — Actalent delivered a total of nine assembly models and drawing packages that encompassed 18 stretcher models, 439 unique component items and 3,377 total components.

Most importantly, our designs improved the overall quality of the client’s product documentation.

“The Actalent Team, especially the engineers in India, did an excellent job in creating the SolidWorks models and documentation according to our requests and standards,” the client said. “Some of the drawings we provided were very rudimentary. With only paper documentation and no physical samples of the products, the India team was able to reconstruct full models with various configurations and multipage drawings with exploded views.”

The client indicated that the rhythm, frequency and quality of communications between Actalent and the client, and the value of the questions our engineers asked throughout the project, enhanced the results and experience.

“The US team provided excellent communications for tracking the project progress in both deliverables and budgeting expense,” said the client. “The time difference between the Actalent India team and our team was also an advantage. The India team could ask us questions during their workday that we could then investigate and reply to during our workday. That rhythm allowed us time to prepare and provide the information they needed before the start of their next workday.”

Overall, Actalent’s proactive approach helped the entire process run smoothly and provided the client more bandwidth to propel their business forward.