Partnership boosts quality at Phillips-Medisize

When it comes to the manufacturing of medical devices, the need for quality control takes on critical significance. That’s why employees of Phillips-Medisize are filling classrooms at Chippewa Valley Technical College’s Menomonie campus.

The quality technician workers enrolled in a 17-credit Manufacturing Quality program that leads to a technical diploma, all at company expense and on company time. For Phillips-Medisize, it’s an investment in hundreds of quality technician employees. For the workers, it’s a required step to advance.

“We make complex life saving devices,” said Matt Jennings, Phillips-Medisize CEO and president. “Investing in our people to give them the tools to produce quality products is critical to servicing our customers. When you look at what our customers and our user needs are, we have to meet all of those needs through our workforce.”

CVTC originally created the Manufacturing Quality program several years ago to meet the needs of Phillips-Medisize. The program provides knowledge and skills for a technician to evaluate hardware documentation, perform laboratory procedures, inspect products, measure process performance, record data and prepare formal reports. It consists of a core of six classes, plus a mathematics component. Credits earned can be applied to CVTC’s Manufacturing Engineering Technologist associate degree program.

“We partnered with CVTC because they are the subject matter experts when it comes to providing good technical knowledge,” said Kim Egan, Phillips-Medisize quality manager. Egan also leads the training program and is a CVTC graduate.

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