Dental News - Quality control achieved by controlling everything

Dental Tribune USA

Tue. 22 November 2011

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NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., USA: NSK uses more than 17,000 precision parts to build its high-speed rotary cutting instruments and accessories, which include handpieces and tips used by dental professionals for restorations, prosthetics, endodontics, oral hygiene, lab work and surgery. Considering the market’s ongoing demand for ever-more precise, strong and compact instruments, that’s not really surprising.

The surprising part is this: Out of those 17,000-plus parts, NSK manufacturers more than 85 percent of them in house. The company even designs and builds the equipment it uses to manufacture and test those parts – so it can ensure micron-order accuracy. It’s all part of an obsessive focus on quality control that dates back to the company’s founding in Japan in 1930.

embedImagecenter("Imagecenter_1_393",393, "large"); Today, NSK products have proven their worth in more than 130 countries — including the U.S., which in 1984 saw the company’s first overseas expansion with establishment of NSK America, now called NSK Dental LLC.

The philosophy of building the machines to build the parts to build the product has followed the company into every market it enters. The organization’s overall management structure puts control at regional levels to ensure prompt product delivery and responsive after-sales servicing. Just as important, it’s within the various regions that the company constantly solicits feedback from users of its products. The goal is to be able to swiftly respond to local needs.

This ability to quickly respond to local demand trends goes directly back to NSK’s in-house control over every step of the research, development and manufacturing process. As an example, because of growing interest in products that combine mechanics and electronics, NSK has formed a specialized group of engineers looking specifically at such applications.

Also supporting the company’s quick-to-respond product-development efforts are its in-house electro magnetic compatibility (EMC) standard test facilities. EMC standards for medical equipment are stricter than those for general consumer appliances. Ensuring EMC compliance at the earliest stages of research and development helps NSK shorten the overall product-development process.

It’s all about the hand
Control of all aspects of the development process helps NSK ensure timely regulatory compliance, improve reliability and speed up development time. But even more critical to NSK is the direct channel its processes create between end users and product developers. With its dental instruments in particular, much of the focus goes directly to the hand of the end user. “Handpieces and the Human Hand — Powerful Partners” is the company’s core branding message. A guiding philosophy is that a medical apparatus must work in the dental professional’s hand first, or it’s not worth expending all of the quality control efforts that go into its creation.

NSK defines another of its trademarked messages, “Expect Perfection,” also from the perspective of the users of its products. The phrase is meant to reflect the company’s dedication to “close consultation with dental professionals” as central to any product-development effort.

NSK has precise measurement standards for achieving quality control with its ultra-fine parts processing techniques. But it takes more than numbers to measure performance of a complete apparatus and operating system. That’s where a user-oriented design philosophy becomes critical. The ultimate goal is an ergonomic design that becomes an extension of the dental professional’s hand, transmitting intentions of delicate hand movements promptly and precisely to the target.

Only after the need or concept expressed by the end user is in place does creation and manufacturing of the instrument (and its individual parts) begin. It’s at this phase that each part typically goes through six to eight processes prior to completion. Every worker involved with any part bears responsibility for quality in all processes. If any defect is spotted, the part must be brought into micro-order tolerance or removed from the process. State-of-the-art processing machinery further protects the company’s goal of guaranteeing 100 percent quality.

NSK production workers are constantly improving their skills, with more-experienced workers providing colleagues comprehensive training.

Quality focus includes environment
Looking at its mission from a broader perspective, NSK also demonstrates a strong commitment to minimizing environmental impacts of its manufacturing, distribution, sales and support systems. The company has achieved the ISO 14001 environmental management standard, with the certification earned from what is considered one of the strictest certificate authorities, TUV CERT in Germany. Achieving the ISO 14001 standard required the design of a comprehensive environmental management system and an environmental plan encompassing the company’s future vision.

Other certifications NSK has earned include: EN 46001 (stricter guarantee of quality for medical apparatus in Europe; ISO 13485 (another International standard); MDD (93/42/EEC) (European accreditation); and ISO 9001 (the international standard of a guarantee of quality).

Again, control of product-development comes into play, with the company modifying processes to save energy and minimize waste at every step of research, development, manufacturing, sales, delivery and support.

The company does not use environmental load chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons. It has a recycling system that achieves a 97 percents recycling rate for cutting oil, used primarily in metal cutting. Again, control of its entire manufacturing process enables the company to focus on environmentally friendly materials at the earliest stages of design and development in complement with a focus on durability and energy efficiency.

A tradition of innovation
NSK’s total quality control, end-user focus and track record have earned it a global reputation for innovative advancements in dentistry products.

Recently, these advancements include an ultrasonic scaler and tooth polisher; bone-cutting instruments that employ ultrasonic technologies; a mass-produced all-titanium handpiece body; air turbines with a unified inner race and rotor shaft to achieve vibration-free and silent operation; and the S-Max pico, an ultra-miniature-head handpiece (currently the world’s smallest) for better access and patient comfort.

It adds up to a strong reputation for reliability, responsiveness and high-value contributions to advancements in patient care across all dental sectors, including implant treatment, laboratory techniques, general dentistry and endodontic treatment.

(Source: NSK Dental LLC)

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