Tag Archives: Chris Devine

Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International
Devine Guidance

Purchasing Controls

By Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine
Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International

Over the past two months, Dr. D has focused on supplier management from a quality and regulatory perspective. However, the successful execution of a well-defined supplier-management system, and the overall organizational success within the medical device industry, is premised on a strong cross-functional approach to quality. It takes a collegium (may need to look it up) of dedicated professionals, in multi-functional roles, to ensure all aspects of the supplier management system function efficiently. In…

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Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International
Devine Guidance

Supplier Maintenance Assessments

By Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine
Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International

If a supplier scored well on their original selection assessment, or scores well on repeat maintenance assessments—say, a score of 90 percent or above for argumentative sake—and your organization is receiving 100 percent conforming product (yes, imagine a perfect world), what is the value of performing an annual or regularly scheduled maintenance assessment? Dr. D does not see any upside. Now I could write a philippic (yep, look up time again) that takes medical device organizations to task in regards t…

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Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International
Devine Guidance

SCARs and Rules

By Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine
Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International

Welcome back to this sixth installment of Devine Guidance . I am not one to assume a Panglossian view (time to pull out the dictionary again) when dealing with problem suppliers and the need to pursue corrective action. However, at times the ugly SCAR becomes unavoidable. In fact, evidence of effective corrective action, as it pertains to suppliers is a requirement and the FDA, notified bodies, and other regulatory bodies will verify the effectiveness of the approach pursued by your organization. Additi…

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Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International
Devine Guidance

Gage R & R and Reduced RI Programs

By Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine
Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International

Since the concept of writing a weekly blog and actually having a following is somewhat foreign to me, I was not sure what to expect or the reception I would receive writing a weekly column. So far, the support and responses have been overwhelmingly positive; and for that, I would personally like to thank the readers. Additionally, I will continue to write about and provide relevant information associated with supplier quality (four installments remaining) and will eventually begin addressing quality and…

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Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International
Devine Guidance

For an Effective Supplier Selection Process

By Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine
Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International

To my colleagues who have decided to rejoin me for an ongoing exploration into the trials and tribulations of effective supplier management for the medical device industry, thank you for returning. I hope you will be able to glean some useful information from the compilation of current industry practices, concepts extracted from my doctoral dissertation, and an overall common-sense approach to supplier quality. It is my personal belief that pursing the ideas presented within this paper, and scheduled to…

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Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International
Devine Guidance

Manage Your Suppliers

By Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine
Dr. Christopher Joseph Devine, President, Devine Guidance International

The medical device industry is in a perpetual state of change as technology continues to evolve, while standards and regulations are in constant state of rescript to ensure the ongoing safety and efficacy of medical devices. This dynamic industry demands an equally dynamic approach to quality. Antediluvian approaches to quality that were premised on inspection, inspection, and more inspection, are just not viable options today. In the coming months, I would like to enlist my colleagues and ask that you …

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