The following appeared in the Job Shop Technology January 2005
about the Bazz Houston Co. For the complete article please go to http://jobshoptechnology.com/
Click on this month's featured article.

How Job Shops Are Changing the World with Life-Enhancing Technology
Manufacturing partnerships are playing a key role in the development and production of revolutionary new medical devices and diagnostic instruments.
By Mark Shortt

Springs, Stampings, and Wire Forms

Bazz Houston Co., a Garden Grove, Calif., manufacturer of springs, metal stampings, and wire forms, cites the strength of its engineering and quality departments as essential qualifications for its work in the medical field. The firm's in-house engineering staff, skilled in using 3D solid modeling software to design tooling to exacting tolerances, can provide design assistance from prototypes through production. In an industry that demands unique materials, well-detailed engineering standards, and rigid tolerances, Bazz Houston is up to the task.

"In our experience, medical customers demand the highest quality assurance from their suppliers," says Patricia Houston, marketing director. "We're ISO 9001:2000-registered and we use principles such as root cause detection and preventive actions through FMEA reviews."

For the medical industry, Bazz Houston manufactures parts that are used in surgical devices, blood pressure monitors, oxygen sensors, intravenous drip control devices, radiation devices, and surgical retractors. The company also manufactures high-precision tooling and uses presses with up to 330 tons of pressure to form the components. Not surprisingly, it utilizes strict SPC to ensure that process parameters are maintained throughout its manufacturing process. According to Ms. Houston, the company consistently works with "extremely tight dimensional process control values of over 1.67 CpK." Contributing greatly to this effort is a team of skilled manufacturing professionals, many of whom have worked within the industry for over 25 years. To stay current with technology, the company provides ongoing training both internally and externally.

According to Houston, the high requirements of the company's Quality Management System and ISO 9001:2000 registration help Bazz Houston to adapt quickly to any quality requirement or specification. Nevertheless, the company takes very seriously the need to work closely with customers during the preliminary design stage, in order to take into consideration any potential manufacturing difficulties that may arise. It's a commitment that served Bazz Houston well when a medical customer asked the company to consolidate several sequential operations into one all-encompassing operation requiring a progressive die. The challenge was to design and build a progressive die that would eliminate the need for the sequential operations.

"Both engineering departments (Bazz Houston's and its customer's) worked in tandem on this problem," said Houston. "This extremely close cooperation enabled us to arrive at a design which satisfied our customer's needs in a very timely fashion."

Bazz Houston serves numerous industries - including automotive, aerospace, irrigation, and telecommunications - in addition to medical.