IMS Opens State-of-the-Art Surgical Device Repair Facility

An average 30 percent of IMS repair orders are completed and returned to the customer via FedEx within one day, and 49 percent are returned within two days.

Integrated Medical Systems International, Inc. (IMS) has moved one of its two major repair facilities into a newly renovated, 55,000-square-foot operations center.

The new state-of-the-art Birmingham facility houses repair for flexible endoscopes as well as stainless, laparoscopic and specialty instruments. Rigid endoscopes and surgical power, video, ophthalmic and robotic devices will continue to be refurbished at Surgical Optics, the IMS research, development and repair facility near Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Founded in 1990 as a surgical device repair company, IMS now provides sterile processing assessments, management and outsourcing; instrument management in the OR; software to ensure compliance and efficiency in tracking tissue and implants; online repair and budget management; and education, certification and process improvement programs.

Our mission is to ensure that instruments are ready when the surgical or endoscopic team is ready," says said IMS founder and CEO Gene Robinson. "This commitment to readiness has taken us into the realms of precision engineering, sterile processing and education. It has required us to address every stage of instrument management, from the moment after its used until the moment its ready to be used again."

Early on, IMS committed to restore surgical devices to manufacturers' original performance standards. This commitment required costly investments in engineering, manufacturing and materials, but it has led to such recognition as 2013s Jerry G. Peers Distinguished Service Award, an annual award presented by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN).

Any number of companies can provide sharpening and basic repair," says Lee Robinson, president of operations for IMS. But to restore the original performance standards of cameras, drills, scopes and other complex devices, you need engineering and precision machining capability. You need master technicians who are familiar with multiple brands and models, and you need components that you cant just go online and buy."

IMS has more than 1,000 employees nationwide in clinical, technical, engineering, sales, educational and support functions. The Birmingham expansion will enable the companys continued growth to meet increasing customer demand.

In the last decade, our facilities in Birmingham and Ft. Lauderdale have nearly tripled from 75,000 to 218,000 square feet," Robinson says. This facility was developed according to Lean manufacturing principles, which will help ensure that as we grow, IMS will continue to offer the fast turn-times and uncompromising standards for which we have become known.

Source: Integrated Medical Systems International, Inc. (IMS)