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Collaborative Robots in Medical Manufacturing: B.Braun Case Study

06.02.20263 min read

B.Braun has successfully implemented Mitsubishi Electric's MELFA ASSISTA collaborative robots at their Centre of Excellence for Operation Room Supply (CoEORS) facility in Rubí, Spain, transforming surgical suture packaging operations while maintaining pharmaceutical-grade quality standards and ensuring worker safety.

Breaking Traditional Barriers

"The main challenge was breaking the traditional industry approach, where every machine is protected by physical barriers," explains Víctor González, Project Engineering Manager at B.Braun. 

For 180 years, B.Braun has focused on protecting and improving health worldwide through technological innovation. When faced with the need to increase surgical suture packaging capacity by 200%, the company needed a solution that could maintain pharmaceutical-grade quality while eliminating bottlenecks in their manual processes.

Revolutionary Safety Solutions

"During the risk analysis we identified that the zone with possible impacts or greater risk was located at head height, since the robot works at that height," González explains. "As the regulations state, we conducted force and pressure tests, which revealed this potential risk."

The innovative solution came through B.Braun's additive manufacturing capabilities: "To solve this, with our additive manufacturing department, we designed a 3D cover to minimise that potential risk," says González. This custom 3D-printed flexible protective cover - a 'bumper' that absorbs impacts - complies with collaborative robot safety standards while maintaining full functionality.

From Intimidation to Appreciation

"At first it can be intimidating because it's new technology, but you quickly realise it's a very useful tool," explains a suture line operator from the production floor.

What began as apprehension quickly transformed into appreciation. "Since the robot's arrival, my daily work has improved considerably. It facilitates many tasks we perform," the operator continues. 
"Working with it is comfortable and safe because it's designed to protect us. It allows us to focus on more important tasks while it handles repetitive or demanding ones."

Precision That Transforms Production

The collaborative robot system addresses a critical pain point in suture production. "In our case, we identified the process of introducing sutures into the loaders, which we performed very manually and required visual inspections," explains González.

"This reduced the efficiency of the process and subsequent processes, since if a loader was not well levelled, it could produce empty steps for machines in subsequent processes. In other words, the absence of automation generated a slower work rhythm."

"'Collaborative' is not just a robot type designation - we take this collaboration genuinely seriously," explains Jordi Araujo, Business Developer Manager - End Users at Mitsubishi Electric. "Workers expect robots to be fully safe and truly supportive, not another workplace challenge.
Our goal is to create tools that integrate smoothly into daily tasks, requiring minimal adaptation while delivering maximum support."

Measurable Success on Multiple Fronts

The implementation has delivered impressive results that extend beyond simple automation:

"The success of this project implementation is reflected in two aspects," González notes. "On one hand, we've achieved ergonomic improvement in workstations, and on the other, it has contributed to a productivity KPI increase of around 20%."

This 20% increase in productivity came alongside improved ergonomics and a safer, more reliable process with full traceability. Importantly, the robots contributed to these improvements rather than being solely responsible for them - the entire workflow was intelligently optimised.

The implementation delivered significant improvements in worker satisfaction, and importantly, no jobs were lost - instead, working conditions improved through enhanced ergonomics and reduced responsibility pressure.

González concludes: "The collaborative robots not only improve productivity but also create a safer and more comfortable work environment. This project exemplifies our commitment to innovation and continuous improvement - fundamental pillars at B.Braun."

This successful implementation demonstrates that collaborative robotics can successfully address manufacturing challenges while maintaining worker satisfaction and safety standards in pharmaceutical environments, proving that thoughtful automation amplifies human capabilities rather than replacing them.

Want to see more? Click the link below to watch the full case study:
Can robots work side by side with people? I B. Braun x Mitsubishi Electric

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