Practice
Manufacturing consulting for products worn on the body
I advise organizations developing footwear, orthotics, prosthetics, and related wearable products. The work connects design and manufacturing decisions with fit, function, materials, end-user experience, and the realities of production.
When an outside perspective helps
- A product is approaching tooling or scale-up and needs an independent design review.
- Laboratory performance does not match field experience.
- Cost, durability, comfort, and manufacturability are pulling the design in different directions.
- Product decisions are being made without enough input from the people who will wear or fit the product.
- Existing performance data needs an experienced secondary review.
Areas of direct experience
- Footwear
- Orthotics
- Prosthetics
- Wearable products that interact with the body
Twenty years of clinical practice, fabrication, and graduate teaching sit behind those four lines. Review Chris Robinson’s relevant background.
Services
What the work can include
Product concept and design review
An independent review of product assumptions, fit, function, and foreseeable use before expensive decisions are locked in.
End-user performance
Analysis of how the product behaves for the person wearing it and the practitioner or team responsible for fitting and support.
Materials and manufacturing tradeoffs
A structured view of cost, durability, comfort, performance, and manufacturability, including Medicare coverage, coding, and documentation requirements for orthoses, prostheses, and durable medical equipment.
Secondary data analysis
Review of internal or published data to answer a defined question about product use or performance.
A focused practice
This is not general manufacturing consulting. It is deliberately limited to product categories and questions where I have direct experience. If a matter falls outside that scope, I will identify that early.
Confidential discussions
Product work often involves designs and decisions that are not public. An initial conversation can remain high-level until appropriate confidentiality terms and transfer methods are in place.
Bring the product question.
Describe where the product is in its development and what decision is coming up. The first conversation can stay above anything sensitive.