The House Washing Machine for Disabled and Normal People - Essay Example

? The House Washing Machine for Disabled and Normal People Affiliation: Introduction The process of learning how to carry out some basic health care activities starts from childhood to the adolescent period. Such basic activities includes tasks like washing dishes and clothes, simple meal preparations such as making sandwiches and community activities such as catching a bus. During the late stages of adolescence and the early stages of adulthood, there is always some expectation that an individual should become more independent when handling the daily living activities either at the home level of at the community level. People who are mature and have never had the basic skills of homecare and household activities are able to do so with some appropriate support, thus making them achieve their own independence. Age and disability should not be an excuse to make one unable to handle basic household activities but with the availability of possible alternatives, everything becomes easier. Market Analysis It has now become a common objective for the adults that are living at home to develop the ability of handling things on their own whether disabled or in normal state. In as much as one might be receiving enough support from a family member or a caretaker, having a machine that will help this group of people will make every task much easier. Many people having a problem with washing of both clothes and house cleaning duties may be able to handle this if given an opportunity to make things easier. Developing the ability to handle household chores has the capacity of leading one to achieve independence and that an individual will not be a burden to other members in the house. It is of great importance to provide your child with the practice the daily leaving skills, even if such tasks take longer time and require even more effort. Before coming up with the right product for this population, there is need to look and study the market. An analysis on market shows that at the elderly and children with disabilities are the ones that require more help in handling household duties. In the status now, there is an approximate of around 19 million working-age people with disabilities. This market analysis intends to breach the gap on the housing status of working-age people with disabilities. The reason for focusing on this population is that it represents the large and overgrowing segment that relies heavily on the state and the federal government’s programs. For instance, the government spends nearly $360 billion or an average of $19000 per person on programs relating to elderly people and children with disabilities (Livermore et al., 2010). This gives the government a burden at settling these bills and with special machinery in the market to assist this population; it makes it an open opportunity for the government to relieve itself o extra costs and instead invest the cash on the machinery that will make the lives of this population easier. This will be an open business opportunity for the company that will be manufacturing these machines and at the same time offering a solution to the people with disabilities. The data presented by many other research firms indicates the relationship between housing characteristics and the people with disabilities. Periodic reports provides an estimate that there is worst-case housing needs, and the most recent report indicates that approximately 1 million nonelderly households that have disabled members have the worst-case needs, making a total of approximately 36-percent rate of the total population that deserves to better care facilities. This same research have provided data on the economic backgrounds of the population majorly affected with disability problems and has been able to determine that majority of this population are from poor backgrounds. This implies that there is need to make affordable equipments for the generation so that many can have the opportunity to access them. Any company that is aiming to produce the housing washing machine for this population needs to consider both the economic status and how much the government would be interested in invested towards the support of such initiatives. This data is effective for the company to be able to determine the recommended prices that will make it easy for the needy population to afford such products (Brault, 2010). The daily household activities that the company should focus on while manufacturing these products are house course like loading and starting the washing machine and hanging out the washings. The machine should also perform other tasks like folding the washing basket, ironing clothes, sweeping or mopping the floor, cooking meals and washing dishes and last but not least, mowing of lawn. The making of these machines requires some standards that make it easier for the disabled and normal people to use at any provided time without much instructions and complications. The making of such items should be on the company of other key instructions on them such as instructions for operations and precautionary measures that will give alerts when necessary. It is common knowledge that people with the disabilities are the ones that are often in struggling to find accessibility and affordability to better housing facilities that suits their needs (Perl, 2008). Analysis on the eligibility of washing machines gives the report that there is need for them to be simple in its use procedure and having the possibility of making it redundant in the forms of feedback that the users receive. There is need to have the room for audio and visual cues that should provide the elderly people and those with visual impairments as well as for those who have the impossibilities of listening. Analysis on data also determine that many people that are in need of these machines usually have difficulties with mobility and therefore need to many most of the products with control facilities. According to the survey, it determined that the front loading machine is more likely the best for the disabled and elderly rather than having top loading machines. To be able to facilitate the types of clothing that are to input into the machine, there is need to have a plinth that would make the whole process useful. Analysis on fixed/variable costs, budgeting requirements and other key factors The costs in any expenditure by an individual may vary from the occurrence of extra needs that each person requires for life satisfaction reasons. One can classify the needs and costs as special or additional costs. Special costs are the goods and services that the elderly and disabled people need but the non-disabled people do not. Additional costs are types of costs that each individual needs but the disabled and elderly group needs them more. The costs can either be fixed or variables. Those that are fixed are ones that one needs to spend ones while buying a certain product. Recurrent costs occur from time to time due the unpredictable and daily requirements such as maintenance costs, buying for the washing powder of employing an assistant. For meeting the needs of the elderly and disabled, fixed costs will be subject to incur while purchasing the special machines that we are intending to introduce to the market. This is an avoidable amount of which this group has to incur and there is need to develop a perfect way of coming up with a special mechanism of standardized price for this basic commodity. Other costs may be hard to determine since the level of needs and frequency of use will entirely depend on the user (Beard et al., 2009). Budgeting study for the requirements of these products by the elderly and special people bases on the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP). This approach is similar to the subjective approach, in the case whereby the disabled people are provided with room to state what their needs are. The respondents in this category usually answer in terms of items, but not in terms of expenditure required. The CRSP approach on budgeting looks at the standard budgeting mechanisms, which measures the disability related needs. Measuring of extra costs is however difficult hence leading o an approximation, thus achieving to a rough estimate of the expected expenditure by each individual. The best way for budgeting also bases on the income capacities of the individual involved to achieve a standard of living. The variable pays usually varies from different forms of compensations that an individual is entitle to, such as the base pay and some benefits (Pharr & Humphreys, 2004). Many people are not aware of the attendance allowance that they are entitled to receive because of ignorance and hence end up not claiming for the benefits. There are existing Disability Living Allowances that all elderly and disabled should claim for. Budgeting loans bases on the income support that an individual has been receiving from his or her employer for a period not less than six months. An individual may be entitled to receive budgeting loan to help in paying for the items and special machines for the needy. The same loan has to be repaid later on after the initial bills have been settled completely. Global financial climate looks at the economic status as a whole and thus becoming precise while putting down the basic requirements first before settling on the tertiary requirements. When the economic status are favorable enough, then the manufacturing company would decide to charge higher prices on the machinery for handling household duties. The economy also determines the bulk of which the manufacturing company will produce these machines. When economic terms are not favorable, the company might resort to produce in less quantities and sell at favorable prices hence avoiding loses. All these factors are very effective at early stages of product production since it gives room for analyzing the market well. Manufacturing principles and designs The designing and manufacturing principles of the products have to consider quality, durability and ease of use of the product. There should be no complications by any means so that even the less educated people have the capacity of using them. The designing should also base on the implications that the elderly have low rate of income. Thus with their inexperience with the advancements in technology, there is need to ensure that the product is very simple for use. Manufacturing principles also emphasizes on producing the sample machines for market testing, and see if people are showing real interest of purchasing the same product. The designing of the product should be universal, so that there is no reliance on the one single sensory mode only. The product should on the other hand have the capacity of using visual indicators for any type of display. While making this machine, the manufacturer should consider installing visual and auditory cues that are able to provide some feedback on the progress of the operation (Srinagesh, 2006). Designing simplicity is another factor to consider while making this product. The door of the product has to be lower enough and the touch buttons soft enough to ease on operation. The opening position of the door has to be accessible and opening to either right or left depending on the design that the customer prefers and that clear instructions, if possible painted with different colors have to be in use while labeling and writing instructions on the top of the machine. The ability of the manufacturer to convince the buyers to purchase this product will open a business opportunity as well as employment room for some people. There is also some need to create that idea of dependence on the product to ensure there is always market flow since demand will be continuous. The level of demand will also have an impact on determining the real cost of this product while at the same time feedback from user will be useful at analyzing and improving on the product’s quality. Different techniques to generate the same or similar designs In this case, the manufacturer opens platform for ideas on the modeling and designing of the product. For instance, the elderly have common problem of clear vision among them, thus there is need to ensure that the product is bright enough to increase visibility. Creativity in this case looks at producing a product that serves the same purpose but gives the market an impression that it is a new product of its own. Integrating services like sound systems that provide feedback on the progress of an activity are some of the measures that creativity and critical thinking employs. Other attributes to employ are installation of alarm systems that will trigger some reaction from the user or any external help thus ensuring that one is on alert when using this product. Solid and prototype modeling on the production of the product should be employed for the purposes of automation with other several engineering calculations that require to be carried out as part of the designing process. For instance, there is need to program the machine to calculate the exact time specified for it to carry out a specified task and if possible, terminate the task upon completion of the stipulated time (Altintas, 2000). SCM process looks at the need of adopting the new market changes and capitalizing on the available opportunities in the market. For instance, having a house washing machine is something that does not ring in minds of many entrepreneurs, and thus developing such a product will capitalize on the available market and high demands from the elderly and the disabled population. Software Configuration Management (SCM) is usually a task of tracking, configuring and implementing a controlled occurrence of change process. Thus implementing these ideas in the production of this product gives room for integrating modern technology in production thus helping at making some tasks easier. In as much as the product will be on use by the less educated an elderly people, integrating some technology in the process makes it a current market product. Comparing with the previous types of products of the same purpose, one realizes that the modern/current product is updated and since it employs some technological advances, it makes the use of this product easier. This in effect gives the new product an advantage over the previous products and thus civilizes on the available market (Dickersbach, 2005). Finally, when coming up with a new product into the market, the manufacturing company needs to consider the ethics and sustainability implications of having this new product in the market. For instance, the use of the new product should base on providing the required ethical status such as culture and religion of the expected market population. Sustainability should dwell on considering the process of producing without running out of basic requirements of production, while on the other hand creating alternatives for solving any challenges that production process might incur. For instance, the production may face inadequate transportation means and well channels of communication with the customers. Thus, this whole process requires a complete and systematic planning that will ensure everything is in the right place and at the right time (Mccormack et al., 2003). References Altintas, Y. 2000. Manufacturing automation: metal cutting mechanics, machine tool vibrations, and CNC design. New York, Cambridge University Press. Beard, John, Shannon Blaney, Victor Frye, Gina Lovasi, Danielle Ompad, Andrew Rundle, and David Vlahov. 2009. “Neighborhood Characteristics and Disability in Older Adults,” Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 64 (2): 252–257. Brault, Matthew. 2010. “Characteristics of the Population With Disabilities in Four National Surveys.” PowerPoint Presentation, Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology Statistical Policy Seminar. Dickersbach, J. T. 2005. Characteristic based planning with mySAP SCM scenarios, processes, and functions. Berlin, Springer. Livermore, Gina, Meghan O’Toole, and David Stapleton., 2010. Federal Program Expenditures for Working-Age People With Disabilities in Fiscal Year 2008. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research. Mccormack, K., Johnson, W. C., & Walker, W. T. 2003. Supply chain networks and business process orientation: advanced strategies and best practices. Boca Raton, FL, St. Lucie Press. Perl, Libby. 2008. Section 811 and Other HUD Housing Programs for Persons With Disabilities. Wash­ington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Pharr, M., & Humphreys, G. 2004. Physically based rendering from theory to implementation. Amsterdam, Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann. Srinagesh, K. 2006. The principles of experimental research. Amsterdam, Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Taylor, F. 2011. Mastering derivatives markets: a step-by-step guide to the products, applications and risks. Harlow, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Read More