Vibrated Alarm Pillow - Case Study Example

Students Name Course/Name Instructors Name Date Executive summary The new, vibrated alarm billow brand meets and satisfies the brand component requirements by integrating product design, and consumer satisfaction into its use. The vibrating alarm pillow will be used in various homes to diversify into fields such as homes, healthcare and hospitality industries to alert users of any fire out break or time to wake up. Similarly, the consumer brand component is met by the new vibrating alarm pillow brand through the design of products that meet diverse people’s needs. By understanding what consumers want and manufacturing products that satisfy those needs, the company has will identify the brand with consumer behaviour and attitudes across the globe. The target audience will be schools, hospital, hospitality industry and homes and they will like the product. The marketer will tout the product’s quality, value, performance, and other attributes. The vibrating pillow will be made of ordinary pillow connected to sensors for heat, smoke and fire. It will have also a vibrating pillow pad for it to function properly. It will be manufactured using Electrolux product management flow where there will be a strategic plan product development, product launch and product management. The product will be produced in china in a plant that has a capacity to produce 200 bureaus per month at the beginning of the year 2015 with the intention of increasing production to 1 million pillows per month the following year. The company will have eight members of staff at the beginning that will consist of original owners. Vibrating alarm pillow design Introduction In an endeavour to address the demands public for a vibrating alarm pillow, the company instigated two indispensable decisive decisions. It notably expanded its production variety by incorporating vibrating alarm pillow; and equally extended its production in terms collection to safety. This leads to designing a new product that captures this targeted market. The main objective of this paper is design vibrating alarm pillow which improvement safety and alert people time to wake up. The deliverables of the paper will be product design, feasibility, specification and verification of the product in terms of technical and usability. Therefore, there will be specifications, drawings for the product, product prototype, working mechanism, materials used in the product, estimated cost and production process. Devising resourceful new merchandise obligates a well-organized approach that entails collecting decisive statistics as well as reassessing them at habitual resolution stages to confirm the organizational objectives, and to persist with the innovation of the contemporary merchandise. The protocol is applicable to both minor as well as chief product lines, where the minor concerns accessible consistent data along with inappropriate timing, while the major one concerns extensive risks along with improbability. The new product decision course is often structured into five standard phases besides the re-evaluation stage. Every phase normally ends with a resolution on whether to proceed to the subsequent stage. New idea stage; most of the innovative ideologies are often designed within a firm’s research agency; depending on the practitioner’s familiarity with the openings and objectives of the institution, which in this case is to design a unique product. Preliminary evaluation; over the stage, the innovative ideology decision is adjusted via restricted trials, coupled with complex principle verification. Meaning the firm will consequently launch extensive research course concerning the requirements of vibrating alarm pillow, a viable location, taste of the targeted clients, as well as their relevant financial aptitudes. The stage must also embrace a principled goal, usually the initiative generator as suggested by Connell et al (2001). Development stage; at the stage, a progression decision is normally paired with collective dedication in terms funds, alongside cross-functional devotion given the guidance of the formal scheme. Navigation stage; the purpose of the stage is to estimate the proceeds magnitude of the merchandise, which entails reviewing the experts quotations on product and choosing the most reliable once. Commercialization stage; upon launching the new merchandise into the marketing arena, the possibility of accomplishment should be given a hundred percent presumption. Here, the firm will primarily acquire the signature as well as commitment of the potential clients in the area to limit promotion expenses besides attaining the commercial objectives (Atuahene-Gima & Haiyang, 2004). Post-commercialization re-evaluation; re-examination is normally recommended as a constituent of merchandise generation. After finalizing the planning course, the firm will eventually review all the decisions in consideration to the existing experiences and the ultimate attainments and principles as noted by Connell et al (2001). The evaluation of commercial impacts, sales probability, innovative values, among other factors usually permits the firm to reinstate the final decision. Technical details of product In order to be successful in product development we consider current market products in the market. Vibrating alarm pillow has an alarm that will vibrate causing pillow to be useful. Vibration occurs when time set has reached or conditions change such as increase of heat or entry of smoke or because of change in pressure. The simple working principle of the pillow involves a detector use to make vibrations. To make a vibrating pillow that will assist the customer to wake up, the following materials will be necessary: scissors, thread, fabric, ruler, pins, outdoor canvas, polyester zipper, vibrating pillow pad time clock, smoke and heat sensors, wires and sewing machine with a regular foot and a zipper foot. Figure 1: Vibrating alarm pillow The main aim of the mission is to have a Vibrating alarm pillow that is safe for users. This will be made possible by advanced and well designed pillow that will have the ability to vibrate without releasing dangerous waves that can destroy life. The vibrating pillow that currently exist that can help in designing this pillow and should have the following features and specifications Will have a sleek body with contemporary design Easy to use and comfortable It will be long lasting Economical Manufacturing processes Electrolux Product Management Flow will be used in this case in the process of product development. The PMF process has been introduced as a tool for the working process and has the intention to make the company develop products according to the consumers’ wishes and problems instead of developing Market-Push Products using employee’s ideas. This will involve the following steps; Figure 2: product management flow According to the PMF the goals for the Primary Development are: _ To find off-the-shelf solutions within innovation themes _ To find what standardized solutions can be developed to solve future needs for the innovation themes _ To find quick technical solutions to identified problem areas _ To find what technical solutions are feasible to solve identified needs, and what are their risk and cost levels Figure 3: Manufacturing process block Materials for production of the billow are mixed at point a, then they are compressed at the station b. At point c the material foam is made and cleaned as well as heated at point d.  At point e an agent is introduced to make pillows that can be used for the vibrated alarm. After the pillow is made then it is fitted with vibrating pillow pad which is connected to timer , smoke, fire and heat sensors by a wire. System Performance The plant should have the ability to produce 20000 pillows per month at the beginning then by 2015 the production will rise substantially and the production capacity may rise to the level of 1 million per month. These values have been projected on the basis of the developmental projects that that will be undertaken by the company. Manufacture and usage The production of the product will be done in house however the fire, heat and smoke detectors will outsource. The vibrating alarm pillow will require large industrial manufacturing. The manufacturer will install all the required components for effective usage. The waves will released by vibrating pad should be double-checking before for safety of users. The user will set before going to sleep. Customer’s needs There is an increasing prevalence of vibrating pillows that increases fire safety when a sleep. There are a number of fire safety measures which are undertaken to protect the human lives from loss. The station alarm bells should be linked to the telephone ringer, so that when there is a call on the emergency telephone line it activates the alarm bells. Alarm activation pillow should be provided for all residents of a building. Vibrating pillows customers tend to have finicky tastes. Moreover, although an overwhelming umber of consumers find vibrating pillows shopping enjoyable, making actual purchase decisions could be challenging. Most customers tend to lack to expert opinion as to what style is most suitable, the technical aspects that go into the creation of the vibrating pillows, general puzzlement as to how much an appropriate price would be, and whether delivery of the items will be good. To further exacerbate the problem, there is a broad array of products to select from in terms of styles, quality, material, price, and payment options such that customers have difficulty making purchase decisions. Unlike purchasers of vehicles or home appliances, furniture customers are not really sure of what they are buying and what to expect. Possible location of the production facility The production plant will be situated in china since it has emerged one of the strongest economies after decades of having worked behind the red curtain. China has recognized that competing in the free market economy is the only way for it emerges as an economic super power that it aspires to be. China over the last three decades has carefully and systematically worked on its strengths, eliminated its weakness, and has finally, today, emerged as the third strongest economy in the world The workforce size and skills Before launching the vibrating alarm pillow it is very important to define and understand the team’s overall responsibility. This will help the team identity its strength, potential weaknesses or challenges, and keys to improve performance. This is because individual differences are always present in a team, regardless of its size. Hence, the managers need to consider how best to motivate his team, especially if the members comes from different cultural, religious, economic, and professional backgrounds These differences are always a breeding ground for negative influences such as lack of mutual trust and respect. One effective method is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs from Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types (R.Bayne, 1997, p.3). The MBTI is not a perfect tool. As G.Levin (2010) instructs, it is important not to take the system too literally. These are excellent for giving a manager an approach when thinking about motivating the team towards a set of goals but cannot be conclusive (Levin, 2010, p.78). Nonetheless, it is an essential tool for management and leading teams because it provides a framework of how each individual works, processes ideas and concepts, handles problems and challenges, or how each member views and gauges success (C. Wilson, 2007, p.124). Not only so, it also is an important tool for each member because everyone is given an idea of how his/her fellow worker prefers to be treated. For example, whenever the team conducts a meeting, it is expected that the more dominant personalities, such as the extroverts will be more vocal and assertive in making their thoughts and ideas heard. Now, because introverts are more reflective, they tend to take more time in processing information. It is possible, then that their silence will be misinterpreted as lack of enthusiasm or interest, which can lead to conflicts. Or, it is possible that an excellent idea from an introvert was not presented because he/she was not given time to present his/her view. For this purpose, the following is a breakdown of the Team Members’ personality Types based on a series of surveys and personality tests. This will help assess if the responsibilities given them fit their personality and preferences: Table 1: Personality Type based on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Team Member Responsibility Me Manager Dennis Sharp Administration/Logistics/ Procurement Barbie Sharp Accounting Carlson Mendoza Mechanical/Electrical Work Stephen Cortez Product design Cecile Leeds Business Marketing Ann Rogers Marketing/Customer Care Arthur Cardell Plant and store manager As for attitude, there are six members who are extraverted or outgoing (E). It means that these individuals enjoy dealing with people and can focus on relationships or the social aspect of the project such as facing stakeholders and leading team meetings. Four of the members are introverts (I). These quiet, reflective and inner-directed individuals prefer working alone or require a working atmosphere that is conducive for deep and concentrated thinking/planning. When it comes to function, four members are pragmatic and practical (S); they work best when the project is seen in concrete terms. On the other hand, six of members are intuitive (N) and love conceptualizing the big picture of the program. Seven of the members are thinking (T). They are logical and analytical in dealing with people and circumstances and work best when given tasks that require logical skills, in-depth analysis or research. Three of the members are people oriented or feeling (F). These are effective in handling responsibilities that involve nurturing, support and customer management. Finally, as for lifestyle, six members are judging (J) or orderly, structured and time conscious. On the other hand, four members belong to the perceiving (P) group, which are mostly flexible and spontaneous in their actions and way of life. It is clear, then, that the team’s overall personality is ENTJ. This means that the team is generally equipped to handle situations that require decisive actions towards a clear goal. Moreover, this ENTJ team generally has the capability to see good prospects/possibilities for the business and gear the other members towards the said objective/s. Revised timeline and task Works cited Acklin, Claudia. Design-driven innovation process model. Design Management Journal, 2010. Cai, Jun. An evaluation of the positional forces affecting design strategy. Design Management Journal, 2008. Chiva, Ricardo, & Joaquín Alegre. Investment in design and firm performance: the mediating role of design management. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2009. de Mozota. Design management: using design to build brand value and corporate innovation. 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