Customer and Market Requirements, Material, Cost and Implications of Manufacturing - Coursework Example

Design Introduction The focus of this product design is the design of an innovative system that facilitates stowage and removal of an unoccupied electric mobility scooter into the boot of a hatchback passenger vehicle. Such a system should have the ability to deliver its services with minimal physical interaction with the user because the customer has limited strength and mobility (Price & Kirkwood 2014). The system should also be effective in ensuring that the safety of the vehicle is sustained while in transit. The design focuses on using the product features as the concept selection, which will contribute in the achievement of the desired system that will contribute in the attainment of success. These product features will aid in the production of an innovative system that is marketable in different regions in the world at a cost price of $ 60 per single unit. However, the production process will involve the release of several units at a time, which will aid in ensuring that the market demand is satisfied successfully. Ethical issues In the process of engineering design, ethical issues are critical in the operationalisation of the engineering system. As such, trade-offs in the design criteria should support sustainability and safety of the system (SUTTON et al. 2014). Such calls for the use of norms of the internal design team. A normal design process entails adherence to the established regulative framework. Such a framework includes national and European standards, codes and regulations. It is the regulative framework that offers trade-offs guidelines and operationalisations. However, ethical issues emerge in the regulative framework because it includes some ambiguous and inconsistent parts. Furthermore, all the actors may not accept the established regulative framework (SUTTON et al. 2014). Hence, the design process works on the basis of engineering making radical and normal designs. The innovative system should be sustainable. As such, the system should not have negative effects to the environment, users or the vehicle in which it is fixed. The system should also reduce on the level of energy consumption and focus on utilizing green energy. Further, such a system has to be able to deliver the best results in terms being environmentally friendly to all persons. It is great interest that the system has to ensure safety of the users and the vehicle. There should be no injuries or harm that the system causes to its users. Such is achievable when the design process of the innovative system focuses on being compliant with all legal and ethical regulations (Price & Kirkwood 2014). Moreover, individuals involved in the design process of the innovative system have to be persons of higher integrity and who can easily observe the law as it is expected. These individuals have to focus on the design of the system such that they contribute towards building their professional reputation from the success of the establishment and the development of the system (Durugbo 2014). Such entails having a public responsibility of delivering an acceptable system, as well as satisfying the needs of the client based on the client specifications and requirements. Risk is an ethical issue, which the innovate system has to avoid. As such, it is good for the system to support the well-being of the end users and not being a source risk to their locomotion. Such includes having an effective means of loading the scooter to the vehicle and offloading. The compliance has to have basis on adherence to regulations, laws and engineering principles of system design (Price & Kirkwood 2014). Such is achievable by gathering reports from different categories of persons that include ergonomics reports, environmental reports and energy use reports. Additional reports have to focus on safety and health of the persons that will be using the system (SUTTON et al. 2014). Such includes environmental protection and improvement strategies reports on the system use to the vehicle. Product functionality FAST Figure 1: FAST diagram for the system (a word generated diagram) As indicated in the above diagram, the innovative system has the role of loading the scooter, moving the scooter (by lifting or lowering to or from the boot of the vehicle) and then releasing the scooter (Price & Kirkwood 2014). The innovative system has the functions of: 1. Loading the scooter on its platform 2. Detecting on whether to lower or lift the scoter from the boot or to the ground 3. Moving the scooter and its load 4. Ensuring safety and health of users and the vehicle 5. Controlling the speed of scooter movement Mechanical loading The innovative system has a platform that permits the scooter to move on its surface. As such, the wheels of the scooter are clamped on the ends of the system, which then uses the motor to drive the scooter to the boot of the vehicle in folding mechanism. A direct link exist between the system and the driving motor to ensure that once the scooter is placed on the surface, the system lifts the scooter upwards and folds inwardly to ensure that the scooter remains in the boot of the vehicle (SUTTON et al. 2014). Hence, the system has to hold the entire load of the scooter and other items, which may be attached to the scooter in the process of moving it inside the boot of the vehicle. Customer and market requirements Customers In comprehending a problem in design, it is vital to engage in the process of translating requirements of the customers to technical descriptions of the expectations of the design. As such, the customers of the innovate system are the mobility aid user, mobility aid manufacturers, vehicle operator, innovative system maintenance personnel and managers of the system (Price & Kirkwood 2014). All these types of customers have to be represented in the design process of the innovative system to allow scooter movement. Customer requirements Customers desire is to have an innovate system, which creates an effective opportunity for the removal and stowage of an unoccupied electric mobility scooter. This scooter is in the boot of the hatchback of the passenger vehicle. Further, the customers want a system that will not demand utilization of a lot of energy from them because they are not all that strong. Hence, physical interaction of the customers and the scooter has to be minimized by the innovative system (SUTTON et al. 2014). The system should be sustainable and easy to maintain for the customers to use it effectively. This entails having the highest level of efficiency without any possibilities of the breakdown during the usage time by the customer. The innovative system should also ensure that is safe for human operation and whilst driving. Thus, there are no instances of the system being in a situation of causing an accident, which may harm the users. Customers should also face minimal challenges when operating or using the system. In addition, the system has to be affordable to customers. Nevertheless, the system has to be sturdy and not fragile. Market requirements Market requirements involve the availability of the innovative system and sales volume. As such, the innovative system has to be available in the market when needed by customers. Such includes the ability of the system to have different sizes, which have different prices based on the hatchback and type of the vehicle. This is essential because vehicle hatchbacks are not the same in all models (Nicholl et al 2013). Further, the market needs to have a system, which is able to match perfectly with the existing market forces of demand and supply. Such a product should be sustainable and not replicated easily to ensure that its net worth and value in the market remains significant at all times. Product design specification Performance: To be able to load and offload the scooter from the boot of a vehicle without the use of much force or effort by the user. For use in all load conditions of the scooter. Ensures health and safety of the user and the vehicle. Should have a forward, reverse, stop and inch facility. Should have a manual device for braking control in the cases of power failure (Price & Kirkwood 2014). Size: To have a length of 0.5 m and width of 0.5 m as the holding surface of the scooter. Maintenance: Minimal (cleaning allowed) Cost: Manufacturing cost plus $ 100 Finish: Resistant to corrosion for adaptability to all possible environments of use. Weight: Two kilograms maximum Quantity: Batches of 1000-5000 for both international and domestic markets Politics: Not applicable Aesthetics: Should depict an image of compactness, reliability and robustness Product life: At least 100 years Customer: Vehicle owners and personal drivers Reliability: Maximum 2 % rate of failure over service life. Materials: Durable, strong and light-weight, which cannot be damaged by excessive loading or impact Safety: Should have smooth edges without sharp projections. Should not injure the user or damage the scooter. Environment: For use in all temperature ranges between -20oC to 100oC. Have a higher resistance to wind, water, dust, salt, gasoline, oil, ice and common solvents. Shelf life: Five years Standards: To be checked Processes: Batch production Packing: Standard boxes with adherence to the ISO standards (SUTTON et al. 2014) Time-Scale: Production to use one month from the date of specification Competition: To be analyzed. Patents: To be checked Company constraints: None at this stage Market: All over the world, but trends to be analyzed Testing: Prototypes have to be proven that they achieve the PDS Manufacturing facility: Suitable capacity with all appropriate tools and equipment. Ergonomics: Convenient for handling, storage set up and dismantles by one person with less effort. 5 concepts Product features The established innovative system is affordable to the customers. As such, customers will be able to access the product all over the world because it can easily be marketed in all regions. The aesthetic value of the product in terms of color, shape and size is attractive to customers, which will contribute in the influencing of the buying decisions that customers will have towards the product (SUTTON et al. 2014). The innovate system has higher safety to the customers because it does not have projecting surfaces, which may injure the users, the boot of the vehicle or the scooter equipment that has to be moved in and out of the boot. Market The innovative system has a wide market. Such is because the need of such a system exists in the beyond the local market to the international market where individuals aim at having such a system to aid in the movement of the scooter from the boot to the ground and from the ground to the boot of the vehicle (Nicholl et al 2013). The introductory price of the product is also competitive, which creates value for the potential market segment. Functional The innovative system has the role of helping in the movement of the scooter into the boot of the vehicle and from the boot of the vehicle. This creates a need to have a link mechanism, which smoothes the process of movement into and from the boot of the vehicle (Fletcher-Watson 2015). Considering that the innovative system is electronically controlled, it becomes easier to regulate the forward and backward movement to ensure that effective carriage of the scooter occurs. Such includes having a pathway and clamp mechanism to ensure that the scooter remains fixed on the surface of the platform to avoid undue movement during transit. Design work The design work aims at taking into consideration of the common size of the boot of the vehicle. As such, the design aims at ensuring that the innovative system is able to execute its expected roles in an effective manner. Such results in the achievement of the desired outcomes. Further, the design will ensure that strong and durable materials are used in the construction process of the system (Durugbo 2014). Such aids in ensuring that impact forces and excessive loading does not destroy the surface of the system. Furthermore, these materials should be adaptable to the environmental conditions in different regions, as well as being free of corrosion. This makes it easy to ensure that the innovative system can be easily used in different geographical regions in the world. Package The package of the innovative system is that it creates value for money because it is stored in cartons, which are priced at $ 100. Thus, individuals will feel that the introductory price of the product is pocket friendly and this will compel them to purchase the product (Durugbo 2014). In addition, the use of the package will support ease of use and effective disposal at the required time to all users. Moreover, the package is portable to enable different users to move the product from one location to another and achieve the desired success level. Concept selection The selection of the design concept for the innovative system design is based on the end user needs. As such, product features are given the highest priority to ensure that they meet the needs of customers. Hence, a structured means of concept selection is adopted. In this case, the pros and cons of each concept are weighed, prototype and test considerations taken, and a decision matrices used (Nicholl et al 2013). Such results in the identification of the concept, which is focused on customers, has a competitive design, effective product-process coordination, quality decision-making, reduced product introduction time and better documentation process. Such gives an opportunity for concept screening and scoring, which results in the selection of the product features as the concept for use in this design. Material, cost and implications of manufacturing Material The innovative system is to be designed from materials that are durable and or less weight. These materials should also offer the essential strength and stiffness to ensure that the system is able to deliver its services of moving the scooter. Based on this, the designed product will create value to customers because it will be of less weight, but strong at the same time, which will ensure that success is achieved in the delivery of the desired services to the customers (Durugbo 2014). The material selection will also ensure that customers do not feel like they have a big load to move. Instead, customers will appreciate the system and feel that they have value for their money from the work done to produce the system and the services, which the system is providing to them. Cost The cost of the manufacturing based on the given product features concept is that of process costing. As such, the entire production cost is taken and placed in homogenous units and the results divided using a continuous process cost that entails several departments or steps. Factory overhead, labor and material offer a significant cost related to the work that is process (Nicholl et al 2013). Thus, the factory overhead cost is estimated at $ 10, labor $ 15, material $ 20 and process cost $ 15 for a single unit. Hence, the entire production cost for a single unit is estimated at $ 60. Therefore, making an introductory sale over of $ 100 is good for the product to capture an effective market in the competitive market environment. Implications The implication of using product features concept is that the bill of material costs is reduced as there are minimal parts that need inspection and receiving. The inventory system is improved with better handling and storage facilities. Further, the manufacturing process of the product consumes less energy and labor while maintaining higher quality and less complexity (Durugbo 2014). The product also gets into the hands of customers faster and has simpler assembly instructions, which makes it easier for customers from different geographical locations to purchase and use it without major challenges. Furthermore, the product will result in the attainment of a higher profit margin for the manufacturer as the consumer gets it at an affordable price. In addition, the designed product will have the ability of meeting the key objective of delivering the services, which the customer expects the innovative system to offer. Such will result in the attainment of higher satisfaction level for the customer from the established design work. Conclusion In conclusion, the design work of a system that is able to move the scooter is not an easy task. Such is because one has to take into consideration the safety, compliance and sustainability elements of such a system (Durugbo 2014). Further, the system should have the ability of delivering its desired services to the users without any form of failure mode. These are the key ideas that led to the formulation of the above design work, which is based on the initial client specifications of a product (innovative system), which aids in stowage and removal of an unoccupied electric mobility scooter into the boot of a hatchback passenger vehicle (Nicholl et al 2013). Such includes taking into consideration that the end user of the system has limited mobility and strength, which indicates that room for physical interaction with the process and stowage system is limited. Bibliography Durugbo, C 2014, Managing industrial service co-design: identifying challenges from technology firms, Service Industries Journal, 34, 4, pp. 314-334, Hospitality & Tourism Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 June 2015. Fletcher-Watson, S 2015, Evidence-based technology design and commercialisation: Recommendations derived from research in education and autism, Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 59, 1, pp. 84-88, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 June 2015. Nicholl, B, Flutter, J, Hosking, I, & Clarkson, P 2013, Joining up the DOTs: authentic teaching and learning in Design and Technology education, Cambridge Journal Of Education, 43, 4, pp. 435-450, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 June 2015. Price, L, & Kirkwood, A 2014, Informed design of educational technology for teaching and learning? Towards an evidence-informed model of good practice, Technology, Pedagogy & Education, 23, 3, pp. 325-347, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 June 2015. SUTTON, K, GRUBBS, M, & ERNST, J 2014, designing under constraints: CELL PHONE CASE DESIGN CHALLENGE, Technology & Engineering Teacher, 74, 2, pp. 12-17, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 June 2015. Read More