Are your products held back by the difficulty and expense of manufacturing them?
Or perhaps you have products on the drawing board that seem destined not to become a reality, because of manufacturing issues? Careful re-evaluation of your design process can transform existing or planned products into commercial successes.
Oldham-based Money Controls manufactures coin and bill systems commonly found in amusement arcades and car parks. With a huge range of product variants, incorporating around 45,000 different part numbers, the company had unwittingly built inefficiencies into the business. Recognising that a change was needed it instigated an improvement campaign and turned to the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) North West for help. Money Controls needed to replace an existing coin sorter, which was losing market share. Designs for an alternative – the Hopper – already existed but had not gone into production because of high manufacturing costs. The challenge was to make the design more cost effective without losing any of its quality, reliability or customer appeal.
MAS set up a value analysis workshop to look at the way the company designs its products. MAS new product development practitioner Peter Gerrard explains: 'The key issue when re-evaluating a design is to remember that simply removing cost can be perilous, as this might result in unwittingly removing functions that the customer appreciates. With value analysis, the emphasis is on looking at the product from the customer’s perspective to capture the most valued product features, and identify opportunities to provide better value at minimum manufactured cost.'
Focusing on the Hopper, a team from across the business brainstormed over 100 possible opportunities for savings, of which six were taken forward for detailed analysis. These six ideas alone showed that the product’s manufacturing costs could be cut by 10 percent, making the new product viable and giving Money Controls the green light to start producing its next generation coin sorter. The company is set to cash in on a global market, which is expected to generate £1.5 million worth of sales for the business next year.
The company is now using value analysis techniques to re-examine many of its other product ranges and this is paying impressive dividends. On one product line alone, Money Controls stands to save nearly £130,000 per year.
'We have not only created a platform for change in both manufacturing and new product development, but we are seeing significant improvements in both processes,' says Money Controls manufacturing director Ken Collett. 'While much of this has been managed internally, the help and guidance provided by MAS’s professional and skilled consultants has been an essential element in our success.'
The DTI launched the Manufacturing Advisory Service in England and Wales to help manufacturers become more globally competitive by improving processes, reducing costs and boosting innovation. Under MAS every manufacturer is entitled to a fully funded diagnostic visit from a process improvement practitioner each calendar year. So why not take them up on the offer and see how they could help your business?