4 pages total due Monday evening PST

Proposal Draft

Summary

I considered starting a production line for new cell phones. But the problem in introducing new cell phone is the current market for cell phones. There are too many companies already making different types of cell phone with maximum possible features. We already know the top sellers are Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc. Apart from these top brands there are too many other brands available in the market which is cheap and efficient. In short the competition is too much and coming up with a new cell phone and establishing its place in the market is going to be very difficult. So we decided not to enter the phone market.   About 67% of the electricity generated in US is from fossil fuel (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), with 39% attributed from coal. Energy generated from solar energy is 0.23%. Luckily US is not facing any electricity cut-offs compared to developing countries. In all the developing countries almost all the companies as well as people on personal level use inverters for back-up when there is a power cut. Inverters are used in United States as well.

Introduction

We are going to start a production line of inverters working on solar energy. These inverters are attached to small solar panels which can produce energy up to 200-300 volts (minimum) depending upon their size. This is stored in the inverter and can be used during power cut-offs. All the computers and electric appliances are connected to normal power supply and these inverters are used as back-up. Our plan is to start producing this inverter and export them to developing countries. These can be sold in US as well. There are a few other companies already producing solar powered inverters. But the competition is comparatively less.   During peak summer days these inverters can be used to supply the entire electricity. This will save a lot of cost on the monthly electricity bills. And since electricity is a big problem in developing this product can prove to be a success on a global level.   We will be collaborating with Schneider on a big scale during this project. Since Honda can supply with all kinds of motors and frequency inverters we can use their supplies a lot. Apart from these 4 companies we will be collaborating with another company named Suntech which is a leading company in making photovoltaic cells. We will be buying the cells required for our solar panels from them.

Project Description

All the factors that affect the company’s growth are chosen in the CORA spreadsheet. A detail analysis was done to consider these factors. It also has solutions to the customer’s requirements. It gives an idea on how to make a successful strategic plan. It is important to consider all these factors since our company is new.   The priorities of each of the functional activities are ranked with Absolute Importance Rating (AIR) to give priority according to user requirements. Correlation values of 1 (Low), 3 (Medium) and 9 (High) are used by the team to prioritize the requirements. This function should be done in a team to allow better understanding and correct level of customer satisfaction required.  All requirements will be ranked depending on their importance from 1 to 5 (5 - the most important).   Critical Requirements :- (With Importance Rating) ·        Delivery of Products. (5) ·        Minimize waste by implementing green processes. (4) ·        Customer Service. (5) ·        High quality that meets current market demands. (5) ·        Latest and innovative technology. (5) ·        Customization of products. (4) ·        Structural reliability. (3) ·        Ergonomics.(3) ·        Low cost of manufacturing. (4) ·        Use of green energy sources. (5) ·        Raw material availability. (3) ·        Reduce carbon print and dependency on natural oil. (5)   Main Solution Process:- ·        CAD/CAM/CIM ·        Efficient design ·        Statistical process control ·        Flexible manufacturing ·        TQM and Quality control ·        Cost management ·        R&D ·        Quality and safety standards ·        Supply of services from collaborating companies ·        Implement distribution logistics ·        Optimum utilization ·        Sustainable green focus

Plan of Work

 Sustainable green focus should always be the top priority in savan. We already have better rating in green focus than our competitors. We are going to obtain maximum sustainability by implementing CE methods. This can be achieved by using maximum green resources. We are going to avoid printing as much as possible to save paper. The engineering solution with correlation “9” indicates that it is the most important and essential solution for the corresponding customer requirement. Engineering solutions which have a high correlation to the customer requirements are essential for the company in order to satisfy the customers and gain their goodwill. So it is very important to focus on such engineering solutions with high AIR value.   Process-related Failure Risk Analysis Method (PFRA) is used to identify and minimize potential risks or failures of processes in general. We generally never know which products can fail in any process. PFRA makes a detail analysis of various product failures which helps us to find solutions beforehand.      PFRA system developed for solar inverters will analyze 12 following processes:

1. Inspection of raw materials received

2. Inspection of circuits

3. Dimensions of all parts

4. Inspection of pipes and rods

5. Inspection of drilled holes

6. Inspection of Shafts

7. Solar panels

8. Inspection of Wiring

9. Inspection for Photovoltaic Cells

10. Inspection for rusting

11. Product packaging

12. Shipping / Storage

Intended Impact

Implementation of PLM / Digital Design and Manufacture leads to shorter lead time of products. It engages the resources early during the design phase to ensure errors are reduced. In addition it allows for iterative product changes and less rework and newer but similar products need to be developed. This is something Toyota has mastered and has shown for it to be profitable and results in high quality products.  Therefore although the current method works there is always a need to do it better because eventually companies will find it hard to meet the customer’s need.  When the reduction of waste and faster lead times are realized the ROI is favorable therefore the time and money invested is well worth it. Lastly, with the proper implementation plan and software choice existing files and projects can be transitioned over or may not need to be brought over depending on the company strategy.

Conclusion

Application of tools such as CIMpgr diagrams, CORA charts, Control Charts, and PFRA charts have been employed in the company's production processes. These techniques help reduce defects and "MANUFACTURE RIGHT AT THE FIRST ATTEMPT". Through Process modeling everyone in the company understands the processes that are followed during the manufacture of the product. The CORA method, helped improve the design of the service process by understanding and meeting the requirements of the customer. Lastly, the PFRA method was used to identify potential risk failures and process failures that could affect the product once it is released to end-users. By the implementation of all these techniques and technologies, the organization will continue to strive for new industrial standards and produce high quality products for total customer satisfaction. ​

Budget

Initial Investment = $20,000 The assembly line will be completed in 2 months. The production of the first batch will take at least 6 months. Then the marketing will start and sufficient number of inverters will be sold by the end of the year. It won’t generate any profit during the first year as the initial investment is high. But it will recover all the initial investment in the first year along with its running cost. Profits in first year - $0 Profits in second year - $ 100,000 Profits in third year - $150,000

The profit will go on increasing as the demand increases. This will happen over a period of time as the products get established in the market with good value. In order to achieve this we will be producing top quality products meeting our customer requirements.

Professor’s Comments:

Very good start. 

The most important part of a proposal is the summary which needs some work. What you have should be in an introduction.  The summary cannot be about what you were thinking about doing and decided not to.  Please check in the text for what should be in a summary (a brief discussion of what you are going to do, not why or the need for it.)

Put in a more detailed budget as if it were the real thing. Make up some costs for equipment or what ever you might need.  Pay yourself and an aide to keep track of data. Add a timeline in which you list what you will do each week or month of the summer. 

Be sure to give credit to any sites you took information from.

Add some graphics, a cover page and a table of contents for the final proposal.