Technology, Productivity and Change Management, Coursework Example

My company is being set up to produce custom shop electric guitars and sell them in a local outlet.

Product Characteristics

• The guitar must sound good.
• The sound must be adapted for a particular music style (heavy metal, jazz etc.)
• The material must be top quality wood.
• The guitar must be stylish.
• The guitar must be ergonomic.
• The surface finish and pattern, if any, must be chosen by a customer from a wide range.

Target

In the year 2010 we aim to produce 20 custom handmade guitars a month.

Basic Technical Characteristics

Gathering customer needs as an element of QFD involved for us direct interviewing of ten leading local rock musicians and the analysis of a local guitar player forum where we posted a questionnaire. The results are summarized as follows in order of priority:

1. Our guitars must be replicas of famous, more expensive or less available instruments without a copyrighted logo.
2. Our guitars must stand out for original features, which can be the number of strings, the shape of the body etc.
3. Our company must ensure the guitars are for the most part handmade. It will allow our guitars to compete with those mass-produced successfully.
4. Only expensive types of wood dried naturally can be our material.
5. We should make use of brand-name pick-ups, frets, nuts etc.

In regards to the company itself, it is important that we develop a comprehensive order form. In addition, many customers would value a chance to discuss their dream instrument with our expert to ensure a personal touch in manufacturing. Finally, it is essential that we have a number of completed instruments that would work as our portfolio from the onset.

WBS

The limits of the current project include setting up a workshop and working till establishing a steady flow of orders and production.

The preparation stage includes an investment into renting a workshop and renting or buying the necessary machinery as well as materials for the first batch of five guitars which will make up our portfolio. A team of three workers including myself is gathered and responsibilities are delegated. Simultaneously we explore market need and develop product concept. The company is advertised at the same time in local rock clubs and recording studios as well as online on local guitar player forums. At this stage we do not provide shipping, so it would be unreasonable to advertise nationwide or globally.

Guitar manufacturing can be broken down into designing and production. Designing includes a study of famous models and copying them or making an ingenious combination of elements taking into account QFD. Production consists of guitar body manufacturing, neck assembly, tuner assembly, bridge assembly, pickguard assembly, electronic circuit installation, output jack assembly, tremolo arm assembly, and total assembly, the latter implying successive attaching of corresponding elements. The body, neck and headstock are polished in a number of layers, which is why assembling is interspersed with periods of polishing and drying. After that, molded parts like pickup covers, volume and tone knobs, tremolo and pickup switch knobs, neck plates and tremolo cover plates are injected. On completing the instrument, quality assurance operations are performed.

Orders are received using an electronic or printed form and the production of ordered instruments starts. Ours is a make-to-order production system. Overall, our project starting from market exploration and proceeding to actual filling of orders is expected to last three months from June to August 2010.

Resource Graph

The project requires several groups of resources. The first group is people. It includes a team of three workers one or two of whom also perform designer’s and manager’s functions at this early stage of developing our business. The second group is equipment and it comprises electric drills, bandsaws, sanding machine, elbows, routers etc. The third group is material. It includes wood and accessories. We also need a rented workshop available. But first of all an initial investment comes, which we presume available from the onset.

Product Layout

Since the concept of our product implies an emphasis on manual work, it is impossible for now to speak about any assembly line. The first and second groups of resources (people and equipment) should be available in the workshop when necessary raw materials and accessories arrive to be processed with time into end product. We need to have special room for storing materials and special place for drying instruments. Also, each worker should be provided with necessary workspace and tools. To avoid transporting, we could later organize a small outlet in another room on the premises where our sample batch of guitars will be on display.

Flow Chart

Production Tax and Productivity

The effective tax rate for our small business sole proprietorship is going to be about 13.3 percent at the early stage till our receipts reach $25,000. The employer will also have to pay employment taxes for two workers.

We plan our productivity to amount to 16-18 instruments per month.

Inspections and Quality Controls

The aspects to control will be the choice of wood and the quality of gluing, assembling, sanding and polishing. All pick-ups are checked for most effective combination with wood in terms of sound.

The Prototype of a Product