egr104 8.28 Material Analysis for Seat coverings

Comfort Industries

Material Analysis for Seat coverings

Prepared for:

Vera Michaels, Manager of Materials

Joe Smedley, Vice President of Manufacturing

Carl Skinner, Chief Operating Officer

Prepared by:

Wilson Jones

Senior Consultant

Polytechnic Consulting

October 23, 20__

1. Deterioration
2. Conclusion
3. Introduction and Recommendation
4. Manufacturing Ease
5. Cost

Comfort Industries is a manufacturer a wide range of chairs and seats. The seats are used in cars, carts, boats, and industrial equipment such as tractors, backhoes, forklifts and other equipment.  This investigation involves the vinyl material for seats and seatbacks used in the equipment sector.  Many of these applications are for equipment in rugged situations such as outdoor use in a variety of climates.

Currently Comfort uses a material from is supplier Broadwell Plastics called MCD14b.  Recently Broadwell introduced a new material different from their current material, which is called MRP21.  They will continue to produce MCD14b. The introduction of the new material prompted an investigation of both Broadwell lines and a new material from Acme Products called Coverall in order to find the best material to achieve manufacturing and customer expectations.

Table 1. Product Summary

This investigation focused on three criteria:

Manufacturing ease

Deterioration

Cost

The results of the study show that a change to the new Broadwell material MRP21 would increase cost of materials yet improve ease of manufacturing as well as provide a longer lasting material in the field.  This change appears justified. The details of the tests follow.

The manufacturing ease of the materials involved handling the material and operation with cutting and sewing machines. If there are problems in the efficiency of the use of the material in production they could increase production time as well as cause problems with the amount of excess material and waste. The tests involved sample production of five units with each of the three materials.  Operators were then asked to rate the materials between 50 and 100 for handling characteristics when operating both cutting and sewing machines.

1. Current Material

The current material MCD14b from Broadwell provided the lowest score for handling with our current machines. The 75 score was the lowest of the compared materials. Improving this characteristic has many advantages.  It can speed up production.  It could improve the durability of the machines.  It could reduce the waste caused by difficult handling during operations.

1. New Material

The new Broadwell material, MRP21, provided an overall score of 90 for cutting and sewing handling which was a significant difference from the current product (See Figure 1).  The cutting and sewing handling characteristics showed a significant change from the current material. The 75 rating of MCD14b was dramatically different than the 90 rating of the new material from Broadwell.

Figure 1.  New material is superior for cutting and sewing machines.

1. Coverall

Acme Coverall had a score of 80 for cutting and sewing machines.  Although this is greater than the current material, it is still significantly more difficult to use than the new material from Broadwell.

Concurrent with testing the manufacturing ease and handling for cutting and sewing, laboratory tests were conducted  to simulate the deterioration the material in given weather conditions.  The laboratory tests using the hot and cold testing chambers at Environ Laboratories were able to condense the amount of time for testing from the real time of months and years to two weeks.  With these results the amount of months could be estimated to determine when cracks, bubbles, or discolorations would occur in the seat cover materials.  Environ Laboratories was able to provide a range of months of environmental deterioration for each of the products.

1. Current Broadwell

Laboratory tests for the current Broadwell material MCD14b showed that in the different conditions the average amount of time before deterioration will be between 16-18 months.  MCD14b provides the least time before deterioration in the conditions given. Figure 3 includes the material comparisons.

Figure 3.  Coverall significantly improves deterioration time.

1. New Material

Material MRP21 gave an estimated time of deterioration of 23-24 months.  This was between the other two materials still providing an improvement over the current Broadwell material.  This additional time before deterioration would be a benefit to the customer.

1. Coverall

Acme material coverall was the best in resisting deterioration showing a time before deterioration of 28-30 months.  This was a strong attribute of the material.  The material significantly surpasses the current material by almost a full year.

It is important to consider the cost of the materials for Comfort’s seats. Specific financial projections for the costs will need to be completed considering waste, product configurations, and projected production schedule for the coming year. Because the company uses two to five square yards for each seat and seatback, and with production of equipment seats approximately  150,000 seats per  year, cost is a critical factor when considering the materials.  This will have to be balanced by the ease of manufacture and the projected waste. The three alternatives were compared here with simple cost per yard.

1. Current Broadwell

Our material at this time is was the material that was the material also is currently purchased at a price of $10 per yard.  Compared to the other materials this is about $3 to $4 dollars cheaper per yard. (Figure 3).

1. New Material

The new line of Broadwell is priced  slightly higher than the current material in use.  It is $13 per square yard which is an increase from the current material of $3.  This cost will have to be analyzed more specifically considering the production schedule.

1. Coverall

Coverall is the most costly of the materials at $14 per square yard. It can be a significant increase our cost of goods in order to manufacture our products.  .  This additional cost must be considered with the other factors.

Figure 3. Coverall is a significant cost increase.

The result of the investigation is to recommend a change to the new Broadwell Plastics material, MRP21.  The summary of the test results supporting the recommendation is in Table 2.

Table 2.  Results Summary

On balance the new material from Broadwell Plastics offers improvement in manufacture and wear which can, following further analysis, cover the increased cost. It improves manufacturing ease and extends the life of the seats with a delay in environmental deterioration. The improved manufacturing operations can reduce the waste cost.  The improvement in deterioration can reduce the costs of warranty replacement. Further financial analysis and tradeoffs will be necessary for a final decision.  This report provides justification for that analysis. The new material by Broadwell seems worth the change. Additional questions can be directed to:

Wilson Jones, Senior Consultant

Polytechnic Consultants

454  West Yucca Road

Mesa, AZ 85606

480-234-5678

WJones@Techcon.com