Learning Launch

Challenge

I work in the engineering department of my organisation, we are responsible for the design of new  equipment that conforms to our clients particular specifications as well as complying with strict  European regulations. These constraints leave little room for innovation.

My current project involves designing a new version of an existing piece of equipment we have, which  our competitor already has on the market. This means that having a competitive product of our own  manufacture available ASAP is critical to ensure that we get our market share. Our main manufacturing  facility is not in an English speaking country and is in a time zone 7 hours off our own, so interacting  can be a challenge.

Selection

I have selected the Learning Launch Tool (video 3 by Leon Kohl in week 4) as it fits well into our  organisation. We need to work quickly to keep ahead of our competitor, this means we have a limited  period for prototyping and field testing before a product is rolled out. Involving all stakeholders and  obtaining and working with facts is essential which is the core of the Learning Launch Tool.

Application

The small team I have selected includes a representative from manufacturing, marketing, warranty  and customer service agents. These departments are involved from product manufacture up to end- of-life.

Our first learning launch focused on comparing the client specifications to our existing product, we  needed to see if our current product (which had already proven itself) could be converted for the  required application. This exercise made it clear that we needed to come up with a new concept, while  retaining components which have proved to outperform and outlast those of our competitor. All  departments were tasked with fact-finding missions:

Manufacturing investigated mechanical and electrical challenges encountered during the  assembly process, we hoped that this would enable us to eliminate assembly errors and  streamline the manufacture process.

Marketing was tasked with contacting a sample group of end users in various countries, this  would enable us to identify issues that users encountered related to the use and cleaning of  the equipment under various operating conditions.

The warranty department investigated warranty claims on our existing product to identify  things like common component failures and frequency of any common failures.

Customer service contacted field service agents so that we could get insight into challenges  faced on our existing product. This would include the ease of installation and servicing after  equipment is installed in the field.

Our second learning launch was held after all data was collated. Using mind-mapping we identified  both weaknesses and strengths in our existing product and assembly drawings. Focusing on the  strengths, we sketched up a radically new prototype design which would reduce assembly time, make  all serviceable components easier to access and possibly improve energy efficiency. Few weaknesses  remained after this, those that did could be dealt with by minor mechanical modifications or  component upgrades.

Insight

Involving all departments and utilising the Learning Launch Tool, allowed the engineering department  to identify and improve on weaknesses in our current product. By addressing these, with some  solutions as simple as changing the orientation of a component, I believe that we can greatly improve  the quality and reliability of our future products which is crucial for our clients and our business.

All departments appreciated being involved in the design process, with some unexpected ideas and  insight from various departments. Instead of just being told what needed to be done, being involved  in the process also made my colleagues feel proud with what we have achieved.

Approach

I believe that the Learning Launch Tool is ideal for our organisation considering our schedule from  design to roll-out. We cannot work with assumptions as our equipment needs to pass testing by our  clients, if we can’t base designs on facts our roll-outs would be delayed which would impact the overall  profitability of the business.

What I would change next time is to involve engineering and manufacturing colleagues from our main  manufacturing facility. This could allow us to explore more design and assembly improvements, and  will give them more insight into the use and maintenance requirements of our equipment which they  are normally not privy to.

