Crisis Management
Crisis Management
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"Prevent a potential large order stoppage"
"Prevent a potential large order stoppage"
Role: Mechanical Engineering Project Lead
Team: Commodity managers, production planning managers, product managers, mechanical engineers, associate project managers, outsource manufacturing suppliers, quality assurance engineers, manufacturing managers, supervisors, and machinist.
Timeline: Nov - Dec 2024
Tools used: Inventor, Agile, AX, Powerpoint, online force beam calculator, tolerance analysis spreadsheet
1. The Challenge
The director of test engineering approached me to resolve an issue that had major financial implications. A replacement part was needed to complete a large customer order for the Eclipse Median Frame system. The original part was no longer in production and the order needed to ship before the winter holiday break.
2. My Approach
I led the activities to define the objects, develop a schedule, and create a plan to meet the request.
Week 1 - 2: Compile current status of situation including inventory, delivery schedules, and other work completed at this point. Then developed a schedule to deliver a solution within 6 weeks including allocation for Thanksgiving holiday. Next, met with engineers and stakeholders to brainstorm solutions and decide on a direction.
Week 3 - 4: Ordered samples with purchasing support, hand built prototypes, and run testing to verify form, fit, and function. Reviewed prototype samples with product management for approval. Communicated to stakeholders of product management decision to approve solution.
Week 5 - 6: Revised 2D and 3D files. Ordered raw material from vendor. Instructed internal machinist operator to product parts per mechanical drawings. Delivered parts to quality assurance for review and approval. Then parts shipped to outsourced manufacturing partner to assemble sub-assemblies. Next, sub-assemblies delivered to HME for final assemble into the Eclipse Median Frame system and shipped to customer.
3. Collaboration
This was the largest collaboration effort I experienced with a new team and everyone acted professionally to meet the objectives. I worked daily with commodity managers and purchasing to share information and decide on next steps. When the director of product management had issues with the solution, I discussed the issue with my manager and he resolved the issue with the product manager so that I could focus on the project.
When I needed an internal resource from the manufacturing department, I reached out to the manufacturing senior manager for support. After a quick briefing, he was on board to support whatever I needed to complete the project.
4. The Result
The project was successfully completed just days before the winter holiday break. The outsourced manufacturing supplier delivered sub-assemblies to HME in time to assemble the full frame assembly and ship out to the customer. The order was for mutiple Eclipse Median Frame systems costing in the tens of thousands of USD per unit. All were delivered on time.
5. Engineering Work
Problem: An alternate raw material was an option as a replacement. It matched the color and tint as the original production material however, it was twice the thickness value.
Task: I needed to calculate the force required to press the original production part into the assembly and compare it to the force required to press in a part that had twice the thickness. Will the force of the thicker material impact how the operators assemble it? What are the risks of using a thicker material versus the original material? These are the questions I needed to answer to verify if the thicker material was a viable alternative.
Action: I used an online force beam calculator to determine the forces required to assemble the part into place.
Result: The thicker material required a force 10x greater versus the original material thickness. The protosamples also confirmed the greater force was too difficult for assembly per the manufacturing supplier. This thicker material was not selected as an alternative option. The final solution was a material with same physical dimensions but with a slightly different tint color.
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