The Problem

A large manufacture of office furniture and equipment was attempting to develop a new product fraught with undesirable conditions, including a catastrophic failure during product validation.  The original design consisted of approximately 66 components or sub-assemblies and had a complexity level that required factory assembly.  The product, as shipped, would have consumed approximately 20 cubic feet of shipping container volume and only achieved a packaging density of less than 20%.

The Task

To salvage the product by meeting validation requirements and cost targets while maintaining the styling requests of the industrial designer. Additionally, the project needed to be completed before the product’s intended debut at a major industry trade show.

The Solution

Redesigned the assembly and reduced the component count by more than 48% while maintaining overall cost targets. The company successfully completed product validation on the first execution, and testing was halted after exceeding 200% of the performance requirements with little or no deformation or degradation observed.  The new configuration reduced the shipping container volume requirements by 84% and increased packaging density to 90%.  Finally, as a result of reducing the complexity of the assembly and eliminating most of the near impossible assembly tolerances, the product could be shipped in a knock-down state for field assembly by installers/consumers and in turn reduced the clients direct labor by 87%.

The project was completed in 8 months, and the product successfully debuted at the industry trade show with the balance of the other products in the offering.  As a result of some very unique elements of the redesigned system, the client was also granted a patent affording them a compelling competitive advantage in the market.