The first step that the group took
towards generating the concept of this project was to review the design project
scope. The company sent the group a
sheet that had comprised on it a scope, background of the company and how the
problem relates to productivity, and what is expected of the group by the end of
the spring semester. Each member of
the team reviewed the information and signed a form stating that they had done
so.
To further insure that we had a
good idea of what the customer needed, a meeting via telephone was arranged
between our group, another group also working with the company, and the managers
from two plants that will be visited that will need this product that the
students will design. The meeting
lasted roughly 45 minutes, and topics that were discussed included a review of
the problem statement and segment devoted to questions and answers from both the
students and managers.
The final step involved arranging meeting times within the group and brainstorming on ideas for ways to lift these packages up safely, quickly, and maintaining them in this position until they are moved for transport, via the design of the other group of students. After brainstorming, a morphological chart was formed that included all of the different types of designs that were thought of. These included designs that were compared to products that were already on the market. Here is the chart that was formed: