Means Engineering, Inc.

Product development engineering in medical, industrial, semiconductor equipment & military with a standard of excellence in form, function and design.

(760) 931-9452 | info@meanseng.com
5927 Geiger Court, Carlsbad, CA 92008-7305

Best Practices for New Product Introductions

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Companies today must continually release new products to keep up with consumer demand. This can be difficult when you have distributed teams working with external suppliers. Slip ups are common. Unfortunately, one mistake can create numerous problems for your business. It’s important to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to new product introductions.

What is NPI?

New Product Introduction (NPI) includes all of the processes and activities involved with the design, development, and launch of a new or improved product.

New product introduction (NPI) processes affect every part of production from concept through competition. It’s crucial that companies review and refine these processes to ensure smooth and efficient product development and introduction.

Importance of NPI Best Practices

Around 80% of new products fail. This is an unsettling statistic for any company responsible for the design and creation of new products. Fortunately, there are some NPI best practices that can improve your chances of success. These processes revolve around understanding the consumer, clear communication, and ensuring high quality design and development.

Customer-Focused Approach

The creation of every product begins with design and innovation. During the design process, companies should consider the needs of the consumer. For best results, figure out how your product can solve a problem or relieve a pain point for the customer.

Taking a customer-focused approach to the design process improves the odds of success exponentially. Talking to existing and potential customers provides a unique opportunity to learn what’s needed and what’s important. Performing market research helps define product requirements.

Communication is Key

Clear communication is key to the successful design and creation of new products. This is especially true when working with an external partner. Everyone should know what is expected and what’s going on.

Quality and Consistency

It doesn’t matter how well a company knows the needs of their consumers or how well they communicate these needs with their suppliers if they don’t have the processes in place to ensure the quality and consistency of each product produced.

Utilizing the help of an experienced contract manufacturer ensures the production of high quality products. Partnering with a CM early in the process helps improve design. The right contract manufacturer tests every component throughout the production process. This helps catch issues early, when they’re easier to fix.

Means Engineering provides a wide range of contract manufacturing services. Please contact us to learn how we can assist with New Product Introductions.

 

 

 

Wastes of Lean Manufacturing

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In the manufacturing industry, waste refers to any action or step that does not add value to the customer. These are all of the little extras within a process that the customer does not want to pay for. The goal of lean manufacturing is to remove waste from the manufacturing process.

Taiichi Ohno, father of the Toyota Production System (TPS) identified the original seven wastes of manufacturing. An eighth waste was added in the 1990s when TPS was adopted by the western world. The 8 wastes of lean manufacturing include:

  • Transportation
  • Inventory
  • Motion
  • Waiting
  • Over-production
  • Over-processing
  • Defects
  • Skills

It’s important that manufacturers learn all they can about wastes in the manufacturing process.

Transportation

Waste in transportation occurs when people, tools, inventory, equipment, or products must be moved further than reasonably necessary. Manufacturers can eliminate transportation waste by ensuring workers have everything they need to complete each project close at hand. This includes, but is not limited to, all necessary people, equipment, tools, and materials.

Inventory

Excessive inventory can cause problems for manufacturers. Having too much inventory can lead to damaged materials, greater lead times, and inefficient allocation of capital. Problems such as over-purchasing and over-production often result in extra inventory. In order to combat waste, manufacturers should purchase raw materials only when they need them, reduce buffers between production steps, and create a queue system to prevent over-production.

Motion

Waste in motion includes any extra movement required to complete a task. This includes having to walk to fetch tools or materials and spending excessive amounts of time searching through inventory. Keeping work spaces organized, materials close at hand, and reducing inventory can help eliminate waste caused by motion.

Waiting

Waste occurs when staff must wait for materials or equipment, email responses, and computer programs to load. Using standardized work instructions and utilizing multi-skilled workers who are better equipped to adjust to changing demands is the best way to eliminate waste caused by waiting.

Over-Production

Producing more products than required can create a lot of waste. Manufacturers should take care to only produce as many products as required.

Over-Processing

Over-processing occurs when staff performs more steps or adds more components than required to complete the project. Before starting any project, its important staff fully understands what the customer wants. This sets the standard for what needs to be done.

Defects

An obvious cause of waste, defects require scrapping and reworking of products. The best way to prevent waste caused by defects is to fully test all components throughout production.

Skills

Although not part of the original seven wastes, most manufacturers recognize the waste caused by not utilizing employee skills and talents. Manufacturers can prevent waste by allowing staff members to provide input and throughout the manufacturing process.

 

Creating Complex Devices for Aerospace and Defense Industries

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When it comes to the creation of electronic devices, the Aerospace and Defense industries have some of the strictest requirements in the world. Devices created for these industries are often extremely complex and include several features. Aerospace and Defense products must handle a number of mission critical operations. Aerospace products keep air travel safe and reliable. Products for the Defense industry protect the men and women that defend our country and enable the detection and prevention of threats. The proper operation of these products is crucial to the success of these industries and the safety of every American.

Partnering With a Qualified Contract Manufacturer

Partnering with the right contract manufacturer can help ensure the quality and consistency of products produced for the Aerospace and Defense industries. By utilizing the help of a qualified contract manufacturer, you benefit from the expertise and experience of professionals with many years of experience. This helps ensure products are produced with rigorous regulatory compliance in mind.

A qualified contract manufacturer can help with all parts of production from design to testing. They provide a second set of eyes for your design plans to help locate areas that could benefit from improvement. This might include changing materials, measurements, or adjusting other aspects of the design. The suggestions made by an experienced contract manufacturer can improve quality, reduce the cost of production, and reduce time to market. This allows you to provide better products at a more competitive price, giving you the competitive edge in the industry you serve.

Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

When choosing a contract manufacturer to work with, it’s important to locate a respected partner with experience in the Aerospace and Defense industries. This helps ensure that products are produced with strict regulations in mind.

Means Engineering has years of experience creating products for a number of industries including Aerospace and Defense. Our team works directly with you every step of the way to ensure the quality and consistency of products produced. We provide a wide range of services including design, production, and testing of a mission critical products.

 

Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

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Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

Companies of all shapes and sizes occasionally need help with the design, production, and testing of products. Sometimes, this is only necessary when introducing new products or fulfilling a period of high demand. Other times, companies may choose to outsource their entire product manufacturing in an effort to save time and money.

Contract manufacturers are skilled professionals with the equipment and technology needed to produce a wide range of products. Using a contract manufacturer can help reduce costs and time-to-market. The right contract manufacturer can also help improve product design and the quality of finished products. This increases consumer trust in your brand.

Choosing a contract manufacturer to work with can be a tricky process. While you may have several options, not all will be able to meet the requirements or expectations of your company.

Experience

The contract manufacturer you choose should have experience with a wide range of industries. This ensures the company you work with is well equipped to handle a variety of needs. While you might not foresee your company expanding into other industries or markets in the near future, it’s important not to limit yourself.

Quality Control

Choose a contract manufacturer with a reputation for exceeding expectations for quality. Choosing a contract manufacturer that has taken the time and effort necessary to become ISO certified helps ensure that the products produced are of the highest quality.

Technologies

Technology changes at an alarming rate. It’s crucial that you choose a contract manufacturer that can keep up with these changes. Select a company that offers the latest technologies and techniques. This helps you remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.

San Diego County Contract Manufacturer

Means Engineering, Inc. offers contract manufacturing services from our location in Carlsbad, California. Our team of professionals has experience with multiple industries. We are well equipped to handle new product design, production, and testing.

We are an ISO 9001 and AS 9100 certified contract manufacturer. We utilize state-of-the-art technologies and techniques and strive to provide the highest quality products at reasonable rates. Please contact us for more information about our services.

 

Developing an Effective Process for New Product Development

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Developing an Effective Process for New Product Development

New product development is crucial to success in an ever-changing marketplace. New products help businesses reach new clients, expand into new markets and increase trust in their brand. Unfortunately, many companies have difficulty with new product development. These companies are either too optimistic or too aggressive.

With technology constantly evolving, the advantages of new electronic devices are often short lived. Companies wishing to stay afloat must constantly develop new ideas and innovations.

In order to create an effective process for new product development, you need to consider your people, products and process. These factors are crucial to success, even if you outsource your new product development to a contract manufacturer.

Team Members

When it comes to your team, it’s important to determine exactly which team members will be responsible for making important decisions. In order to figure out your team members’ roles, you need to thoroughly evaluate the skills and attitudes of each team member.

Every successful team includes people that are willing to attempt new things and make tough decisions. Each person on your team should have a specific job to do based on his or her individual strengths.

New Product

When deciding whether to add to your existing product line or to take a new direction, you’ll need to take a close look at what works and what does not. Evaluate your portfolio for patterns relating to member satisfaction and ROI.

The Process

You’ll need to develop an efficient process for product approval. It’s also crucial to determine exactly how you’ll measure the success of new products.

Outsourcing New Product Development

Many small businesses have a difficult time with new product development. These companies often do not have the space, people, technology or equipment necessary to produce new products. Small businesses can enlist the help of a contract manufacturer.

An experienced contract manufacturer is able to help with the design, production and testing of new products. They provide valuable expertise to help you locate areas to cut costs and make production more efficient. This helps small businesses keep up with ever-changing technologies.

ABOUT US

MEI features depth of experience in medical, industrial, semiconductor equipment and military products. All product development efforts start with a unique set of requirements, yet we deliver results that share a common standard of excellence in form, function and design.

Our turn-key capabilities provide smart, simple solutions to cumbersome outsourcing issues, and provide our clients with an intelligent route from concept to market.

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