contract manufacturing Archives - Page 24 of 29

Expanding Manufacturing Operations in California

March 16, 2018 By meiadmin

Expanding Manufacturing Operations in California

Over the past few years, the U.S. has seen tremendous growth in manufacturing operation and employment. This is true for almost every state. However, California manufacturing has experienced very little growth since the economy bottomed out in 2010. In fact, California has only experienced a gain of 1% in manufacturing since that time. The U.S. has experienced an average growth of 6.7% in manufacturing within this same timeframe.

Manufacturing Creates Jobs

One major factor affecting growth in California is the high cost of land and energy. Many California manufacturing businesses simply do not have the funding necessary to produce products or expand their operation. This has led to an increase of companies choosing to relocate manufacturing operations overseas.

The lack of manufacturing operations isn’t good for the millions of people that remain unemployed in California. Manufacturing creates numerous jobs for workers with a wide array of skillsets. The manufacturing industry provides high paying jobs for a less educated workforce. Manufacturing jobs pay these workers approximately 8.4% higher wages than jobs in any other industry.

Support California Manufacturing

Recently, Means Engineering’s General Manager, Tim Hetrick, visited Washington DC to help the California Manufacturer’s Technology Consulting (CMTC) obtain funding from the Federal Government to support manufacturing in California. The CMTC is a non-profit, focused on the development and support of manufacturing operations with less than 500 employees.

During his visit, Tim worked with individuals from the CMTC and other non-profit centers to lobby Congressional Representatives and Senators for full funding of the current budget as well as next year’s budget. This funding will be used to support and expand manufacturing efforts in California.

Funding is crucial if California manufacturing companies wish to remain afloat in an extremely competitive marketplace. Expanding manufacturing operations in California helps create jobs, increase local economies, and reduce the number of operations sent overseas.

Southern California Contract Manufacturer

Means Engineering, Inc. offers design, production, and testing of a wide range of products. Our team of engineers specializes in the production of electronic devices and their components. We have experience working with numerous industries including medical, aerospace, and defense. We are an AS 9100 and ISO 13485 certified contract manufacturer. Our headquarters are located in Carlsbad, California.

Improving Reliability of Electronic Product Design

March 9, 2018 By meiadmin

Improving Reliability of Electronic Product Design

In today’s ever-changing electronics marketplace, it’s becoming more and more important to produce smaller, cheaper, more reliable devices. As technologies evolve, consumers are constantly looking for high quality, compact devices with increased capabilities. Companies that do not stay on top of the latest technologies, processes, and procedures are likely to fall behind their competition.

Design Process Review

Electronics companies must continuously question the effectiveness of their processes and procedures. In order to create a better product, it’s crucial that you are able to locate areas in the design that could benefit from improvement. Any changes should be cost-effective and benefit both the quality of the finished product as well as the effectiveness of the design process. Unfortunately, many companies do not have the time or resources necessary to properly review their process.

An experienced contract manufacturer provides a second set of eyes for electronic product design review. These individuals are skilled professionals, able to locate problems and improve the design process. Hiring a contract manufacturer eliminates the chance of bias from in-house designers. The right contract manufacturer can help save you money, reduce waste, improve quality as well as time-to-market.

Reliability Testing

Many companies today do not take the time necessary to perform reliability testing. This is understandable, as this process can take months to complete. With new technologies emerging at an alarming rate, new electronic products can become obsolete by the time testing is finished.

Enhanced reliability technologies make it possible to test a variety of electronic products in a short amount of time. These technologies used to be reserved for only aerospace applications but are now available on a much larger scale.

A contract manufacturer has the technologies necessary to thoroughly test electronic devices. This enhances reliability and improves the quality of the finished product. Providing consistently reliable electronic products helps build trust in your brand. This helps keeps you competitive in the electronics marketplace.

Contract Manufacturing

Companies wishing to improve reliability of their electronic design process should consider enlisting the help of a qualified contract manufacturer. A contract manufacturer helps significantly improve the quality of electronic devices, while effectively cutting costs and time-to-market.

Developing an Effective Process for New Product Development

March 3, 2018 By meiadmin

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.

Why Prototypes Are Necessary to the Design Process

February 23, 2018 By meiadmin

Why Prototypes Are Necessary to the Design Process

Prototypes provide a usable version of your product for testing and experimenting. This can help you locate errors in design and provide proof of your concept. Prototyping is a crucial part of the design process. Unfortunately, many companies fail to recognize the importance of prototyping.

While sketches and blueprints can provide you with the general feel and texture of your product, prototyping enables you to actually touch and experience it. Occasionally a design will look good on the screen but will fall short during production. Creating a prototype gives you the insight necessary to solve any issues with your product before beginning production.

Benefits of Prototyping

Many companies choose to skip prototyping in order to save time and money on design. However, skipping this step could end up costing you more in the long run.

There are numerous benefits to creating a prototype. Prototyping helps with the collaboration, design and testing of your product.

Communication about needs and wants can easily be misinterpreted. Creating a prototype can save your company time and resources on redesign and production.

Prototyping Saves Time and Money

Creating one prototype of a useless product is far less expensive than producing large quantities of the same product. Prototypes are cheaply made versions that can be tested and experimented with.

Prototypes Help Sell Your Product

Prototypes are essential when pitching your idea. Skeptical clients are far more likely to jump on the opportunity if they are able to see and touch a prototype. Prototypes do not need to be elaborate to be effective. Your company’s needs will determine how detailed your prototype should be.

After creating a prototype, it should be fully tested to locate any potential problems. It’s much easier to deal with these issues when they are caught early in the design process. For the best results, prototyping should occur early and often. This helps keeps your team grounded when making important decisions.

Creating Prototypes

Means Engineering, Inc. offers design, production and testing of a wide range of electronic devices. We have experience with a variety of industries. Our team of professionals can help your company create high quality prototypes. Please contact us for details.

Using Value Engineering to Improve Quality and Reduce Costs

February 16, 2018 By meiadmin

Using Value Engineering to Improve Quality and Reduce Costs

Companies around the globe are under a lot of pressure to create high quality products at the lowest cost possible. This is especially true for the medical, defense and aerospace industries.

Understanding Value Engineering

Value engineering involves finding creative new ways to produce products at a lower cost. Although many companies associate value engineering with a reduction of quality, the main goal should be to increase quality while reducing the costs of production. This benefits companies in all industries.

There are currently two main types of value engineering used by manufacturers. Process value engineering involves removing waste from the production process. This boosts efficiency and lowers costs. Product value engineering involves changing the design of a product to reduce costs and waste while improving the quality of the finished product.

While process value engineering focuses on waste and is an important part of lean production, it does nothing to increase the quality of products produced or the overall efficiency of the production process.

Benefits of Product Value Engineering

Even though product value engineering helps cut costs, this isn’t the only benefit. Product value engineering encourages companies to search for creative new ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Product value engineering comes from a truly technical perspective. The engineer creating the product must fully evaluate its design to locate unique ways to improve the efficiency of production. This can add significant value to the product produced.

Using a Contract Manufacturer

Companies looking to improve product quality while reducing costs often seek out a second set of eyes. A qualified contract manufacturer can provide a thorough analysis of product designs. They can help you locate areas that can benefit from improvement.

Contract manufacturers help with the design, production and testing of a variety of products. Means Engineering, Inc. has experience working with a wide range of industries. Our experienced engineers are skilled at locating ways to improve efficiency and reduce the costs of production.

We are an AS 9100 and ISO 9001 certified contract manufacturer. This helps ensure the quality and reliability of products produced.