Exam2008 Iihem

Midterm IE 470 manufacturing system April 2008
Question 1
Product idea generation initiates the process of designing a product by generating ideas from
external and internal sources. What are some examples of external and internal sources that are
used in this process?
Question 2
What environmental considerations are important for product designers? Do you believe that
environmental considerations will become more important or less important in the future? Explain
your answer.
Question 3
In a study of a machining operation, the amount of vibration caused on the job was measured as the
response with tool angle (15°vs20°) and speed of rotation (2,600vs3,000rpm) as the factors. The
following data were collected from two replicates of the experiment. Analyze the results of the
experiment, and choose the combination of tool angle and speed that produces the least amount of
vibration.
SPEED
1 2
TOOL ANGLE 1 18.2 ET 14.4 14.5 ET 15.1
2 24.0 ET 22.5 41.0 ET 36.3
CASE STUDY
Designing the Ford Taurus
Ford Motor Company was started in a converted wagon shop by Henry Ford in 1902. In 1908, the
company produced the model T, the first car designed to be produced in great volume at a low cost.
Because of it affordability, the model T was called the car that “put the world on wheels”. Since the
introduction of that grand old car, the ford Motor Company has treated the American public to many
popular cars, including the Mercury, the Thunderbird, the Mustang, and more recently, the Taurus.
Although all these cars have been important to Ford Motors Company, perhaps the most important
car has been the Taurus. The story of the Taurus vividly illustrates the importance of manufacturing
and quality in all aspect of product design and development.
Despite of Ford’s rich history, the company was suffering badly in 1970s. The American auto market
was flooded with a good quality cars from Japan, and Ford‘s competitive position was in decline. By
the end of the 1970s, Ford faced declining sales, increasing global competition, major layoffs, and the
real possibility of permanent financial damage. Management knew that business as usual with minor
modification would lead the company to bankruptcy. the only hope was offering the American public
a new kind of car, a car designed with manufacturing and quality in mind. The car was the Ford
Taurus.
The Taurus wasn’t just a new car for Ford; it represented an opportunity for the company to design a
new way to build a cars. Instead of organizing the development of Taurus along the lines of functional
expertise, Ford used integrated teams of people from various functions Ford also knew that the
Taurus would not appeal to all customer groups, so the Taurus was designed to be part of a boarder
product line, rather than the single car to save the company. Ford carefully documented what it did in
the Taurus project and learned from its successes and failures. As the Taurus was coming to market,
Ford announced a new set of product development principles it called the “concept-to-customer”
design paradigm. Some of the basic principle of the new approach to product design, which were
pioneered during the Taurus project, were as follows:
Senior management review of a development program should be driven by substantive milestones

rather than by calendar schedules.
Suppliers of production parts should be responsible for the prototypes of those parts; they may
subcontract production of prototypes, but the production suppliers remain responsible for quality,
performance, cost, and delivery.
Part used to manufacture pilot vehicles should be made with production tools.
The development of these principles, along with the other principles contained in Ford’s “concept-to-
Customer” paradigm, represented a new concept for product development at Ford. Fortunately for
Ford the Taurus sold well and established a new standard of excellence for American cars. The
improved engineering of the Taurus and its design features were enthusiastically accepted by the
American public. The car also set a new standard for the way Ford builds cars. Subsequent to the
design of the Taurus, Ford experimented with a number of additional innovative management
techniques, including simultaneous engineering, early manufacturing input, improved prototyping,
and benchmarking. The company’s new attitude toward product design, obtained during the
development of the Taurus, was instrumental in helping the company restore its leadership position in
the global automobile industry.
Discussion questions
a. What would probably have happened to Ford if the company had not developed a new concept of
product design? Do you believe that Ford would have survived? Why or Why not?
b. What can other companies learn from Ford’s experiences with product development and design?
Make your answer as substantive as possible
c. Can you think of any companies in other industries that have significantly improved the way they
design their products in the past 10 to 20 years? if so, please describe how the company changed its
product design process

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Midterm IE 470 manufacturing system April 2008

TOOL ANGLE 1 18.2 ET 14.4 14.5 ET 15.1

2 24.0 ET 22.5 41.0 ET 36.3

Designing the Ford Taurus

Senior management review of a development program should be driven by substantive milestones

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