Structured Problem Solving

CONSULTING SERVICE DETAILS

COMPANY POSITION

1. What differentiates Nutek from other consulting firms that we normally compete with? (Nutek capabilities, approach, technology, etc.)

THIS IS WHAT DIFFERENTIATES US

Our Proprietary Technical Problem Solving and Robust Design Implementation Support:

We use Design of Experiment (DOE) employing the Taguchi approach to solve difficult or persistent technical problems and to facilitate the design of robust products and processes.

OUR UNIQUENESS:

o Knowledge and experience with application of the DOE technique

o Selecting, organizing and training the cross-functional teams necessary for success

o Experience in facilitating team activities and guiding teams in planning the actual experiments

o Nutek proprietary structure of discussions and consensus building methods

o Experience in engineering and project management

Our consulting is highly effective in the following areas:

· Technical problem solving (Generally reactive mode)

· Product and process design improvement (Generally proactive mode)

· Implementing Robust Designs (Highly proactive)

· Test and Validation Planning (Highly cost effective)

· Increasing response from ADVERTISEMENTS and similar promotional initiatives (marketing application)

References: Visit our web sites for more detailed information.

www.nutek-us.com/wp-robust.html

www.nutek-us.com/wp-sps.html

www.nutek-us.com/wp-s4d.html

www.nutek-us.com/wp-nut.html

www.nutek-us.com/wp-testimonials.html

2. What our clients say about our strongest areas of expertise?

· Knowledge of the technique (DOE/TAGUVCHI method)

· Application and team facilitation skills

· Communication and easy-to-understand explanations of principles applied.

3. What our clients say about our strengths?

· Customer focus

· Application focused training/workshop and its effectiveness

· Software for Taguchi experimental designs

4. What are 3 criteria we consider in determining if a client's project is a good fit for Nutek?

· Experiencing problems with VARIATION, REJECTS, WARRANTY, or low CUSTOMER SATISFACTION due to performance

· Long product development and test cycles which still result in unreliable products

· Have problems unsolved even after multiple attempts to find solutions. Problems that need permanent solution

· Problem is unresolved because different stakeholders are not in agreement with the solution of the quality investigation.

5. How many consultants in total does Nutek employ?

We have 3 consultants at our Bloomfield Hills, MI, and USA location.

(For client paid travel expenses, we are willing to travel within USA and Canada. For all other locations in the world, the cost is slightly higher for the travel time.)

6. What is Nutek’s average or typical project size?

Our total involvement for the comprehensive project support (start to finish) is expected to require engagements of TWO DAYS, onsite with client's team plus THREE days at our office. The support activities include:

(a) Facilitating project team with EXPERIMENT PLANNING (first 2 days onsite)

(b) DESIGNING OF EXPERIMENTS and providing instruction on DATA COLLECTION and conduct of tests.

The cost for the complete project varies depending on the scope and size. A fixed total cost for the project may be provided at the start.

Cost range: $15 - $25 K.

7. Description of the largest consulting project Nutek has been involved with? (Details of this project, including the scope or organizational impact and outcomes provided)

Example Large Project: Automotive Leather Process Optimization Study
Our Support Duration: 2 days onsite + 7 days
Scope of Experiments: 12 separate tests, 2 samples in each condition, 6 Evaluations in each sample.
Reason for study: Client’s demand for improvement (Large auto manufacturer)
Report size: 2 pages of summary report and 50 additional pages of analyses.

A Portion of our Press Release below describes the project:
Nutek, Inc., a Bloomfield Hills of Michigan-based quality engineering consulting firm is pleased to share its successful consulting support for an experimental investigation by one of our client Companies into their leather curing process.

This client company is the largest supplier of leather products for automotive seating. It has several plants around the globe that specialize in curing leather starting with raw hides from slaughter houses and turning it into finished leather for general consumptions. Prompted by customer demand, the company undertook a scientific study to determine the optimum recipe for processing leather for increased performance in a characteristic of interest. It retained Nutek to help with experiment planning, design, and analysis supports for this study which was just recently concluded yielding the following improvements:

· Resolved issues with color characteristic and enhanced customer satisfaction.

· Statistically identified the major root cause factors that influence the curing process.

· Identified and confirmed the combination of the factor levels that meet client’s quality expectations.

· Specifically, determined new design (optimum condition) that produces improvement in Gray Scale Reading by 32% in mean with a reduction of process variation of 22%.

· Helped process specialist scientifically establish relative influences of the factors studied which were otherwise always subjectively weighted.

The VP of Product Development, a chemist with an extensive background in experimental designs & studies, was lead sponsor of these studies. In a recent conversation, he expressed satisfaction with the result of the study saying “Our experiments were quite extensive, but we found what we were looking for, the root causes of solar contamination and its effect on our processes.”

One overall benefit of the study, he added “We were able to resolve issues with a desired characteristic backed by scientific data, thanks to comprehensive support from Dr. Roy of Nutek. More importantly, we now look more professional in the eye of our large automotive manufacturing client”.

8. On what basis do we typically charge fees? By project.

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HOW WE WORK

What approaches do Nutek use to help the client clarify the scope and nature of their projects?

(a) Work to set up the project team and then to facilitate brainstorming process and arrive at consensus decisions.
Generally, consultants help clarify scopes and objectives by majority rules where team votes on the options (one person one vote). When there are multiple options are available, Parotoised (ordered) list is used for selection as consensus. As a rule, our consultants facilitate discussions, but do not participate in the decision making.
Consultants help the project team arrive at decisions that are practicable, and those that relevant to satisfying the objectives of the study.

2. Which methodologies does Nutek follow in consulting?

Nutek’s principal consultants specialize in the application of the Taguchi design of experiment technique. To help our industrial clients learn and apply the technique, we have been helping them with following three services:

i) Application oriented training and workshops

ii) Consulting (application supportiii) & Software (Qualitek-4 , www.nutek-us.com/wp-q4w.html )
3. How do Nutek clients benefit from these methodologies?
- Quickly resolve issues with larger project team

- Clarify objectives and determine manageable scopes by experts in the field.

- Reduce learning time and building in-house expertise

- Look better in the eye of major clients

- Obtain statistically valid conclusions, solutions to problems, and establish trend of influences.

- Reduce scraps, rework, rejects, and warranty costs due to variability

- Design ROBUST products and processes.

4. What roles do the consultants that Nutek employ perform?

Consultant’s role:
Educate project team on methodologies and principles. This is done by short overview sessions prior to experiment planning meeting.
Facilitate planning meeting & brainstorming by project team members.
Lay out experiment plan (DESIGN) and provide team with written test descriptions and instruction on data collection.
5. What are the titles, functions, and credentials of Nutek's key consultants?

Nutek’s principal consultant (Ranjit K. Roy, Ph.D., P.E., PMP, www.nutek-us.com/wp-rkr.html ) is well known consultant and trainer. He has over 25 years of experience in training and consulting in the field of Taguchi experimental designs. He is author of two popular books on the subject. He is also developer/designer of Qualitek-4 software (www.nutek-us.com/wp-q4w.html ) which is use by practitioner of the Taguchi technique in many industry and academic institutions. He is a fellow of ASQ and is listed in WHO’s WHO of the world & America.

6. On client projects, what do Nutek's consultants do? Perform work – 80%, Advise – 20%.

7. Describe the typical follow-up process Nutek consultants employ upon completion of a client-project?
After design recommendations are submitted, our consultant follow up with client to see that the test prescriptions are fully understood and the data collection schemes are clear.
Check with project team performing tests to see all test descriptions are adhered to and carried out on time.
Follow up with client after the report is submitted to make sure all conclusions and recommendations are understood.
Help client determine how to carry out confirmatory experiments.
Advise on client on translating potential savings into dollars (some additional support may be needed by client)

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List of Nutek Client Companies