Need Assessment Survey Report

Interactive Design Research

Of

Bhubaneswar Fabrication and Engineering Cluster

Sponsored by

“Design Clinic Scheme, Ministry of MSME, Govt. Of India”

Under an Agreement with National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, the Implementing

Agency, and Central Toolroom and Training Centre, Bhubaneswar

Prepared by

Dr. N. P. Gantayet, PhD

October 2012

120, Madhusudanagar, Bhubanesar-751001, Phone 06742390311, mob: 09937631559 www.thermo_orissa.com; e-mail: thermo.orissa@gmail.com,

niladrigantayet@rediffmail.com

1

INTRODUCTION

The Bhubaneswar Cluster includes the Industrial Estates of Rasulgarh, Mancheswar, and Patia

at Bhubaneswar and Khpuria and Jagatpur at Cuttack.

The Designclinic DAP programme comprising of NAS and Workshop was occasioned by an

agreement between Association of Industrial Entrepreneurs of Bhubaneswar (AIEB) and Central

Toolroom and Training Complex (CTTC), a unit under MSME-GOI and the partner for NID for

Odisha state, and Design Experts. This is the second DCS-DAP in the state.

Twenty units participated in the NAS. 11 out of these have formed an SPV for implementing the

Lean Manufacturing Programme of the NMCP with CTTC as the LMC consultants. At the time of

the NAS, the Lean Manufacturing programme was nearing completion of first phase.

Earlier, CTTC had conducted the DCS-DAP Seminar for this engineering and fabrication cluster

with AIEB. The DCS-DAP-NAS would take inputs from the DCS seminars held for Khadi cluster,

Cashew cluster, Plastics Manufacturing cluster and especially the Lean Manufacturing

programme to describe the cluster scenario. This NAS has identified a number of Opportunity

Areas for Design Interventions and it is expected that a few units would take it up.

Following recommendation of NID to keep a uniform approach to maximise cross learning

across the country, while at the same time dealing with issues in the local context, the NAS

followed a Cluster based approach. This report is divided into 5 sections. Section 1 describes

the cluster as a whole, its history, population and Demographics. Section 2 continues on this

refrain to highlight the Objectives, Achievements, and Philosophy underlying the NAS. Section 3

gives the methodology and constructs used in the Interactive Design Research. It is an outline

of theoretical treatment and has been included to make the report look complete and balanced.

It is intended for other Design Experts and can be skipped if the reader is from MSME units.

Section 4 gives a short summary of the Remedial Designs at cluster level based on Research

findings. Section 5 gives Interactive Design Research findings. Each opportunity area given in

the checklist has been matched with an opportunity area at cluster level. We have also given a

description of the Research Tool used to craw the cluster map in the concerned Opportunity

Area. Actual usage would be lengthy and would need a higher budget, and an actual design

project intervention. Suggestions for Remedial Designs for each cluster opportunity area are

given. Conclusion and reasoned arguments for government subsidy towards beneficiary

contribution for the DCS programmes follow.

2

Acknowledgements

First of all the author wishes to thank the individual MSME units that have taken time to

participate in the NAS, and have more than repaid our efforts by inquiries to take up Design

Projects. Some of these projects have taken shape even prior to the workshop.

I express my gratitude to my co- Design Experts that accompanied some of the visits. Er Saroj

Patnaik from TRFI and a Chemical Engineer, Prof. R K Sahoo, retd from College of Engineering

and Technology and working at ABIT after his superannuation. Er Chinmaya Das, HOD of Dept

of Mechanical Engineering, ABIT. Er. Bhupen Patnaik, retired Chief Engineer of NESCO and

CEO of Reliance Power in Odisha zone. Shri B Mohanty, Principal of ITI Cuttack. Er. S K Kar,

Head Quality Control at CTTC and in charge of the LMC programme provided many valuable

inputs. Er. Sasmita Nayak, who is an empanelled Designer for Dept of Textiles, Govt. Of

Odisha. Lastly, and not the least, Er. Ambuj Nayak, Head Marketing, CTTC, who played the

dual role of facilitating the visits and that of a Design Expert.

In the course of visits to units and discussions with entrepreneurs and managers, Design

Experts helped to define scope the Research issues and future design interventions of the

scheme. In particular, the characterisation of ―cluster‖ by Design and Design Flows would help

strategise Design inputs to units requesting Design Projects and other programmes of the

Design Clinic scheme.

Thanks are due to Mr. Ashok Mondal from NID, Co-ordinator, East Zone, DCS, and Prof

Sashank Mehta, Head DCS programme from NID provided guidance and patience throughout

the survey. Thanks are due to also Shri Sibasis Maiti, GM CTTC, for not only his advice and

experience, but facilitating the smooth conduct of the NAS, and the imminent workshop. Funds

from the Dept of MSME for the grant portion are gratefully acknowledged. Lastly, thanks are due

to officials who were visited and have extended support and inputs for deeper understanding of

the cluster in the Region.

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SECTION 1: DESCRIPTION OF THE CLUSTER AND SAMPLE FOR NAS

History of the Cluster

Bhubaneswar lies on the corridor between Puri, a coastal town that is the abode of Lord

Jagannath, and Cuttack, the silver city and a commercial hub. Along this corridors grew clusters

that were supported by the feudal agrarian economy. Textiles, Chandua, Brass and Bell Metal,

Coconut coir, Rice Mills, Spices, herbal medicines, and stone carving are some of the clusters

that have endured since historical days.

Modern industries can be said to have started at Cuttack by the great patriot and son-of-the-soil

Shri Madhusudhan Das, who pioneered leather processing and pharmaceuticals. The oldest

Industrial Estate at Bhubaneswar is Rasulgarh industrial estate and at Cuttack it is Khapuria

Industrial Estate that housed the Government Press. A spurt of growth of Industrial Estates

throughout Odisha came in the eighties with the famous ―one thousand industries in one

thousand days‖ of the then Congress Government. This Orissa State Finance Corporation was

created under an Act, and a number of parastatals came into existence with a view to help

growth of the SSI (MSME). These Industrial Estates continue to this day.

Mancheswar Industrial Estate started with some 430+ industrial units, along with one Private

Engineering College. Cuttack city had better institutions, like ITI and a Diploma College, and a

state owned Textile Mill (OTM). But Mancheswar got its share of investments in state owned

factories, such as Konark TV, Boiler Factory, Orissa Construction Corporation, Drugs and

Pharmaceuticals and Electronics. At one time, Konark TV had 200 vendors. There were a few

privately owned MSME electronics industries making TV, MHX exchanges, inverters, etc.

Present Scenario

Closure of these Public Sector undertakings struck the death blow to many of the industries.

There has been a change in profile of the Industrial Estates, with entrepreneurs choosing to rent

out space to warehouses and Godowns. Those that are existing by doing manufacturing

(around 25%), are mostly driven by three sectors, the Building sector, the Mining and

Metallurgical sector, especially Steel, Cement, and Aluminium, and the Power sector. Closure of

state owned Spinning Mills and Powerlooms removed the pillars of Textile sector that supported

the numerical growth of entrepreneurs. Although government extols the virtues of ancillary

industries for growth of MSME, such as NALCO and SAIL, it is actually the private investors in

these sectors that form the markets for goods produced by MSME.

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When the electronics industry at Bhubaneswar was at its peak, steps were taken to curb

industries using fossil fuels. The dream of making Bhubaneswar an electronics cluster still

remains when the TRAI decided to indigenise 60% of the telecom products in ten years time by

creating ten telecom hubs in India. In the backdrop of this dream lies the rise of IT firms and

engineering education in Bhubaneswar. However, looking at the pattern of investments for

which government has signed MOUs, it was thought prudent to declare the Industrial Estates in

Rourkela and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack (twin city) as Fabrication and Engineering clusters, and

initiate the Cluster Development Approach that was started throughout the country around 2000.

Description of Sample for NAS

The Cluster Development Approach of the Engineering and Fabrication cluster at Bhubaneswar

was consolidated by formation of the Bhubaneswar Engineering Syndicate as a mini cluster of

11 MSME units, who registered it as a SPV. A Lean programme was obtained by this SPV, to

function as a techno demonstrator for development of the cluster. This SPV has been started by

the AIEB Industry Association, with CTTC as the Lean Manufacturing Consultants. The Design

Clinic DAP includes all the 11 MSME units participating in Lean Programme in its NAS, who

along with 9 MSME members of AIEB constitute the sample for NAS of twenty MSME units.

Table 1: Core Activities of MSME Units Participating in the NAS

Category of Industry No of Units for the NAS

1. Foundry 3

2. Heavy Engineering and Fabrication 3

3. Light Fabrication Products (Household and assorted) 6

4. Light Fabrication Products (Control Panels) 2

5. Composites and Polymer products 2

6. Packaging and Printing 1

7. Transformers 2

8. Functional Textiles (Medicare) 1

Total 20

The Table shows that the Industrial Estates of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack is actually a Growth

Pole (cluster of clusters) driving interconnected markets, viz. Building sector, mining and

metallurgical industries, Cement, Power, Lifestyle Goods, and Textiles.

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Using Cluster Based Approach for NAS and Design Development

The NAS sample is fairly representative of the Industrial Estate, although the ―no common

interest‖ belies its definition of ―cluster‖ as a group of industries having similar products and

located in the geographical region.

The constitution of the above NAS sample shows that the Industrial Estates of Cuttack and

Bhubaneswar for the purpose of Design Research should be treated as a Growth Pole of

interconnected markets, or as some put it, a cluster of clusters (Cement, Metallurgical Process

Industries and Steel, Mining, Power, Building exterior and interiors AND Agriculture, Agriculture

equipment, Textiles, Textile Equipment AND Lifestyle goods, household goods, Food,

Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, Education). Although this complicates the situation for doing

the NAS and the DAP workshop, it provides an opportunity to drive home the point that Design

Developments inter alia Design Projects can drive these markets and pave the way for MSME

units to sell their products to the Global market instead of bemoaning about Global competition.

Using a reasoned approach and findings of the NAS, a case is made out to press for a subsidy

to beneficiary contribution to Designclinic programmes by the state government in line with West

Bengal, and convert the Industrial Estate into a Growth Pole and a hub of rural industrialisation

to exploit the vast economic Resources of the Odisha for generating wealth and employment for

the people of the state and at the National level.

6

SECTION 2: OBJECTIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF NAS

NAS Sample as Representative Sample of a Growth Pole

Discussions with the Association office bearers came to no firm conclusion on fixing Objectives

for the NAS and Workshop, as it was difficult to find a common ground and interests from a

Design point of view for MSME units given above.

The Lean Manufacturing programme had no such conceptual difficulties, as its very meaning

and concept is general enough to be applied to all categories of industries, and in all situations.

During preliminary discussions with the Association, we found that the meaning of Design was

liable to be confused with products normally identified with Industrial Design, i.e. Light

fabrication products, applying to only 8 out of 20 MSME units in the NAS sample.

We followed the most commonly understood Goal of economic growth and cost reduction as the

overall goal of the NAS-DAP and subsequent Design Projects. In marketing, a common axiom is

to ―give what the customer wants and not what you have‖. After all, the programme was to

create awareness about Design to all units in the cluster. This Goal was suitable for dealing with

the whole of Industrial Estate, and in the process, to create a vocabulary that would help create

Awareness and strategise Design Projects from DCS for MSME units.

Goal: To increase revenue and growth of individual units and cluster by exploiting Remedial

Design Opportunities at Cluster Level and Remedial Designs at Unit Level

This goal brings it within the purview of the cluster approach, and Design is the means to

achieve this goal, which we term as Purpose.

Purpose: To assess the status of the Design Eco System inside the MSME units of this cluster

with a view to strengthen it that would help it achieve its stated objectives.

Statement of Purpose enshrines the goal of economic development. For the purpose of the

NAS, the Purpose forms the Overall Objective for the DAP. A number of Objectives was set that

was in harmony to the overall objective.

It is clear from the Goal and Purpose statement that although Remedial Design Solutions can

be applied cluster wide, all cluster wide Design Solutions is not necessarily Remedial Design

Solutions. A case in point is the bending of pipes, thin tubes and thin walled non-circular

sections in this cluster, which is discussed under the suitable heading of Remedial Design

Solutions in this cluster level report.

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Objectives of NAS

1. To highlight Design Opportunities based on Remedial measures through appropriate

and affordable Design Solutions.

2. Design Interventions at cluster level that would help MSME units in Cost Reduction

3. To build awareness and identify Resources in the local area needed for a Design

Intervention of different MSME units in the cluster

4. To strategise Design to Cost and motivate MSME units to take up SMART (Specific,

Measurable, Attainable, Replicable, Timely) Design Interventions and create Awareness.

Achievements

1. Remedial Designs at Unit Level and Cluster Level

2. Formation of team of Design Experts and building their own capacities

3. Identification of Resources from Institutions where Design Experts belong or are

associated. CTTC is the prime example where MSME units come not only for Tooling,

but also to learn Manufacturing process and development of functionality.

4. Identified Gaps in manufacturing practise of the Current Design of the Product of NAS

units in terms of NAS Checklist.

5. Identified Design Opportunities that are applicable cluster wide for each cluster (i.e.

category of product). These can be called as Industry wide issues.

The fact that many MSME units beyond the sample have started on a project brief with Design

Experts for Design Projects should be sufficient proof of the Achievements. It shows spread of

Awareness by word of mouth and the existence of ―reputation mechanisms‖, inter alia, inter

cluster communication. The evidence captured by the NAS is only the tip of the iceberg as to

how information spreads in the Industrial Estate/clusters.

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SECTION 3: ELEMENTS OF DESIGN RESEARCH

1. Lemma for Design Eco System of Cluster and MSME Unit

Considering that the NAS provides insights into eight separate clusters of the Industrial Estates

given in Table 1, like a Growth Pole of interconnecting markets, the tools of Design Research

are framed so as to aid Cluster Development Approach with Cluster Level Remedial Design.

The lemma for cluster level Design Interventions is that the Design eco system at cluster level is

also the Design Eco System inside the unit, but manifested in a different way. Design follows

the same rules inside and outside the unit. This lemma borrows from Physics, that the Laws of

Physics is the same for all observers. In Design context, the lemma means that the Laws of

Design are the same no matter where you stand in the customer-product-producer-market

relation. The lemma is used to form the constructs, i.e. the Design Research tools, for

understanding the customer-product-producer-market relation, and to identify opportunity areas

for Design interventions within the holistic framework of the cluster, such as Remedial Designs,

Interactive Design, Space Innovation, etc

The distinguishing features between the cluster and unit is in the way Design Information is

communicated: whereas at cluster level ―pricing‖ settled between buyer-seller after much

bargaining and haggling communicates Design Information, the intra organisation

communication of Design Information has different mechanisms, such as fiat, standing rules,

SOP (Standard Operating Procedures), and exercise of hierarchical authority.

The lemma explains one well known observation; that, an intervention mismatched in its Design

approaches to the method of communicating Design Information results in increase in costs,

and is expensive to maintain.

The classic example is taken from Handloom sector, although it is not strictly covered by this

NAS despite a unit from the NAS sample (Galaxy Medicare) manufacturing functional textiles. In

handloom sector, all attempts to increase sector production by the Government communicating

Design Information based on hierarchical authority have not been sustainable. For government,

Design Interventions were not the primary aim, but as a collateral effort found necessary to

ensure efficient and fair distribution of subsidy. Even hiring freelance designers to make Design

Interventions market oriented did not produce sustainability. The fine print in the contract with

freelance designers of giving payment based on performance appraisal by concerned

government official quickly saw the exit of many of these designers from the programme.

9

Focus (Esskay): Metal Removal (Operation)

The Ensemble consists of Planetary Lathe, Job mounted with Fixtures, Tool Holder, Electrical Switchgear, Operator, Overhead Crane (not in picture), Storage Space for Jobs (not in picture)

2. Design at the Centre

The very first construct using the lemma is to place Design at the Centre of the exploratory

Design Research study. Consider two photographs of machining workstation at Esskay

Industries (manufacturing equipment) and Anupama Industries (manufacturing pumps).

The photograph conveys information about what is happening at the workstation. Each

component in the photograph has certain function(s). Each component has a relationship to the

whole. Which Design is to be placed at the Centre, so as to give meaning to the exploratory

Design Research of respective units? (Note photograph does not contain all Design Information,

such as specification sheet, material of construction, performance, test results, and so on).

Design Information from the photograph can be presented in an abstract form given in Figure 1

showing an atomic structure model of processes in an organisation that conveys Design

Information from the sender (workstation) to receiver (elsewhere) through the channel (bands of

organisational processes). The terms sender, receiver, channel is taken from communication

model of Shannon.

What is placed at the Centre of Shannon‘s model is what design functionality we want to study,

which could be any one of the components in the ensemble given in the photograph. If skill is

under review, the ―sender‖ is the human operator shown in the photograph, and that would be

placed at the Centre of the model. Similarly it could be the product, the Metal Removal

Focus (Anupama): Pumps (Product)

The Ensemble consists of Lathe, Job mounted with Fixtures, Tools, Storage space for Jobs, Electrical Switchgear and Operator

10

operation itself, one or more parts of the lathe, or the full lathe, fixtures, electrical switchgear,

crane, storage space, crane or material handling equipment, etc. Since Anupama is identified as

manufacturer of pumps, Product Design would be placed at the Centre, and since Esskay

identifies itself as a fabricator, Metal Removal would be placed at the Centre.

Suggestion for placing ―Design at Centre‖ model was given by NID (Prof. Mehta) in a DAP

orientation workshop at Bhubaneswar on 31-05-2011, and is also given in the NID website. The

NID representation of placing Product Process Design was to scope the Design Research study

to within the organisation‘s boundary, and thus preserve the organisation‘s self identity.

Figure 1: Structure of MSME Unit

In terms of the Shannon‘s Model, the NID model confines all ―senders‖ and ―receivers‖ of

Design Information to within the organisation‘s boundary. Mathematicians would call Figure 1 an

abstraction that depicts the essential information needed for analysis of unit, and rest of the

information from the photographs is discarded. Such precision in defining the boundary for

Design Information also conforms to purposiveness of Design Clinic programmes to help units.

In reality, Design Information flow (in the photograph) does not conform to confinement within

the organisation‘s boundary. For example, for skill of worker we would draw the boundary

encompassing all Skill Development Institutions, for the lathe it would be the machine tooling

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manufacturing cluster, for overhead crane the crane equipment cluster, and so on. All of these

are located outside the boundaries of the organisation. That all the elements in an

organisation—from the Design Point of View—are influenced by the cluster dynamics is

substantiated from a few observations made during the NAS interactive exploratory Research

study.

Any manufacturing activity would be making around 35% of the hardware (value

addition) going into the final product and 65% would be bought outs.

A finding of this NAS revealed that more than 65% of the workforce for medium scale

units and more than 90% of the workforce in small and micro units are casual labourers

and can be categorised as belonging to the unorganised sector.

This practise of employing casual labour and badla labour is prevalent in the large

industries as well, but having labour contractors to supply the workforce.

Not a single unit visited had an original design formed purely from theory. However,

most entrepreneurs exhibited strong ownership and swear by the Designs to which they

manufactured the product. (―chori ka aam mitha hota hai’-stolen mangoes taste sweet)

All units studied in the sample, without exception, abhor Disruptive Design Development

that would change structure of distribution system delivering product to customer.

Such uniformity can only be explained by redefining the boundary of the information flow

needed for the unit to function and manage its day-to-day affairs as the cluster‘s boundary. It

also substantiates the lemma that the cluster forms the Eco system inside the MSME unit, and

that Design explorations or Design Audits can only be done within a holistic framework, with the

boundary of the cluster forming the boundaries of such a framework.

Within the boundary, the customer-product-producer-market relation is constantly evolving,

sending instructions to the centre to change design. Mathematicians describe this by defining

the evolving design as an ensemble with a “finite space” and a boundary of “infinite length”.

Taking Design as an ensemble as a finite space with a boundary of infinite length provides

number of tools for Design Research to make the explorations at cluster level, and based on the

Research study, identify opportunity areas, and there from to strategise (or make suggestions)

for Design Interventions. One way of looking at it is that finite space refers to the ―product‖ and

the ensemble of Design Information of infinite length as the ―Product Design‖.

Taking such a view, the Design Interventions typology for opportunity areas of cluster wide

issues mentioned in Box 1 are given in Table 2.

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Table 2: Cross Cutting Issues of the Industrial Clusters of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack

Issue Cutting Across the Industrial Estate Design Opportunity at Cluster Level

1. Rapid obsolescence of Design and frequent change in

Design with lack of proper Design Information

Design Information Forecasting

Assessment

2. Higher cost due to location disadvantage and lack of

protection, or subsidy offset, arising form higher cost due to

low market concentration

Design to Cost, especially cost allocation

based on Design Teade-offs, in the form

of Individual Design Projects from DCS

3. Under utilisation of capacity, often installed equipment

are not used

New Product introduction

4. Under skilling of labour and unavailability of skilled

labour, resulting in disguised unemployment

Incremental Design Development as the

issue for Skill training / up-gradation

5. Constraints of Space due to high expense of Land and

rising costs of Infrastructure (Building/Power/Utilities)

Space Innovation and Design Thinking or

Interactive Design

3. Customer-Product-Producer-Market Relation (CPPM-R)

In economics, relations form Asset Specificity, defined as the status of dependency between

agents as they carry out economic transactions. Asset Specificity is the footprint of the CPPM

relationship. It is the cornerstone of studying relationships (and Institutions formed by it) using

the models formulated from constructs of Transaction Cost Economics. Asset Specificity has a

bearing from a Design Point of View. For example, a lathe cannot produce a gear, which

requires a hobbing machine. Neither is a welding assembly suited for cutting a plate, although it

can do it in a technical sense. But, TCE is not the only approach for understanding Asset

Specificity. TCE constructs are also not suited for understanding the customer-product-

producer-market relation from the Design Point of View.

According to Williamson (Nobel Prize winner in Economics), other disciplines can also formulate

models (theories) to explain Asset Specificity, and use it to study the CPPM relation. Design

Experts should choose the theory most suited for their purpose; one that can also explain Asset

Specificity. Information Theory of Entropy (from Shannon) provides constructs that can help

study Asset Specificity and map the CPPM relation from the Design Point of View.

While a full scope discussion is beyond the scope of the NAS, a rudimentary treatment of

Information Entropy suitable for studying Asset Specificity and CPPM relation from the Design

Point of View is given to explain how it has been used in the Design Research/Audit.

13

Product Design is an abstraction, but the product is

real. The valve being made in the photograph is a real

product, but Design Information (measured in bytes)

needed for making the product to perform certain

functions, like stopping or regulating flow of water when

fitted in a pipe having flowing water, is an abstraction.

Similarly Design Information of the ensemble shown in

the photograph (metal removal from the rotating job

fitted to the tool stock by the cutting tool as per a drawing) is transformed to Design Information

of another ensemble (a functioning valve). The ensembles are structurally discrete, yet

connected by the transformation and flow of Design Information. The CPPM relation between

the lathe owner (producer) and valve owner (customer) produces asset specificity; e.g. the lathe

cannot do the function of a valve, but only remove metal to make a valve or other product.

Keeping the (design) ensemble at the centre in the model of Figure 1, it is possible to say that

Design Information bytes radiating outwards from the ensemble (in the photograph) would

increase Design Information Entropy of the information receiver. Using the construct of

Information Entropy allows us to paraphrase the abstraction of Figure 1 by sating that the

boundary of the flow of Product Design (measured in bytes of information) is the organisation‘s

boundary which receives the bulk of Design Information. A small portion of the Design

Information pertinent to the product‘s functions is received by the customer. This is similar to

energy radiating from a hot body (ordered state of energy) to the object being heated and

surrounding room (in a more disordered state of energy). The entropy of the hot body

decreases, but that of the object and surroundings increases. The total entropy of the hot body,

job, and surroundings increases positively, i.e. the flow is irreversible.

In reality, flow of Design Information to form the ensemble involves not only downstream flow

from sender (factory) to receiver (customer), but also feedback in the opposite direction. For

example, the customer provides valve specifications to the factory. Design Information does not

readily flow to the factory to form the ensemble, but lies scattered in bits and pieces with

different customers, and also in the same cluster, and in different clusters, and its own library.

Forming a (Design) ensemble involves collating a huge amount of Design Information scattered

in the clusters (more than one). The organisational bandwidths of Figure 1 function as a Lens to

collate the Design Information bytes from inside/outside the organisation to form the ensemble.

14

A Lathe not Used for Past Two Years in a Fabrication Unit

According to Second law of Thermodynamics, more heat would be required to transfer the same

quantity of heat from the surrounding at a lower temperature to a hot body at a higher

temperature. Similarly, collecting Design Information from the cluster/customer/library that is

scattered in a disorderly state, and placing it inside the organisation in ordered state to form the

ensemble, would incur costs. There is no free lunch.

This flux of Design information at the workstation to and from customer and other clusters,

driven by the CPPM relation, is constantly changing the Product Design. Any change in CPPM

relation would put in place a new Product Design. Thus, the Design is constantly evolving. As

CPPM relation results in Design Information Entropy, Designs appear to be durable over time.

Actual visible changes happens in incremental steps; Designs are destroyed and created to the

same specifications (reproduced), such as when a job is changed and another one mounted,

giving the appearance of time robust durability, or Asset Specificity.

Entropy is a difficult subject to understand, even by

distinguished scientists, what to talk of hapless Design

Experts!!! However, the widely accepted meaning of

entropy is heat not available for work, or if you like, locked

up. The unutilised equipment shown in the photograph,

for example, has nil Asset Specificity (or nil Design

Information Entropy) as there is no CPPM relation to

transfer Design Information from one point to another, or

transform it from one Design to another.

Asset Specificity defined from the Design Point of view

enables Design Experts to identify the opportunity areas where a Design intervention is

possible. In summary, it can be said that the Product Design enshrines the CPPM relation of the

unit manufacturing the product due to Design Information Entropy (Asset Specificity). Similarly,

the ensemble shown in the photograph enshrines the CPPM relation in clusters from where the

Design Information originated due to Design Information Entropy (Asset Specificity).

Just as Asset Specificity can be given a certain name so that the Design‘s functionality is quickly

assessed, such as valve, lathe, pipe, etc. the Design can also be named by its typology. For this

NAS, Design Experts have tried to match Design typology to the opportunity area given in the

NAS checklist in Table 3.

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4. Design Thinking

If our assumption that Product Design enshrines the customer-product-producer-market relation

is true, then Design Thinking provides a better mode competitive advantage.

By Design Thinking is meant that all Resources and efforts are dedicated to solving the problem

in place of the engineering approach to map all cause and effect relationship and follow the

optimal path, such as the approach used in Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme.

Table 3: Mapping Modes of Design Thinking to Opportunity Area of the NAS Checklist

DESIGN THINKING

Opportunity Area

(Unit Level, Minor Project)

Opportunity Area

(Cluster Level, Major)

Remedial Design Area (Cluster Level)

(NAS 1) Product Design Re Design Product Development

(NAS 13) Inter Cluster Communication

Design Information Forecasting Assessment

(NAS 3) R&D Directions for Future Development

(NAS 2) Tech Modernisation and Collaboration

Interactive Design and Strategic Collaborative Design

(NAS 4) Process Innovation and Related areas

(NAS 15) Process of manufacturing and productivity

New Product Introduction

(NAS 5) Workstation and Tooling (NAS 14) MSME Capability development

Design to Cost

(NAS 6) Ergonomics and Environmental Factors

(NAS 18) Manufacturability, serviceability, manufacturing process

Incremental Design development

(NAS 7) Market Competition study for design advantage and distinction

(NAS 16) Market Share and Profitability

Functional Designs to Reduce Adoption Costs

(NAS 8) Training and Skill Upgradation

Corporate Social Responsibility Expansive Enterprise Social Responsibility to include Vendors / Contractors

(NAS 9) Packaging logistics and Storage

(NAS 17) Lean manufacturing Space Innovation

(NAS 10) Infrastructure and Capability Enhancement

(NAS 19) Value Addition Quality Function Deployment

(NAS 11) Exhibition/Display (NAS 12) Visual identity and branding

Graphics Design, Linear Perspective

16

For the DCS scheme, we followed the approach used in Physics in treatment of ensembles. The

Opportunity Areas given in Table 3 are like windows giving views into the same room. The

approach is to take up one view at a time, and after finishing treatment regimen of the identified

problem with an appropriate Design Intervention, and observing what happens, to add another

view and another treatment regimen. This would continue until satisfaction is achieved; i.e.

“positive impact either in absolute revenues (indicating higher profit), or in percentage terms

(NAS 20)”. Every treatment would encompass all elements of the MSME unit in a holistic

environment, such as materials, labour, communication, infrastructure, finance, marketing, etc.

It is the claim of Design professionals and academicians that Design Thinking gives best results.

Such a claim is keenly contested by other disciplines, such as MBA, Researchers, engineers,

economists, sociologists, scientists, administrators, and even politicians.

The map given in Table 3 follows the schema often used in Academics for engineering

education in subjects taught in the guided self-managed Open Learning mode. Undergraduates

are given a ―minor‖ project in Y3, usually an observation cum experimental project as a summer

intern in an actual factory, followed up by a seminar in the classroom, somewhat similar to NAS

and workshop. In the next year students would take a ―major‖ project that would take it to the

prototype stage in a laboratory environment, somewhat similar to making of prototype in

Professional Design Project, albeit in a production environment. In the major project, students

would formulate a model by adapting previous models, carry out further studies by simulation or

experiment, interpret findings and conclude with a statement of relevancy to industry. Graduate

programme also follow the same schema, and so does a doctoral programme. In fact, the

methodology continues into professional careers, making such a schema (DCS) an excellent

coordinating mechanism for imparting employability skill for career planning of fresher (students)

and professionals.

5. Conclusion

There are no specific procedural guidelines to follow for Design Experts for the NAS and

workshop, excepting to present the report in a certain order. This necessitated the formulation of

the tools for carrying out the Design Research exploration and study.

The most important formulation is to consider the Design as an ensemble, constantly evolving

due to the flux of Design Information. The formulation that Design is a finite space with a

boundary of infinite length does not mean that physical boundaries cannot be placed to define

the scope of the study. Consider a mass of gas in an isolated and impervious container. Within

17

the impervious wall, beyond which the gas cannot escape, the positions of molecules are

constantly evolving, as the outcome of the system‘s equation is fed back to the system for

getting the next outcome. A boundary of infinite length is merely a way of expressing that within

the walls, the position of molecules is infinite.

Equally important formulation is to consider the finite space of the ensemble in terms of

Opportunity area given in the NAS checklist. Every opportunity area can be considered as views

from different windows to the same room. These views improve the Resolution of the

information about the room. It is like superimposing number of photographs taken from a Hubble

Telescope of space with different filters like infra red, visible, UV, etc. Details are important,

since they go to make the picture, but it is the superimposed pictures that make sense.

Photographs presented in the report under each Opportunity area are considered as

ensembles. What we wish to stress upon in the study is the relationships that are constantly

evolving, which the photographs do not always capture. Thus, the idea of Remedial Design

given in the report is not fault rectification, but restoring balance in the relationship of different

entities. It is also not the intention of Design Experts to give Designs, nor to say how Designs

are created. This is the jurisdiction of scientists and engineers, or the entrepreneur. In fact,

Evolution does not need assistance, and neither does it take directions that are predicted, no

matter how well studied.

18

A Crude Three Point Fixture for Bending Flat Sections and Thin Tubes for Light Fabrication Products

Need Welding Fixtures for Heavy Jobs

(Aluminium Smelting Pot, NALCO)

SECTION 4: REMEDIAL DESIGN AT CLUSTER LEVEL

Remedial Designs from the Interactive Design research (Section 5) is given here. Although

Remedial Designs tend to be unit specific, and can be applied at unit level, excepting very few

designs like display boards giving map of the Industrial Estate, they are given here for the

potential impact on the whole cluster. Individual unit reports would have more detailed Remedial

Designs applied specifically to the concerned unit.

Although some Remedial Designs are cluster wide Design issues, not all Design Opportunities

at cluster level would translate to unit specific Remedial Design. The next section contains the

actual findings and models used for the Design Research that went into formulating the

Remedial Designs given below.

1. Welding Fixture for Light Fabrication products with robotics control of welding

2. Welding fixtures for heavy engineering

fabrication

3. In house welding test for fatigue toughness,

viz, charpy test, as a means of pre qualifying

and skill improvement of welders (now very

much in short supply)

4. Switching to MIG in around 80% of welding

being done by manual arc welding

5. Stress relieving of weldment on

heavy jobs using heating mantle and/or

induction heating

6. Introduction of Welding Metallurgy

training for welding supervision

coordination

7. Fixtures for holding dies together for

thin tube bending

8. Fixtures and Design of Dies for thick

pipe bending

19

Equipment for Room Temperature Treatment of Functional Textiles (Yarn and Fabric), and adaptable for solar heating

9. Introduction of agriculture implements of new design to improve capacity utilisation of

units making light fabrication products

10. Training in Basic Metallurgy to workers in a Foundry (course outline of Modular course

given as an Annexe)

11. Innovation in Methoding (Gating and casting systems) for developing inhomogeneous

alloy structures not in thermodynamic equilibrium for wear resistance materials in place

of >14% Manganese steels

12. Proper size distribution of foundry sand to attain correct porosity for venting off gases

during casting solidification

13. Energy saving in chemical

treatment of textiles by enzyme

treatment and use of solar energy

in chemical treatment and drying

operation, especially for functional

Textiles

14. Innovation in making

moulds for fabrication by

composites

15. Space Innovation for

MSME units producing lightweight

but bulky equipment

Smelting Casting Machining

Considerable Design Knowledge Exists in a Foundry. Nonetheless productivity is low, cf: low speed machining of as cast flange with a carbide tool cutter without fixtures and heat treatment. Knowledge of Basic Metallurgy among workers would Bind this knowledge and form the Design Eco System in the Foundry.

20

If the Remedial Design is applied to a critical number of units, say >15% of the total MSME units

in the cluster in need of the Remedial Design, there is a strong likelihood for self sustainable

growth in adoption of the Remedial Design. This follows from analysis of adoption behaviour

curve, or diffusion curve, from the well known analysis of customer behaviour and PLC curve.

There is a caveat however, that the population of units in need of a particular Remedial Design

should be stationary. If for some reason the population changes due to foreclosure of the unit,

or discontinuation of manufacture of the product under consideration, or by addition of units

having the same Design fault, predictions about self sustainability of adoption of the proposed

Remedial Design would go awry.

A second issue is of proposing a cluster wide Remedial Design is to leverage Inter Cluster

Communication to not only speed up adoption behaviour of the Design, but to create a

mechanism that would detect faults early and adopt Remedial Design at the incipient stage.

A view taken by us concerning Remedial Design comes from the description of Design as an

ensemble, where relationships of the part to the whole have meaning. Cluster growth can

correct many faults, not just Design faults, but other social and economic faults, especially the

bad state of affairs due to the demise of many an enterprise from closure of PSUs. It is like

Evolution using growth by Self Reproduction to correct faults. But certain things can inhibit

growth, or cause untamed growth like cancer. Remedial Design should be looked upon as a

correction to those few things that if done would let Evolution continue its work of healthy growth

of cluster and fault rectification through a natural process. A man needs exercise to be healthy,

but doing exercise when leg is fractured would be a poor strategy for gaining good health.

Remedial Designs are aimed at correcting the specific fault of mending the bones; only after

that is exercise possible and good health the consequence.

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SECTION 5: DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES FROM INTERACTIVE DESIGN RESEARCH

1. Product Design and Re Design

If we accept the equation ―product design enshrines the customer-product-producer-market

relation‖, then the product design is adaptation to the evolving relation in the eco system of the

MSME unit. Product design and re-design is the outcome of the interactions that passes Design

Information to and fro between product and the eco system. The study of Product Design Re

Design and Product Development works out of the Information Theory of Entropy (by Shannon).

The Design Information of the product, viz. shape, form, material, life time, dimensions,

functionality, ergonomics, etc. forms ordered information set at the product manufacturing stage,

whereas the same information is present in the cluster in a disordered (entropic) state. This

model does not violate the lemma that the Design eco system of the cluster is also the same as

the Design eco system inside the unit, i.e. Laws of Design is same for all observers no matter

where they stand in the customer-product-producer-market relation.

What then is the Law of Design? Since facts are 90% of law, the photographs taken at Esskay

given below provide better description of the Law than what words can frame.

Some more facts about Esskay revealed during NAS visit pertinent to Product Design are:

Esskay has a Design Cell

Design Cell receives Detailed Engineering drawings and specifications, inspection

schedules, delivery schedules, etc. from Project Engineering firms on behalf of client.

Fabrication Design and Drawings are made in the Design Cell and sent to the shop floor.

Design Cell is out of bounds of all personnel due to non disclosure contract with PE firm

Component Sub Assembly Assembly (Billet Cooling Table)

22

Esskay is need of a Welding Coordinator, and other services such as testing by

Radiography, Charpy test, etc. that forms part of the contract.

To understand the general terms and conditions of the contract and the Fabrication Designing

arising from the contract from a Design Point of View, it is necessary to have a rudimentary

understanding of the Engineering Design process. It is an iterative process, and is based on a

sequence of activities comprising partly of calculations and partly of experimental work

(procedure, measurement and analysis). Fabrication Designing has four general classification;

base (for supporting weight), cover (for storage but having no internal pressure), container

(having internal pressure) and wheels (rotating and moving parts).

To make a Design and to fabricate according to a Design needs knowledge of how to locate a

line. A line is a locus of a point moving under certain restrictions. A straight line is the shortest

distance between two points on a plane surface. A curved line is a locus of a point on a curved

surface, which may or may not be the shortest distance. How the line changes form/shape when

the part is stressed is what constitutes engineering design.

The design prior to drawing of part would have a reference line or a reference point such as

neutral axis for bending and centre line for rotating parts. Electrical circuits have neutral points

and Fluid dynamics have the line of maximum pressure stress and maximum shear stress at the

solid wall. The line itself may sweep an area or volume. The calculation yields one or more

parameters of the part, such as thickness, or volume. The rest of the lines form part of the set of

instructions (construction lines) on how the part is to be made and is given to the fabricator. A

code would be followed for locating these instructional lines.

It is always assumed that Designing is over once the calculations are made and drawing

completed. In actual fact, the Designing process—locating a line—continues to the shop floor,

where it would undergo many modifications and changes. The final location of the line from the

shop floor is given as feedback to the Design Cell, along with other information such as test

reports, time charts, labour man hours, resources consumed, and comments (remarks)

measurements, etc., referred to as Design Information.

In the interactive discussion round following the factory visits with entrepreneur and managers,

50% of the conversation was on the current contract being executed. 50% of the conversation

was about past contracts and about other contractual jobs that are not visible on the shop floor.

(This is the routine that we settled down to for all our visits). In the example from Esskay under

23

consideration, we make an attempt for drawing up the job profile of a welding coordinator for the

Design Cell by abstracting pertinent information obtained from the Design audit as below.

Assuming that no information passes beyond the

organisational boundary, similar to analysing a

free body diagram in mechanics, we take the

example for making a cylinder to given

dimension D fabricated in a two step process, a

plate is bent on a plate bending machine and is

followed by welding on the longitudinal joint as

given in the photograph. The Design issue here

is to bend to a curvature given by a template,

and get a Diameter D to tolerance of ±3 mm.

The welder has to weld a joint of radiographic

quality and needs the edge on one plane to fit a flange (or cover) that has been made with a fair

precision on a CNC cutting machine.

Plate Bending Machine Operator Welder

If I apply too much force for every pass, I run

the risk of exceeding tolerance, and I would be

blamed by the Design Cell. On the other hand

a lower force would improve quality but

decrease productivity.

If the gap is high and edge lines are

imperfectly matched, time would be required

for adjustments and my productivity would

reduce. If I go ahead with less than perfect

match my productivity would improve, but

more electrodes would be consumed, and

chances of rejection is higher.

The Design issue in this case is to work out a trade off that would maximise productivity and

optimise cost and profitability. The debate for the simple problem captured by us (Design

Experts) while making rounds in the shop floor of Esskay also captures the essence of the

dialogue between the Design Cell and the Project Engineering outfit. Nature of the debate does

not change for jobs involving cutting followed by welding, such as bases, covers, and

containers. In equipment fabrication, the edges of the parts to be welded have to be matched

24

within a certain tolerance. It is these debates taken together that run the factory, provide

livelihood to workers, and make profit and recover investment of owners and stakeholders.1

Design Experts in the NAS tried to capture the decision processes of MSME units for bringing a

Design solution to these types of issues, i.e. specifying fabrication allowances, and take back

bearings to validate (audit) if the general procedure given below has been used for solving

Design issues like these for locating a line on finished part within specified tolerances.

Step 1: Find out unit cost for running machines, e.g. C(bending) and C (welding)

Step 2: Find out labour cost for running machines, say C(b-l) and C(w-l). The skill category of

the labour would have to be decided and is part of the Design Solution.

Step 3: Draw up simpler models of the process using cause and effect relationship. Several

simpler cause and effect models are compounded to form a model. (Note that some models

involve complex calculations. Most design issues can be addressed by using an additive model,

i.e. first order linear effects of variables expressed as a straight line. It is well to remember that

the solution is to be found using actual operation rather than equations.)

Step 4: Draw up cost model by cross multiplication of cost figures to the linear model

Step 5: Note down constraints, such as budget, skill availability, Resources, etc.

Step 6: Run the operations. Optimise costs, using part experiment and part calculation using

regression, ANOVA

Step 1 to 6 shows that Design is an iterative process, and involves human judgement and

beliefs held by people involved in the production system. When done experimentally, i.e. real

time, each iteration would incur cost. There are three approaches to finding the Design Solution.

The engineering approach, the institutional approach, and the ensemble approach. The

engineering approach was the most prevalent in the cluster, although we consider it the least

efficient. The institutional approach (systems approach) was followed by Esskay and others who

had third party inspection built into the contract. The ensemble approach is the one that was

followed by default when the engineering became too complicated, such as by Swagath making

1 Most of the first principles (engineering drawing and mechanics) used for locating a line in Designing Fabrication are taught in the first year of the engineering curriculum. The debate is sharpened in later years of engineering education on more specific applications.

25

polyurethane liners by moulding and casting. Ensemble approach is not recognised, i.e. units

using the approach have no name for it.

It is the ensemble approach used almost as an apology for neglecting ―engineering‖ that

provides many startling insights to Product Design Re Design and product development from

the Design Point of View. We expand on it and offer the insights obtained to critique the

institutional approach (systems approach) of a Design Cell maintained on insistence of Project

Engineering consultants, which most fabrication units desperately try to emulate.

But first, we give below a short description of the three approaches to finding a Design trade off

for fabricating a cylinder of diameter D.

Engineering Approach: approach process without prior assumptions; note rejects and scrap;

assess process capability (machine, labour skill), optimise to improve to 6∑;

The Engineering Approach uses an assumption to resolving the debate between the two

operators given in the Table. Every dispute has equilibrium. The approach would be to find the

equilibrium under conditions of constraints imposed to maximise productivity levels.

Once design parameters are fixed by specifying a tolerance D1≤D≤D2, i.e. after baseline is

determined, the MSME unit would go for improving process capability using cost benefit

analysis with exogenous addition of capacity; more sophisticated equipment, CNC, better

welding machines, use of skilled labour, etc. The Engineering Approach uses Cost Benefit

Analysis built upon a Baseline to maximise productivity, minimise cost, improve quality, etc.

The debate between workers using Cost Benefit analysis leads to fixing piece rate wages in this

cluster. It is a continuation of the practise of rate contract of government and large corporate

buyers to help in fixing a cost model for the MSME unit. Market decides the equilibrium

production based on labour pricing determined by an auction method. Market needs arbitration.

Codes like ISI are followed to specify design parameters and tolerances. In rate contract for

example, design is the headache of the government. Claims are made for any deviation in

design. In other words, pricing is used to convey Design Information in systems with high

incentive intensity, i.e. price would change and adapt to small deviations from contract. This

system is often adopted in the MSME unit to fix piece rate wages.

Piece rate wages structure is a deterrent to introducing any new designs, or modifying designs.

Piece rate wages makes everyone an entrepreneur, and the organisation structure becomes

flatter. The success of this approach in an economic sense depends on the initial conditions and

26

on low condition of Asset Specificity. When Asset Specificity is high, like the Plate Bending

Machine that can do only one type of job needed both by welder and bending operator, the

auction approach is no longer suitable. Cost increases, productivity is ensnared in controversies

and non cooperation, and cost is often passed off to entrepreneur.

Proof that piece rate wages is detrimental to Product Design and Re Design Product

Development is illustrated by the example taken from a NID sponsored Design Intervention

project at Maniabandha weaver cluster. The prior need assessment revealed highly skilled

workers in the cluster. However, the incentive structure for wages was piece rate practised by

the government supported societies. There are five societies, and they account for around 25%

of the weaver workstation. The rest are privately owned. Each workstation would have a loom, a

dyeing unit (vats), warping drums, reeling equipment, and the frame used for tie dye process for

making ikat designs. A workstation needs five to six types of skilled workers for different

operations of the loom. Wages for all are fixed on piece rate basis, and are different for different

skills. There are very few registered organisations, so workers move from loom to loom.

Considerable amount of chaffing and bickering goes on in the community of weavers. The major

subject of contention is to get the boundary line of the motif sharp, so that the product (sarees)

can compete with the printed sarees in the market. New designs based on blurred outlines due

to demand from the clients with real appreciation of ikat are rejected by the community.

Although the community says that it would do any design if it increases the wages, no one

wants to disturb the prevalent piece rate wage structure. Weavers have skill to use the Jacquard

and Dobby, but switch to these reluctantly, and soon revert to tie and dye process of ikat. The

point of interest was why the government (Dept of Textiles) with willingness to explore new

markets for weavers were not able to make the critical link of the community with the market.

The answer is that the mediating institution in this labour market with high incentive intensity is

social caste institutions, and the nexus between the community and government with practise of

recruiting from the community into contractual and salaried positions in order to get better

acceptability of design interventions and livelihood, actually rejects a different product design.

This phenomenon of boundaries impervious to Design Information morphing to social

boundaries like secrecy, restricting access to information (―he wont understand‖), closing ranks,

maintaining jurisdiction, and so on was observed in all units of the NAS sample practising piece

rate wages. (Although caste institutions are not the mediating institutions in MSME industrial

units, the social boundary is nevertheless observable, resulting in limitations of access to the

Design Cell; e.g. Cell of Esskay put in place at behest of Project Engineering organisations.)

27

Institutional Approach: The hierarchy (in the agency of welding coordinator) mediates

between the workers occupying different positions of the value stream to fix wages, such as

hourly rate, or production incentives beyond salary. The hierarchy is its own court of appeal.

Tolerance from deviation to contract is high. As said by Williamson ―forbearance is the doctrine

of the hierarchy‖. The hierarchy is a mechanism of risk pooling of wages, as the Product Design

changes from moment to moment due to changes in the customer-product-producer-market

relation, creates pressure to change wages from moment to moment as workers adapt wages to

match skills demand with Product Design. Hierarchy is the ballast that balances the rocking of

the boat for every Product Design change due to the storm surges from the market. Hierarchy

gives stability to the continuously evolving patterns of Product Design, enabling sensible Design

Interventions. Social asset specificity is high, and workers know that they are dependent on one

another and on the management. There is scope for collective bargaining. Motivational

programmes like Lean Manufacturing, training, and other institutional means are used to

improve productivity. Oftentimes, performance appraisal of workers maybe decided by worker

productivity, as too much ballast can sink the boat, but risk pooling is definitely long term.

The prevalent practise in the Industrial Estate is to outsource the Design improvement, such as

to PE consultants by Esskay. Majority of MSME units would find it costly to hire Design

specialists, and consequently, the partition between units with high market power and low

market power increases. The net effect is the creation of impervious borders for give and take of

Design Information, and this leads to small units becoming smaller and large units larger.

The Ensemble Approach: In the ensemble approach, the hierarchy is still needed to bring in

design changes, but uses a different line of reasoning as in case of Swagath given below.

(The Design Information from client’s unit is shown to reach the Swagath boundary in a highly

disordered state, along with other information of the sieve shaker.)

Mould Liner Sieve Shaker (with client)

28

Different products, one technology of

burner and bending of thin sections

Initially, Swagath supplied replacement liners through OEM suppliers. As competition became

stiffer between OEM suppliers, and the client switched between suppliers, (lower Asset

Specificity), the client started taking liners directly from Swagath. With complaints received

about liner performance, shown as dotted ripples in the photograph, Swagath produced liners

with reinforced with steel flats instead of all polyurethane liner.

The examples show product development is an evolutionary process of Product Design and Re

Design. It is an iterative process (not captured in the photographs) of a series of consultations,

reports, interactions, and observation. It is constantly evolving, reflecting the change in the

customer-product-producer-market relation. The fact that the product design is durable and

unchanged for a period of time sufficiently long

enough for MSME unit to recover investments

actually shows Evolution at work, as stability in the

customer-product-producer-market relation (pattern)

has also produced temporal asset specificity.

In the range of products made by Eastern Gas as

shown in the photograph, Design changes using the

same technology and manufacturing process have

created new clients in the same market segment of

small hotels and eateries. Eastern Gas does not

cater to the household segment, preferring to sell

B2B. It does not use the services of professional

Designer, as customers come to the factory for

consultation of their needs and purchase of product.

This design changes are prompted by user

ergonomics and functionality during the course of

consultation and discussion.

While two designs are discrete, and two products

are discrete structures, can two products of the

same design be treated as discrete designs?

According to the equation that “product design (is

an ensemble of design information) enshrines the

customer-product-producer-market relation‖, the

29

Can Swagath make

Polyurethane

cladding for this

mining equipment?

answer is that it can be treated as discrete designs as it

works out of information bytes that are discrete, and do

not necessarily form a continuum, and are not derived

from one another.

Swagath also makes liners on rollers and claddings as

shown in the photograph. These are used for a class of

equipment in the mining sector, and for conveyors in

power, steel sectors using the beneficiary ore.

There is a class of mining equipment that uses the same fabrication technology of making

polyurethane claddings. This is given in the photograph below. Will Swagath make it?

The answer lies not in its process

and technology expertise, but in its

customer-product-producer-market

relation. The spiral classifier is

used for ore in the form of sand

and is different from the lump ores

that are crushed, ground, and

beneficiated before use. Sand ore

is found in eastern Odisha, at the

coast, whereas lump ore (coal,

iron ore) is in Western and Central

Odisha. Swahath‘s hierarchy has

to incur cost to bring Design

Information into the unit, all

arranged in an organised manner

(ordered) to frame the Product Design ensemble. The cost incurred would be for the

experimentation-cum-analysis using processes occurring in real time.

What then is the ensemble approach? How does information entropy help in understanding it?

An ensemble is the relationships of the part to the whole. In the case of fabricating cylinder, the

operators (after attending the DCS DAP workshop!!) decide to create a strategic alliance instead

of the antagonistic relationship assumed by Institutional Economists. They take data

meticulously collected by the welding coordinator inspired by a Lean curriculum read in college.

Spiral Classifier

30

6∑ boundary

They start by drawing the diameter on paper (to a certain scale), and plot the centre on a xy

coordinate plot. They start with the plate bending operation. After a large number of jobs and

recordings of diameter by drawing the circle it is found that all the circles fall within a band as

shown in the drawing. More circles fall towards the centre of the band and less towards its

edges as shown in the graph (intensity proportional to number). The welding coordinator

explains about statistical analysis, scatter, and Sigma by means of the bell shaped plot showing

errors are random and normally distributed. If the 6∑ boundary (outer and lower) falls within 6

mm (± 3 mm), they are doing well. If not they would have to improve using an optimisation

routine based on statistical experimental design. The routine is based on explaining variance by

the variance of the determinant variables, and using a complicated routine to achieve 6∑.

Daunted by the maths, they ask the Designer for a ―practical‖ solution. The Designer tells them

to sculpt the line on the cylinder like a sculptor, using the plate bending machine and crane and

welding machine in the same way as a sculptor uses chisel and hammer on marble. ―Record

feelings and actions, and see the line like Michelangelo must have done for the two months he

took to study the marble block before making David. Feel the ghost in the machine and the

unknown hand that causes the variance. Go into the error with the imagination.‖

They soon realise that in the plate bending operation, checking curvature by template at the

surface is a useless way of aligning the job. The operator does much better by looking at the

line and feeling the centre. Knowing this, they just decide to forget about equilibrium, and start

relating the countless actions they do to locate the line of diameter D for every job they produce.

The aim is to feel satisfied: ―I feel this to be right‖. After production of every part they consult for

a joint review of how they feel, (―I feel this this and this to have happened in the previous

operation‖), before deciding the next action. For each job, treated as a Discrete Design, they

make a note of the action and other variables, and record the diameter D.

What follows is the most critical point of the Design‘s development. First realisation is that their

actions are repeating, and since they are continuous, i.e. every action set is taken off from the

point where it last ended, (such as adjusting position of job on machine), actions and variables

31

can be represented by a continuous line on paper if there were some way of expressing them

mathematically. They would realise that the reasoning by ―cause and effect‖ debated by them

for locating the line for the design D by feel of centre is going round in circles, but each self

repeating cycle of action is shifting the centre ever so slightly, almost to the former position but

not precisely the same, like Catch 22.

The welding coordinator who has done set theory in school (class VIII) realises that the debate

of operators, whose structure given in the Table showed that it looped back to itself anyway and

looked self defeating, like the tu tu main main arguments at home, has actually mapped the

error in position of the centre and value of D. It has gone into the error!! Ever the mathematician,

the welding coordination captures their action by the following short notation f(n): D→D, where

f(n) is the nth iteration, and D is the diameter of previous Design mapped to the next Design vide

the system‘s functions ―f‖. The variables that seem to have taken values randomly, like their

antagonistic debate, have an underlying order; a pattern called Design.

The welding coordinator thinks he has now found a control mechanism for quality control and

costs. He increases frequency of QC meetings, and allows the debate to proceed in its own

course, seemingly randomly, as in a group therapy. Agreement is not the issue, he decides,

convergence of feelings while each person thinks differently is the main thing; people are after

all rational on their own terms. If interaction could be represented as mathematical equations,

with output D of previous iteration (set of actions) forming input for next iteration, then these

equations graph the orbit of D, and the red band, called the time robust plot, would be termed as

orbital space of D. (Time robust plot of earth around the sun is fixed and unvarying. Its orbit is a

circle. The orbit of D is subjected to slight variations in the actions, such as positioning job,

speed of machine, ambient temperature, variation in plate thickness, and many other variables).

What the ensemble approach has achieved is formed a mental model of the

underlying order in the endless ebb and flow of actions, and apparent

randomness in variation of D. Underlying order is what we wanted to

capture during visits of the NAS; not always successfully. Rarely were the

patterns apparent during the visit, but ever afterwards. The idea of the

ensemble is that more mental models of other operators can be superimposed,

such as fitting/welding the flange. If each operator views the cylinder by feel of the centre, then

all the mental models would take a shape similar to the one shown in the drawing. The

ensembles of all actions of different operators with respect to the cylindrical part such as cutting,

32

Orbital Space

Esskay Organisational Boundary

bending, machining, welding, done by feel of the centre, is the Design‘s philosophy, depicted by

the drawing as a fuzzy diameter.

What is true for the cylinder is true for other shapes, single parts, and sub assembly and

assemblies. The ensemble of all action making them is the Design‘s philosophy. It is philosophy.

Suppose we take one person from each trade in the MSME unit like Esskay, such as fitter,

welder, turner, machinist, helper, crane operator, supervisor, QC engineer, do they have

common knowledge for locating a line? By common knowledge is meant that everybody has the

same information. If common knowledge is not there, would the pooled knowledge be sufficient

to locate the line dynamically. If such a group can be found, then how many such groups can be

made up from the 200+ workforce? If no such group can be found, then what knowledge/skill

needed to locate a line and all such lines? Do they have the minimum length of complexity to

realise the underlying order of dynamic variables (including their own actions)?

Actions and variables denoted by ―f‖ map to D, i.e., if actions and variables form a set of discrete

points (a1, a2, a3, a4.......) and D is a set of diameter measurements (D1, D2, D3, D4..........)

connected through function f, then the orbit of D falling within the outer red band is called the

orbital space (phase space). Since actions and variables are continuous with no gaps, the map

of D is also a continuous line occupying the band, or the Design has a boundary of infinite

length enclosing a finite space (the product).

In the experience of this Design Expert, it takes roughly three months to make a group of 30-35

workers realise the underlying order of apparently random events in the factory. Such thermal

imaging maps can be drawn for information of the shop floor, collated and arranged nicely in the

form of thermal imaging area chart.

The crucial issue for Esskay is where the

organisational boundary is located in the

thermal image map. Apparently the information blackout caused by

restricting access of workers and visitors to the Design Cell room, a social

boundary if you please, causes us to place the orbital space of the information

map outside the organisational boundary. Who does the Design Cell serve? It is the personnel

from the Project Engineering firm, fed with all the information trickling through the boundary by a

process of reverse osmosis, from a lower concentration of information at the shop floor to a

higher concentration of information in the Design Cell by incurring cost at Esskay‘s expense.

(The Design Team also received and collated Design Information from the shop floor by reverse

33

osmosis, but at least, the incurred cost was partially paid for by NID.) The cell boundary kept

ostensibly to help Esskay and protect intellectual property of consultants vide a non disclosure

agreement seems now to read like a Le Carre‘s plot of having a mole (spy) in Esskay!

Opportunity Area at Cluster Level: Inter Cluster Communication

An orbit of the actions described by the expression f(n): D→D is a continuous line. The term

orbit space is coined by us to show the probability function of the occurrence of Design D; it is

finite object with characteristic D, or a set of characteristics D. Information is available in packets

called bytes, just as energy packets are called quanta. A single debate concerning fabricating a

cylinder would be described as so many bytes of information. All of these can be collated and

the information density for a particular Product Design depicted by an area chart (graph) with

Product Design at the centre. It follows that the orbital space of actions can be depicted as a

circular band around the centre, is a line of infinite length enclosing a finite space.

A cluster is a collection of such finite spaces. An organisation is a cluster of finite spaces, where

information density of a Product Design is high, and the information bytes are ordered. Outside

the organisation boundary, at cluster (of units) level, the same information bytes would be

available, but in a disordered state, and of lower information density. The organisation and

cluster can be described in terms of a physical (or social) boundary, and is finite. The implied

meaning is that the unit must function within the relationship of a finite number of MSME units.

The information map of the state of affairs described here is depicted in the area chart. The

further away the cluster units in terms of relational investment (social capital) with the unit, the

lower the information density and ordered state with respect to Product Design. Regions with

low information density are shaded black. It is from the movie Black, which is an excellent

statement that Black depicts inability to make meaning although the concentration of bytes

maybe high, like in a computer hard disk corrupted by a virus.

However, it is well known that 90% of information pertinent to Product Design is available in the

cluster where the unit is located. The question is how to collect it. It is obvious that information is

Cluster Boundary, depicting finite number of units. It is a social boundary

Organisational boundary, also a social boundary, but permeable to information

The finite space of the Product Design ensemble

34

not available in ordered sate, and cost has to be incurred to collect it, make it ordered, and

improve density or concentration. Whereas a product is property of owner, Product Design is a

shared ownership of more than one legal entity. It is a Public Good. To prevent reverse

osmosis, the phenomenon of cost incurred by MSME unit but information flow controlled and

flowing to the client with greater market power, shows the opportunity area points to a PPP

mode of cost sharing, some by government, and some by the MSME unit. The government‘s

participation by way of subsidy for Public Good provision, especially the state government of

Odisha, is both a duty and an obligation, since it is only by the democratic process that

information sharing can be equitable. The government‘s subsidy is the cost of coordination, or

cost of democracy. (Marx calls reverse osmosis ―the subjugation by voluntary contract with

capital‖ when the isolated entity is forced to choose against its (labour class) free will.)

In our visits to the units, the team of Design Experts often had to search for a couple of hours to

locate a unit, even though the visit was fixed by prior appointment, and there was constant

mobile contact with entrepreneurs/managers for directions. We had to use a search routine not

unlike Google search, until right upto the unit‘s gate where the name was displayed with some

prominence. The keyword search order was as follows:

Location (Zone) → Product → Plot No → <<name>>

Notice that <<name>> comes in the very end, and its partial entropy in the aam aadmi of the

cluster like tea shops, paan shops, and small vendors is very low. Product has a higher

probability of occurrence, especially if we asked directions to a similar unit and potential rival for

resources like skill and clients. The greater the number of people employed, like educational

institutes, the more the probability of fetching correct answers from small vendors.

Such information may seem less important, but they act like carrier waves for carrying the useful

Information about Product Design needed by all MSME units. It is a question of probability;

imparting energy to such less important information would improve the unit‘s chances of

sourcing pertinent information on Product Design as well as incur lower cost.

The first line of attack is to raise energy levels of the <<name>>. As people cognise in a

particular pattern, the prominent display of name on direction finders like Billboards and Kiosk

would result in ―word of mouth‖ diffusion of things higher in the hierarchy like ―products‖ and

―product design‖. Bootstrapping entrepreneurs, Market Researchers, and social scientists often

use such methods to collate design information on a particular subject. The underlying theory is

35

that the information present in highly entropic state would nevertheless have the same pattern

as design information in the ordered state inside the unit. Laws of Design are same for all.

However, the mere raising of energy levels is of little use unless efforts are made

simultaneously in the MSME unit for filtering out noise and concentrating information patterns by

means of ―cookies‖ like in a computer downloading specific information from the net. What the

cookies are is represented by an internal map of the organisation in a NID DCS website for

Dynamic Looms. We give a similar one for a spiral classifier in the same format.

Every cluster level intervention, whether Design Intervention, Lean Manufacturing, Marketing, or

Cluster Development Programmes, use cookies. But all such interventions have one thing in

common, namely, cluster mapping. Maps are actually pictorial representation of models, which

in turn is a collection of simpler cause and effect relationships. Mapping can have biases, like

Design, or Quality, or Lean. The one for Design is called Emerging Opportunity Mapping.

Cluster Mapping Tool: Design Information Forecasting Assessment (DIFA)

The fundamental premise of Design Information and Forecasting Assessment is that Design

Information is available in the cluster (or clients) but in a disordered state (noise) and in low

concentration. Its state of being disordered is to say that it is mixed up with other Design

Machinery with Buy

Back

Company

Customer Relationship

Promotion & Marketing

Finances

Products

Founder R P Das (2000)

Management

StaffField

SupervisorsSite

Gen Magr Design Office

Bhubaneswar Office

Problems

Spares / Replacement

Cost and Quality

Created Goodwill

Supplied 3 turnkey jobs

Timely SupplyProduction

Type

2nd Hand imported machines

Automatic Machines don’t give production

Parts OutsourcedCompetitionMost Machines Customised 95% ,manually operated

Other countries selling to India (Australia, South Africa)

Widely differing designs

Innovation

Prototype Jiggng under development

No models within Rs 1 crore

Sales

Market dull due to Regulations

200 Crore Trade at Peak

Trade Mart

IRMA

Solely for Presence & Goodwill

Word of Mouth

Type

Factory Owners

No middle man

Customers enquire by

internet

Direct dealing with client

Letter of Credit

Honesty & Trust

Feel that morals are

going down

Market

Mines-main market

International

!2 suppliers tie-inAround 400 suppliers

China, S E Asia

15 peopleDept

R&D

Q&A

Cash Payments

Draws Design Gives to Comp Operator

Outsourced

Cost is the Main factor

75% bought out

16 SME Fabrication and Engineering engaged

Process Mapping for Beneficiation Technology Provider with Buy Back (around

four SMEs consulted)

•Process Mapping done by team of four, each with 20 years experience in all the Zones, from Design to sales and Customer satisfaction)23

Principal InvestigatorProf. N P Gantayet

36

A Turnkey Cement Plant Supplied by Esskay illustrating fabrication orders received with lot

of Design Information uncertainty

Information, and that a lens is required to filter and concentrate the Design Information in a

useful way. Cost is incurred to transfer the Design Information from cluster to MSME unit.

DIFA starts with an Design Idea, but does not germinate one. That creative process belongs to

scientists and engineers and entrepreneurs and not Design Experts. DIFA is a process to

change abstraction in the idea to reality, and hypothesis to facts. It is the model of how a Design

idea evolves and Design Information is ordered through actual usage and action.

While a full scope discussion DIFA would fall outside the scope of the NAS, the situation in

which it can be used is given in the photograph above, where Designs are yet to evolve.

Design Information Forecasting is different from Design Forecasting, very much as Weather

Forecasting is different from the actual weather. Weather Forecasting is the technique of how a

model of the weather evolves when used for predicting the trend of the weather (forecasting).

So also Design Information Forecasting is how a model of design adoption in the unit or the

cluster evolves when used for predicting trend of the Design. It does not help in Design creation,

which is the domain of engineering, scientists, artists, etc.

Cookies are a good example of organisational lensing. But it is not sufficient description of

Design Information Forecasting Assessment. For a long time, economists had not used Design

in their treatment of the economy. The award of Nobel Prize to Desmond and Pisardes for

search and match frictions in markets shows growing importance of Design with economists.

Foundry Products at SS Industries

It is rare for foundries to receive orders for the same design. Repeat orders come too

infrequently to lower cost by Learning Curve

37

Design Information and Forecasting Assessment captures some bare essentials of their model,

but is action oriented, and says how a Design would evolve from stage of Idea to reality of

production and sales. Unlike weather forecasting which is number crunching in a computer

model of the weather fed by real time data, Design Information Forecasting Assessment is a

sequence of actions and processes. It is closer to Technology Information Forecasting

Assessment Council (TIFAC-CORE), where project action and strategic alliance of industry,

government, and institution, evolves the lesser institutions like NITs and private engineering

colleges to becoming Centres of Relevance and Excellence (CORE).

The end result of DIFA would generally be a Cost Estimation and/or projections of revenue and

profitability under uncertainty and/or incomplete information. DIFA is a generic model that can

be broken to several steps of designing and making a product. One such model uses the

following steps:

1. Design Idea

2. Benchmarking survey of the Idea. (In product Design this step may involve mock ups.)

3. Proof of Concept: Component Design, making of components, Concept Design and

Proof of Concept,

4. Prototyping, i.e. creating a system that is representative of actual product and performs

the desired functions, and the value stream (process plan) for manufacturing product

5. Design of Functional Areas: Pilot Production carried out after laying down the

manufacturing system for making the product, including detailed engineering, skill

training, tooling, management information system, etc.

6. Further Diagnostic Study: Full Scale Production at 3 Sigma, which may include many

diagnostic studies, introducing lean practises, cost reduction from learning curve effects,

other cost reduction, etc

7. Validated Cost Models: Full Scale Production at 6 Sigma, most models are validated,

supply chains are stable, and ROI is stable to continue production at peak efficiency

This NAS for instance is focused at step 6, while the DAP workshop would take the Design

Research back to iterations of step 5, and the Design Project of DCS scheme would begin the

iterations from step 1 to 6 or 7.

The model shown above is borrowed from a similar model prepared by NASA in the ‗70s, and is

still in vogue for product design and development.

38

DIFA is useful where many manufacturing issues of making the final product, say equipment or

component, are yet to be solved, and there are Design innovations that are yet to be carried out;

i.e. there is Design Information uncertainty.

The use of DIFA to map opportunities is also a call of help for a few demo projects (pilots) for

product design and development for developing ancillary industries of the large industries.

Ancillary industries have two advantages. First is access to experience in the product‘s usage in

the large industries available as feedback, a critical factor in design development. Second is the

availability of design information in the same locality as the MSME units and reduced cost of

logistics. The disadvantage is the low volumes of many of these products that do not make it

attractive to contemplate investment right away. DIFA presents an alternative possibility, i.e. the

development of the technology and spin offs during the stage of prototype development, which

precisely, is also the express purpose of Design Projects of DCS scheme.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Design) using Design Information and Forecasting Assessment

The remedial measure is to improve awareness of improving prediction accuracy using DIFA.

Like any good forecasting model, its use only can develop the model, and it must remain good

after being used. It is like the customer-product-producer-market relation driving Product Design

improvements, but applied to a model higher up in the recursive series.

For example, to make ancillary development through DIFA needs the support of Inter Cluster

Communication, and this happens to be an issue for Public Goods provision. The UNIDO

recommendation for tapping CSR funds to creating facilities at cluster level and building

awareness should be actively mediated by the government from the large industrial houses of

Odisha who have come to invest and benefit from the natural resources of the state.

Concurrently, improvements need to be done on Research Methodology, and a few Design

Institutions to produce professionals skilled in DIFA. Most educational institutions have simply

no idea on how to prepare a project proposal using Action Learning. They tend to be too taken

up in face to face learning instructions, and their facilities and laboratory are inadequate to give

students the needed exposure to design practise of industries.

The fast track improvement is always to strengthen a current programme, and the DCS itself

provides the best bet for strengthening Inter Cluster Communication. Since DCS is patterned

along the line of a ―Clinic‖, a few practises from Health Communication programmes can form

the Remedial Designs.

39

Remedial Designs based on the proven methodologies of Communication programmes in

Health, Education, etc. is given by the following.

(a) An ongoing clinic (design project) that is functional, i.e. a design project for getting real

time data to update the model‘s predictive ability. For this NAS for example, inputs from

an ongoing design project sponsored by NID in the weaving and apparel clusters has

provided valuable inputs (quoted in relevant points in the text).

(b) More and greater frequency of short term programmes like Spot Design Clinics. The

basis is that forecasting models need frequent updates like validation of diagnostic

information, and Spot Design Clinics speed up the process as in parallel computing.

(c) Spot Design Clinics also help in providing trend data and surveillance information

(d) Development of the base model, i.e. Information Theory Entropy and cross comparison

with econometric models. There is an army of Soft Skill developers who use these

Communication models throughout the country (Soft Skill), especially targeted at the IT

sector. Odisha is no exception. They need to be re invented, and placed in context for

core industries. This ought to be a stand alone Research programme.

(e) Although the number of engineering colleges have crossed the 85 mark, the state does

not have Industrial Design curriculum, neither government nor private. Some steps to

improve that would go a long way. This would help the army of Soft Skill developers to

diversify portfolio by using Communication and Information Entropy Theories in the

service of product design and development. For example, to service industries with a

workshop to carry out value addition, such as MSME units carrying out Repair and

Maintenance contracts, and who have become entrepreneurs and started many of the

MSME units in the Industrial Estate

(f) Basic IEC techniques at cluster level like Billboards, and possibly Kiosks have been

mentioned earlier.

40

A Chennai Based Company has placed its Engineer for Making Structural Parts for supporting a Pipeline at HiTech as a vendor.

2. R&D directions for Future Initiatives

The NAS revealed a definite gap in entrepreneurs not exploiting technical collaborations as

coming from lack of investments in R&D.

The direction of R&D development seems to be in developing capabilities for material science

and Physical Metallurgy, which is conspicuous by its total absence. The area in which R&D and

technology development could be profitably used is in the following.

Wear resistant materials, like carbides in an alloy matrix

Wear resistance materials like polyurethane liners with higher strength to weight ratio

Die design and development for making moulds

But technology and product design and development alone is not sufficient. Units have to

develop R&D capabilities for soft components like Engineering

Cost Models to track Design development like Space

Innovation, Materials Development, etc. especially in

collaborative endeavours such as vendor development.

The stages of developing an Engineering Cost Model are:

Cost Model based on Value Stream Mapping (of

vendor)

Value Engineering (design tradeoffs) and budgetary

allocation for making components (with vendor)

Cost Updating to Systems level and tracked (with all

vendors)

Detailed Engineering drives cost,

Lean practises adopted, Learning curve validated

Engineering Cost Model validated

Lighting Poles by Hi Tech Almirah by Sri Ram Furniture by CEF Plate Bending by United

41

To illustrate take the case of these following industries given in the photograph, M/s Hi Tech, Sri

Ram, CRF and United (maker of control panels).

The four products are bought against tender by the Building Industry players like Interior decors,

owners, etc. mostly institutional buyers. The units themselves are a member of a SPV called

BES, and therefore enjoy collective bargaining power and market power. Supposing the SPV

entered into contract with the institutional buyer for interiors Once the contract was signed, the

SPV becomes the internal customer operating at no profit no loss for these four units.

The SPV now develops an Engineering Cost Model taking into account price fluctuations and

uncertainty of final cost. These four industries would do Product Design and Development by

adopting Design to Cost, due to budget constraint imposed by a priori contract amount.

Engineering Cost Model has to take into account that the SPV‘s Resources would be available

to these units at a price, and that the revenue must be sufficient for each unit to make profit.

It maybe noted that within the SPV, Design would be a Public Good, i.e. commonly owned by

the three units, and by extension, all members units of the SPV, but available to each member

at a price, and so adjusted that the SPV makes no profit and no loss.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping: Technical Collaboration and Modernisation

The nature of technical collaboration and modernisation can be varied. The reason for Technical

Collaboration can also be varied.

CEF assembles these

tractors and sells it to

farmers using the

Government subsidy

channel. Parts are

shipped by the

manufacturing company.

Reason for CEF taking

up this agency is seen in the photograph in the right. It has space to stock the tractors.

The service contract spells out replacement for parts during warranty period. Beyond that

period, spares have to be purchased in the open market.

42

To capture this spares market, CEF would have to invest in

Design, develop vendors, check if available capacities within itself

and vendors are sufficient to service the population of tractors sold

by itself.

It has a machine shop that it can upgrade, shown in the left. All

CEF needs is a Technology collaborator, say for die casting of

Aluminium, and not necessarily the tractor manufacturer, or OEM

supplier to the tractor manufacturing company. It could be any Toolmaker, like CTTC, or CIPET.

In case of Anupama Industries, who brought the Diamond pump logo

and technology for its submersible pumps shown in the Right, the issue

is to modernise by designing an appropriate workstation for assembly of

the pump.

The general case in the cluster is similar to those shown above. A

Technical collaboration arises if the collaborator carries out Space

Innovation through a franchisee arrangement, getting usufruct Rights to

franchisee‘s space like any tenant, in exchange of Rights to use the

Brand. Nevertheless, the franchisee has to identify and exploit all Design

Opportunities under its own steam in order to grow.

Technical collaborations to get access to Design and strengthen market

penetration are even more demanding when mergers and partnerships

are contemplated.

From a Design point of view, the normative definition of cluster as a

number of units producing similar products located in a Geographical

Region embeds the definition of cluster as a congregation of units

manufacturing products of similar Design located in a Geographical

Region. Thus, a product-defined-cluster would contain a number of

Design-defined-clusters, just as an Industrial Estate as Growth Pole is a cluster of product-

defined-clusters.

Such disaggregation helps to not only place Design at the centre of the unit‘s development, but

also to strategise cluster growth, and thereon to expansion of Industrial Estates, and indeed, the

process of Industrialisation in the state of Odisha. When the macro indicators of cluster growth,

43

such as net economic output or net employment, is obfuscated by noise, and no sensible

analysis can be made to set policy, Design-defined-cluster has the merit of having higher

resolution (or lower least count) for more accurate analysis of the cluster and better planning of

policy, such as subsidy contribution by state government towards beneficiary contribution of

DCS and other schemes, attracting investments to the state, employment, etc.

Collaboration starts by developing cookies in the MSME unit, which factors in Design

Information from the collaborator. Just as electrons and protons are held in their orbits at the

saddle points of the energy field inside the atom, Product Design is held in place in the

Information Field inside the unit in such saddle points. Collaboration creates such saddle points

in the MSME. Even a marketing collaboration, like the one CEF has for distribution of tractors,

would create saddle points. What results in product development is the synergy of its other

products with the tractor, or components of the tractor. CEF‘s portfolio of furniture and turnkey

water treatment plants do not seem to be having Design compatibility, even though it has the

equipment to make a start. We see that Design mismatch excludes the collaboration, a fact that

has great importance in some other context like Market Distinction and product differentiation.

3. Process Innovation and Related Areas

Process involves a change in chemistry. In manufacturing, welding, smelting, Heat Treatment,

polymerisation, chemical treatment, would be taken as Processes. All other activities like

bending, cutting, shaping, metal removal, drying, etc. would be called operations.

Process is generally associated with operations, both pre and post operations. Because they

are inseparable, a Design Opportunity would usually encompass development of the equipment

where the process takes place, and also related equipment for carrying out the operations.

The overarching process innovation in engineering and fabrication is welding, and the nil

absence of welding fixtures gives rise to an abundance of Design Opportunities for the same.

Process Innovation is a ticklish issue, since although a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) is

easy to make for Operations, Process Innovation needs Process Control—a difficult subject that

needs mastery in Maths. For example, the Design Opportunities for welding must encompass

use of welding fixtures, automation, and process control like robotics for welding innovation to

fetch improvements in productivity.

A second area for Process Innovation is in designing for preventing welding distortions. This is

generally left to the welding machine operator, whereas it needs the direct involvement of

44

Moulds polythene wrapped and kept at Swagath for different Jobs

Sales of Furniture from CEF have drastically reduced over the years

welding engineer with knowledge of welding metallurgy. To be effective, the welding engineer

needs Testing equipments, and also the skill to use them.

If inorganic chemistry sounds complicated, the case of biological processes in production of

Functional Textiles (bandages) would sound horrendous. In this NAS, scope for process

innovation and related operations was identified for maintaining a sterile environment and also

sterile products. Design Opportunities exist for maintaining a positive pressure in the chamber

where sterile bandages for burns dressing is prepared. Design Opportunities exist also for

reducing and eliminating bacterial load by using cold plasma instead of sending the product for

gamma radiation. Finally, testing equipment, instrumentation and process control to make good

the Design Opportunities mentioned above.

Most of the MSME units obtain job orders against tender

from the government or private parties. Getting a repeat

order would be a fortunate event indeed. Only few units

(three) had proprietary items in their product line. Units

selling to Institutional buyers with the hope that they would

procure standardised

item, like office

furniture, have seen

sales plummet .This

indicates an

underlying change in the evolving customer-product-

producer-market relation of the cluster as a whole brought

about by generic substitution of product due to change in

material of construction. In a bearish market, the

competition reduces profits all units in the cluster.

A frequent problem with institutional buying is that of social asset specificity, especially if the

buyer is government institution placing repeat orders against tender. The order emanates from

the relationship between Accounts section of MSME unit and purchase department of buyer, the

designated agency to deal with tender papers. Under these circumstances, changing a process

that would fundamentally change the material would always be the last option for MSME as it

leads to Disruptive Design Development and brings about drastic changes in value chains of

manufacturing engineering processes. It is useful means of development if stasis has crept into

45

the customer-product-producer-market relation, such as stagnation in Design Development of

the institutional buyer resulting in falling sales volumes.

Opportunity Area at Cluster Level: Process of Manufacturing and Productivity (NAS 15)

Process Innovation and design improvements in associated Operations provide the impetus to

switch from an engineering approach to optimise after all variables are determined to Design

Thinking, i.e. solving a particular problem and tackling a issue by committing all Resources to

solving the issue. For example, structural parts made from materials with high strength to weight

ratio like composites, or thin tubular sections made from metals with good fatigue properties.

Materials alone are not sufficient. In designing fixtures for permanent bending of thin walled

tubes, the engineer is likely to focus on the job in hand, such as position of neutral axis, or

position of zero distortion due to cooling or spring back when job is taken out from the fixture.

For Design Thinking for bending a thin walled tube, the gripping die, wiper die, holding die, job,

and mandrel would be taken as one integrated structure, and the position of neutral axis and

neutral distortion arrived at by intuitive thinking and trial and error.

Tool for Cluster Mapping: New Product Introduction

Figure 2: Cost Simulator showing Forward/Feedback Paths of Design Iterations

Case Base

Process Planning Library

“if-then” rules

Equipment Design

Process Plan Adaptation

Retrieve Process Plan

of nearest neighbor using CBR

Set

Equ

ipm

ent

Para

met

ers

Pro

cess

Pla

n

Sales and Mrktng Cost

Labour Cost

Energy Cost

Operations Cost

Overheads

Direct Material Cost

Indirect Material Cost

Cu

sto

mer

-Pro

du

ct-P

rod

uce

r-M

arke

t Rel

atio

nSales & Mktg Dept

HR Dept.

Energy Manager

Operators (Departments)

Admin and Legal Mgr

Materials Manager

Purchase Dept.

Head of Account Functional Areas

Map Design Process for

Product Design

1. Idea

2. Benchmarking

3. Proof of Concept Studies

5. Send to Functional Area7. Record Costs

4. E

limin

ate

No

ise

6. Conduct CDS2

46

The map shown above could encompass a single manufacturing unit, or several units in a

cluster forming a value chain delivering a single product. The map shows the many feedback

paths of the customer-product-producer-market relation (shown in the extreme right box) that

impact different elements of MSME unit or value chain in a MSME cluster. Since Design is

discrete and do not lie in a continuum, mapping information from one Design to another would

use Case Based Reasoning, or Near Neighbour analysis, shown in the extreme left of the map.

The example shown below are products that are yet to be introduced in the market and yet to

stabilise. These have passed the functional test, i.e. found to function under laboratory

conditions, but lot of manufacturing issues are yet to be solved.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Design) using New Product Introduction

Entrepreneurs would want the conditions just ripe for introducing a new product.

The cost effects of disruptive development for a MSME unit is generally downside, even when

forced to adopt the process to proactively change Product Design to influence customer-

product-producer-market relation in a way beneficial to the unit, especially when there is change

in market structure as outlined above. Studies on a cost simulator with the steps of Design

Information Forecasting Assessment mapped onto it can mitigate potential downside effects of

cost should be used.

Wear Resistant Liners With Inhomogeneous (Non Thermodynamic Equilibrium) Alloys

47

Control Panel Assembled at United Showing Panel and the Area near

the panel

An Assembled Transformer at OTPL

4. Workstation and Tooling Design

In any Design audit, and indeed in any diagnostic study, workstation and tooling design is the

most analysed for productivity improvements, Lean, quality, and cost reduction.

Assembling a large job creates its own workstations, whether by bolting as in case of control

panels and transformers, or by welding as in case of Aluminium melting pots.

What is apparent from the photographs is that jobs grow by exogenous addition of components,

but the workstation design forms by addition of the design; a process of endogenous addition of

ensembles formed by customer-product-producer-market relation. It is an ensemble that creates

conditions necessary for its own survival. Workstations and Tooling are central to Lean and

Quality issues, such as 5S, Rapid Tool Change, Kaizen, Visual Control, and many others.

A Large Job Fabrication at Esskay

48

A vertical lathe with skilled operator removing burrs at Esskay. Job mounted by a fixture.

Design flows between workstations are easy to determine, even if the flow diagram would

appear somewhat complicated. The design flow within the workstation is difficult to assess.

Thus designing a suitable workstation taxes the highest ability of designer for Space Innovation,

ergonomics, process control, etc

The workstation would be identified as the smallest indivisible unit in a factory.

Fortunately, workstations has a people definition as the social unit that is cohesive, combining

multi skills needed for undertaking a set of activities needed to finish a task. People by nature

are territorial, whether they own the space, or are there by grace of a contract. This provides an

operational definition of workstation, as the

social unit capable of independent

coordination, and with abilities for self

supervision.

Insofar as the workstation forms by

endogenous addition of a design, its

presence can be assessed when it is

dynamical even when absent, like in the

photographs shown above.

Due to workstation getting formed by

endogenous addition of design, the

workstation design has a bearing on many other elements of manufacturing, such as skill

Sanding Liner on the Floor at Swagath Needs a Table with attachments for hand

sander and other machines

No Welding Fixtures at Sriram, gives the appearance of not having workstations

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A Forged Component of and Exhauster Sourced from Outside the

Factory from Chennai at Esskay

training, ergonomic workplaces and environments, layout, logistics, storage requirements and

Space Innovation, and ultimately, infrastructure design. It places Design at the centre of

productivity and competitiveness.

Opportunity Area at Cluster Level: Developing Capability of MSME (NAS 14)

Although workstation designs appear to be highly context specific, and built around the Product

Design by endogenous addition, in practise they have remarkable similarity, because of the

relationship to the cluster. In photographs shown above, most of the hard components like

tooling, hand tools, jigs and fixtures, lighting, and others would not be made inside the factory,

but sourced from the cluster. It also has jobs coming and going from other workstations inside

the factory or located outside in the cluster. In most engineering and fabrication, the Value

Addition as a percentage of cost of final product would

be less than 35%, the bulk of cost being due to Raw

Material (steel). Of this, between 35-60% would be

bought outs.

Under the circumstances, the workstation forms a

more durable pattern of the ensemble formed by the

Design Information going and coming from other

workstation than the Job Design emerging from it. To

take an analogy from DNA engineering, workstation

designs would be the ―central dogma‖ with high

temporal asset specificity, and the components and sub systems forming the workstations like

RNA and other macro molecules shaped by it. Product Design can be thought of as one of the

useful macro molecules produced by the Design Information captured by the workstation from

the Design eco system of the cluster.

Tool for Cluster Mapping: Design to Cost

By far the most significant emerging opportunity of Design to Cost would be Cluster Mapping

and designing interventions at the macro level. Design to Cost can be used to sharpen the

definition of cluster, the very first step and most important step in cluster based approach.

As a first approximation to defining a cluster, ―product‖ is used to define the cluster (boundary)

following the axioms of marketing science to demarcate a boundary, or market segment, so that

the market is focused before it is analysed and the making of action plan. The diagnostics study

sharpens this definition and gives the cluster an identity by Value Chain analysis, followed by

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assessment of the eco system‘s impact on factors like competitiveness, inputs to be provided,

policy, problem analysis, and many other things. The focal point of the diagnostic study is kept

at the centre. For example, UNIDO kept labour and skill training at the centre of the cluster

mapping in Fabrication and Engineering cluster analysis of Tiruchirapalli as well as for providing

inputs to policy for the Cluster Development Approach for the whole country.

Design to Cost provides the quantitative method to improve a particular opportunity area in a

holistic framework, such as labour and skill, product development, branding, etc. by keeping that

component at the centre. Its mathematical treatment is similar to finding the centre of a finite

space, or similar to finding centre of gravity or moment of inertia using algebra or geometry.

When mathematical formulations are difficult, which is often the case for discrete systems, an

experimental approach to finding the centre would be done without Mathematics, like finding

centre of gravity of flat shapes by balancing on a knife edge.

Design has a process orientation, and the cost incurred in completing a process would be

treated as an investment with periodic returns like any other investment. The actual pathways

traversed for manufacturing products would not be a once through passage of the map shown in

Figure 2. There would be iterations as manufacturing and market issues get solved one after

another. The map has been numbered, somewhat like number carried by a bus following a

route map. In product design and re-design the same end result could be obtained by following

any of the sequence given below.

Sequence A: 1 2 3 7 6 4 5 3 6 4 7 (End),

Sequence B: 1 7 2 3 7 6 5 4 1 7 2 3 6 5 (End)

Sequence C. ( ), Sequence D ( ), ............................. Sequence N ( )

Whenever a product traverses a particular number a cost would be incurred. After the trials are

over, a final manufacturing plan would be set so that the cost comes within a predetermined

value. This is the basics of Design to Cost.

In actual manufacturing, more often than not, it is very difficult to fix manufacturing plan and

sequence. Firstly, variations of different cost elements would upset the whole costing, and

necessitate going back to Product Design and Re Design. Secondly, even if designs are frozen,

manufacturing plan may change because of disturbance or delays and hold up, etc. If an

Industrial Engineering study is made for say 100 products, all that can be assessed is the

probability of a product going through a particular number. Assuming that for every numbered

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path traversed by the product the cost incurred can be computed, the expected cost is obtained

as a statistical average.

The NAS checklist can now be paraphrased in terms of the above meaning of Design to Cost.

Manufacturing costs and product costs are affected by each of the elements in the NAS

checklist such as labour, overheads, communication, equipment depreciation, logistics, etc. The

final cost of product would be the weighted average mean-cost contribution of cost elements.

The NAS is therefore a qualitative survey of possible Design alternatives to achieve the

product‘s ergonomic and functional features within Design to Cost.

Where the sequence is not fixed, a probability is attached for choosing a particular action. This

can be actually arrived at by observation and drawing a frequency table for a large number of

repeat products. If some of the steps in the sequence would be undertaken for the first time for

a product under consideration, the probability figure for a nearest neighbour Design would be

assigned as a first approximation (Case Based Reasoning).

In framing Engineering Cost Model, the expected cost would be the sum of the expected return

of going through all possible sequences weighted by the probability. This is the sum of history

approach used famously by Feynman. The shape of the output of Engineering Cost models is

not cost figures like in a Balance Sheet, but a number of curves giving probable cost for a given

class of Product Design. It is extensively used by Chemical Engineers to fix a Process plan.

Using Design to Cost needs a strong definition of keeping focus at the centre, such as product,

or skill or marketing process, and so on. The idea of a centre is actually very elementary.

Graphs and plots need coordinates, and they need an Origin, considered as the artificial zero of

the scale used for measurement. This concept is used to form ordinal scales for qualitative

variables also, like satisfaction, well being, happiness, tai chei, spiritual self, and so on. Design

to Cost provides the quantitative techniques to measure the thesis used by Design Experts in

this NAS; namely, “product design enshrines the customer-product-producer-market relation”

worked out of constructs of Information theory of Entropy.

The concept of centre can be used for discrete structures also, such as sets, clusters, discrete

designs. Mathematicians have developed tools to define ―centre‖ for mapping, which would be

an equation true for all discrete entities. This formulation needs to be done prior to application of

quantitative techniques of Design to Cost for cost estimation.

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By keeping a tangible product at the centre of cluster mapping that incurs cost to manufacture,

avoids a phenomenon in set theory called Russel‘s Paradox. People can get their teeth into

Design and there is something to bite, so that the type of hedonistic pleasures associated with

Design as something occurring in the imagination is avoided. But the meaning of ―Design at

Centre‖ underlying cluster mapping is to send Designers to the philosophical moorings of a

Design and costing, or if you like, the social and cultural roots of the Design.

Design to Cost deals with the finite space of Design, whereas Product Design without an

associative object like product, labour, logistics, etc. is a boundary of infinite length forming the

ensemble. The latter definition makes it possible to say that Product Design is the endogenous

addition of patterns that has No Centre. A whole branch of Mathematics has opened up called

complexity science, fractal maths, chaos, that is becoming the cutting edge of science and

economic development. Design to Cost, however, deals with firmer ground that would make the

conceptualisation of Design for the MSME unit safer to tread.

Using Design for Cluster Mapping has some other advantages. The Design at Centre defined

cluster provides a higher resolution for measurement for mapping the cluster defined by

―product‖ or ―Value Chains‖, i.e. the Design defined cluster would map onto the product (value

chain) defined cluster. This is of immense significance to MSME units, marketers, Policy

planners, and strategists, as Design provides a higher resolution of measurement and can be

used to overcome the noise, or random variation creeping into measurement, when the least

count of the scale is of same size as the finite space or element being measured.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Design) of Cluster Using Design to Cost

Remedial Design at cluster level can create cluster wide impact. They include (1) welding

fixtures, (2) jigs and fixtures for most machining operations, (3) workstation (fitter table) for

assembling small jobs and testing, (4) ergonomic environment with lighting and ventilation, (5)

dedicated workstations for on-the-job training that should not be used for production, (6) tooling

design and maintenance of tooling, (7) unit cost reduction plans, and finally, (8) reengineering,

(9) Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Workstation improvement is a continuous effort, and has to be integrated with production

planning and scheduling. Since it impacts costing of the product, a proactive plan for unit cost

reduction would integrate information from the cluster, namely, the customer-product-producer-

market relation, to form the Engineering Cost Model, and use it for Design to Cost.

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Weighing and Mixing Area Kept in Area front of Oven at Swagat. No

Material Handling Equipment Seen

Repetitive Jobs within the same order of six months duration, but no reason

not to keep some order

5. Ergonomic and Environment Factors

Ergonomic and environment factors are influenced by

workstation design stated above. A correct layout between

workstations would improve ergonomic and environment

factors.

The often heard complaint was that any effort for making an

ergonomic work environment gets dislocated because of

the wide variety of Designs that a fabrication workshop has

to handle. On the other hand, very little planning is done

because of the lack

of abilities for

Detailed Engineering and making fabrication drawings.

Design Opportunities get identified by noting that

design of workstations is built by endogenous addition

of Designs, opposite to the flow of Resources and

materials to the workstation, In other words, Design

flows outwards, with centre stage being occupied by

Product Design, flowing outward to form the

workstation design (the smallest indivisible unit of the

factory), and still outward to other workstations and

factory layout, and finally to infrastructure design.

For example, in the photograph given in the right, the polymerisation of urethane and polyol

occurs when the mould is loaded into the oven. The manual weighing and mixing area is kept

nearby, and overlaps with the space needed for unloading the oven. Heat loss of the oven spills

into the workplace, making the region hot and sweaty. All it needs is strong exhaust fan and a

hood type of arrangement to lead the hot air outside, similar to the arrangement of the hearth

found in modern kitchens.

In fabrication units, if the factory has facility for moving heavy jobs by EOT crane, workplace

created by the job makes it ergonomic. When such movement is done by a jib crane, movement

of job is not orderly, and workstations overlap.

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Sorted scrap of SG iron lying on rubble heap in a Foundry

Operating panel with indicators kept behind the equipment with poor access

A order with repeat designs needing third party inspection from a PE firm

Howsoever different designs coming to the workshop for

fabrication are there are still a great amount of repetitive

designs giving workstations some amount of temporal

asset specificity, and an opportunity to make

workstations ergonomic and environmentally free of

pollution. It is the mindset that needs to change.

Entrepreneurs complain about lack of space, but this is

not always so, as maybe seen in the photograph of

useful material lying on a rubble heap.

Ergonomic workplace makes way for ergonomic product

designs and products. This would be the first line of attack for continuous design developments

and product improvements. It would also increase productivity.

Cluster Level Opportunity Area: Manufacturability, Serviceability, Manufacturing Process, Packaging, Logistics, Operation, etc (NAS 18)

From a Design Point of View, any workstation of

fabrication and engineering, especially for heavy jobs,

has a number of working groups interacting with the

workstation. This drives the necessity for ergonomics

as the outcome of the concern for fellow workers,

outstation workers coming for testing weldments with

dye penetration test and radiography, stress relieving,

re-doing a joint if found defective, and so on. Large

jobs have a good amount of internal inspections and

third party

inspections

written into

the order. In

short, it reflects closely on how well maintained the

customer-product-producer-market relation is.

Oftentimes, a products‘ manufacturability are created by

the customer insisting on excellent working conditions to

enable inspections and suggest Remedial measures.

This relation is a Resource. The question is how much

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the MSME unit values this Resource. Lack of interaction produces faults.

Tool for Cluster Mapping: Incremental Design Development

Product Design is an iterative process. Figure 2 illustrates the iterative process driven by the

customer-product-producer-market relation. Loosing a customer is something nobody wants.

Therefore, MSME units have a tendency to stick to the Design that the customer is used to

(Asset Specificity). In this NAS an important finding was entrepreneurs abhor Disruptive Design

Developments because of a general experience that disruptive design development usually

changes the market structure, and MSME units find it difficult to cope with such changes.

Sometimes, selling through third party intermediary like the government distribution and subsidy

system like agriculture equipments is counter productive from a Design Point of View, as

relationship within the government system usually develops stasis. The MSME unit constantly

on the lookout for Design improvements to capture market share and develop client loyalty

would tend to carry out Incremental Design Developments with only a fraction of the total

Design Information available in the client network. The photograph of Design Development of

the paddy thresher illustrates this point forcefully.

The example given above is illustrative of Incremental Design Development. In this particular

case, the inquiry for Design for the portable equipment came from the Department that

purchases these products. The NAS revealed that the Design Faults of the Motorised Thresher

was also found in the Pedal Paddy Thresher, namely, vibration due to imbalance, excess weight

to act as ballast for preventing crawling of the machine due to vibration, and no study

whatsoever about ergonomics.

Motorised Paddy Thresher (L) and Pedal Paddy Thresher (R) of UNICOS

Illustrating Incremental Design Development

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To be fair, UNICOS developed the Design given by a government Design Unit (Implement

Factory under Dept of Agriculture), who in turn took it from a couple of Research Laboratories

located in an University and CSIR laboratory respectively. Culpability of the design fault lies with

these laboratories and Design units developing designs without market focus and not factoring

in the customer-product-producer-market relational context when making the commercial deals

for technology transfer, especially process capability of entrepreneur.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Design): Incremental Design Development

Again Figure 2 provides the basis for saying that most cause of action for Remedial Design lies

in carryover faults of Incremental Design Development, as the feedback loops of the customer-

product-producer-market relation enters the Design calculus to promote certain attributes to

close the gap with the client. Problem should be nipped in the bud.

The contra is also true, i.e. a Remedial Design intervention introduced at the unit level would

result in Incremental Design Developments as more and better features get promoted by the

feedback loops of customer-product-producer-market relation. In the case of Anupam Industries,

supply of CI valves arose as an additional product from its contract with government in the

maintenance of water supply system in the city. Further modification of Product Design led to

use SS Inserts for which it installed an Investment Casting unit for making these inserts. This

illustrates pathways for Incremental Design Development.

Machining of Groove of CI valve Flange Face to Hold a SS Insert

Investment Casting Wax Moulds for the SS Inserts of CI Valves

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6. Market and Competitiveness Study for Design Advantage and Distinction

The history of Daimond brand submersible pump illustrates how MSME units gain Design

Advantage and distinction in slow incremental steps.

ANUPAMA INDUSTRIES START

Started as a Repair and Maintenance

Workshop for water supply and pipelines

Fabrication shop equipped with welding

machines, lathes, etc.

Also mobile generator for onsite welding

work

Dealership of non standard valves from

reputed company at Kolkata

Added Induction Furnace and Foundry and

Machining Shop to make and supply Valves

Made and supplied the pump body

of submersible pumps under

collaboration with ―Diamond‖ brand

Buys out the Diamond brand,

procures most components and

assembles submersible pumps

Customer now includes private

parties

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The main point of the case study is that the product development has occurred over twenty

years, with every stage of development being characterised by study of the market, digesting

the feedback information, and creating a market distinction by Design and Product development.

Most engineering and fabrication units develop in incremental steps, every step being

characterised by adaptation to the change in customer-product-producer-market relation.

Oftentimes it is the feedback loop that brings the Design Information (see Figure 2), but

occasionally, it would be a proactive change to influence the relationship.

Cluster Opportunity Area: Increasing Market Share and Profitability (NAS 16)

From the above study, it is clear that the driver for profitability and market share is the ability of

the MSME unit to create a Value Network in the cluster. In this particular case of Anupama

Industries, most of the procurement is done from Kolkata market, with capacity being added to

manufacture all components in house. For OTPL, the Value Network was formed by outsourcing

the making of conductor used in the transformer winding. Galaxy Medicare procures packing

boxes from the cluster. Engineering and fabrication in general get services of testing and

material handling from within the cluster.

Most MSME units in Engineering and Fabrication leverage feedback from the customer-product-

producer-market relation, but it is the Value Network they form to bring Functional Design

Developments of the product that is responsible for capturing market share and improving

profitability. In marketing science, such a strategy is known as maximising Delivered Value. By

adding more functional features in the Design, the cost of adoption of customer comes down.

Delivered Value = Price of Product – Cost to Customer for Adoption of Product

Tool for Cluster Mapping: Functional Designs to Reduce Adoption Costs

An improvement in Design by adding functional features does not automatically ensure

decrease in adoption costs and market share. In marketing science, the condition of self

sustainable growth is usually taken as having crossed adoption by 15% of the total number of

customers that have need for the function. This follows the typical PLC curve analysis of

customer behaviour, and is the fundamental curve referred to by most experts in entrepreneurial

innovation. However, this 15% threshold for self sustainability applies only to stationary

distributions. Things become unpredictable when there are constant changes in Demographics

of the market segment that can make all predictions go awry.

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A more sophisticated analysis studies adoption behaviour using Game Theory analysis, often

used in adoption behaviour of Public Goods. The merit of such a model is that it examines the

relationship by asking the question; ―which segment would you like to belong to, given your

beliefs and expected payoff structure?‖ By expected payoff structure is the benefits each player

can expect assuming that all the pathways of getting a product is known, and a probability can

be assigned for a particular path. Such an analysis would include the beliefs of all players in the

Value Network, and factor in things like after sales service, compatibility with Design, and so on.

Although data collection might appear daunting, methods are really less expensive than Market

Research. A couple of Design demo cum Focus Group Discussions and preference rating using

ordinal utilities instead of cost would provide the position in the PLC curve. The method used for

collecting preference rating works something like the Thematic Appreciation Test applied to

psychology, and integrates well with visual identity or visual merchandising techniques.

The advantage is risk aversive behaviour of all players is factored into the analysis. This is a

great advantage when dealing with channel costs, or Transaction Costs like grease and Mobil

costs when using government channels of distribution. There is a method to such hidden costs;

there would be great integrity and honesty for small value transactions, but as value of

transactions increases, and Transaction Costs become higher, the curve of utils vs. Money

generating the utils dips further, just like the plot of risk aversive behaviour natural to humans.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Designs) Cluster Level: Functional Designs to Reduce Adoption Costs

Most engineering goods are sold to other industries, i.e. to other workstations. Even those

making light fabrication products do not sell to the consumer market, but to other workstations of

hotels and business houses. Adoption costs are generally high if workstations of buyer-seller

are not matched. Since collaboration from within the cluster is the most economic way of adding

functional features to the product, the Remedial Design is to provide space/facilities for testing.

Investment for testing would already have been incurred, as it is normally part of the contract.

Downstream operations of equipment fabrication such as installation are an area neglected by

most clients. Even those supplying to captive markets, such as workshops carrying outsource

Repair and Maintenance neglect this functional aspect. Most Remedial Designs in this area are

common sense, but are carried out only if the Product Design Re Design is tuned in to the

customer-product-producer-market relationship.The opportunity to obtain market distinction

heats up if testing facilities when mandated, such as for pumps, can also simulate workstations

of clients. Product Design would then rule the market.

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7. Training and Skill Up gradation if any

There is no dearth of skill building institutes in the cluster, and in Bhubaneswar. In the estate

itself, there are three ITIs, a polytechnic, two engineering colleges. In Bhubaneswar city, there

are around 42 engineering colleges, most of whom run ITIs, and large training institutes like

CTTC, CIPET, and Centurion, with specialist training in engineering and fabrication.

Despite such phenomenal capacity for Skill Development, the cluster as a whole complains

about non availability of skilled workers. In this NAS, an often cited reason for not utilising

installed capacity fully was the lack of skilled operators for the equipment. The actual fact is that

the mismatch between skills required for the Product Design under consideration and the skill

available in the local labour market results in disguised unemployment, and sometimes even

large scale full unemployment.

On the other hand, the presence of Skill Development programmes like MES has not improved

matters. The level of technology of the training equipment available in these Skill Development

Institutes is either far behind those used in MSME units, as in ITIs, or far above it, as in CTTC.

There is hardly any recruitment by MSME units of this cluster from the local SDI. Furthermore,

the Design Institutions of the Government do not particularly review skill availability for the

Product Design when commercialising a Design from their R&D Laboratories. Training is

funded, but in absence of commercial incentives built into the contract for transfer of Design, it is

little more than a marketing gimmick to sell a Design. They also do not support the govt. SDIs

for Product Design Development, nor empower them to incentivise the training to build a skill

pool in the client unit, or in the cluster.

This is a National problem. One of the solutions being tried out at National level is the PAN IIT

movement, where IIT alumni support the ITIs of this country. This state is yet to feel the benefits

of the PAN IIT programme. The DCS scheme proves to be a partial answer at best, as neither

the SDIs (ITIs in particular) and nor the MSME Industries have held any dialogue to jointly take

benefits of the scheme. Such lack of Awareness in not an attitudinal problem, but because there

is more than one reason for disguised unemployment, and causal relationships overlap creating

the noise.

There is also another divide that MSME units have to bridge, which is the large contingent of

casual labourers employed by MSME units (> 60%), a practise that is followed by large

industries, and has become a tacit HR policy for labour employment.

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Emerging Opportunity Area Cluster Level: Corporate Social Responsibility

As the checklist for NAS did not cover this aspect, but was nonetheless observed by us, it is

included in the Report.

Diagnostic Studies in engineering and fabrication clusters in places like Trichunapalli and

Bangalore Machining cluster converged to Corporate Social Responsibility as the Remedial

Measure to overcome this problem. This has been validated by an ongoing Lean Manufacturing

Programme for MSME units from this cluster with CTTC as the Lean Manufacturing Consultants.

All 11 units of the Lean Programme are included in the NAS sample.

From a Design Point of View, the cluster perspective is somewhat different from the perspective

of the Lean programme.

Following classification used by UNIDO, MSME units are categorised to Tier I, II, III, and IV. Tier

IV units are little more than single workstations, engaged in fabrication or machining. Tier IV

units are important because they are completely integrated with the labour pool from where

MSME units draw their casual labour under a labour contractor. Unfortunately, in this cluster,

the Associations give scant attention to these units, being more focused on maintaining

pressure groups vis-a-vis government, such as preferential pricing for govt purchases, orders

from government projects and undertakings, tax benefits, and many genuine issues.

Tool for Cluster Mapping: Enterprise Social Responsibility

A study done by UNIDO in the engineering and fabrication clusters found that CSR was

dovetailed to ESR.

With almost no ESR (Enterprise Social responsibility) being practised by MSME units and Large

units towards casual labour, excepting statutory benefits, there is considerable loss of collective

bargaining power, and an dis-incentive to learn, get trained, and increase productivity. While

such an incentive is resorted to with the express purpose of managing competitive costing, the

initial partition in wages would only increase still further.

The theory underlying the UNIDO cluster map for ESR in Tiruchirapalli Engineering and

Fabrication cluster published in their website is worth going into. The cluster map is a pictorial

representation of the factors that are the determinant of wages.

UNIDO‘s cluster mapping can be explained by asking the following question: under what

conditions would the market fail to supply goods and services? The answer is that when labour

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wages are all zero, a condition of extreme oligarchy. In economics, the absolute wage rate is

not used for calculation, but the expected return from selling labour for wages, i.e. the wage rate

x probability of engagement. Thus, if a highly gifted worker has zero probability, the expected

wage return would be zero. Thus the centre of the map would be the mathematical zero (market

failure). The cluster map is a qualitative map of current status, where institutions influencing

wage rate are depicted pictorially as positioned around the centre. It is known from Game

Theory analysis that as competition drives profits to zero (or near zero), partition equilibrium is

formed between low performing work groups and high performing work groups, such as

between contract labour and regular employees. This creates a disincentive to learn for the

lower performing group, as decrease in productivity due to learning would decrease their wages.

Learning is not the only thing squeezed out by partition equilibrium. It can exclude or prevent

any introduction of any new practise/product targeted at productivity improvements, as was our

observation taken from a Design Project under NID DCS scheme at Maniabandha, Nuapatna.

Incidentally, we found cost models are very powerful motivators as they form mental models.

This cluster makes sarees from Ikat designs. An intervention to introduce Jacquard and Dobby

to increase productivity was gradually squeezed out because of the strong resistance to switch

from Ikat, despite the community having no problems in expertise with the Jacquard. Closer

investigation showed that in the recent past, there had been a better sales turnover and income

due to an intervention to improve supply of yarns, promotion of Handloom by government

(IHDP), collective marketing efforts through Societies, improved credit flow, and training. There

was introduction of Design as well, known as Kargil designs, to commemorate the patriotic fever

that was going on at the time. The design formed the ostensible coordinating mechanism, as

Traders insisted on Kargil design, and labour pool found work only if they did Kargil design.

Although individually, each worker agreed that he/she was motivated by higher wages to

adopt/reject production according to a design, i.e. adopt Jacquard and Dobby, collectively the

trade practise discouraged them from changing from the sub optimal equilibrium.

A series of sub optimal design practises were observed. The beauty of handloom ikat lies in its

being one of the few designs that can be produced by hand craft only, and commands a

premium in the market. Edges of motifs in handloom are blurred. But the community‘s skilled

workers were trying to obtain the sharp edges of printing, and competing for market share in the

low end price range. In the process, it was loosing the price battle, and decreasing real wages,

but keeping parity of wages compared to average wage structure in the community.

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Awareness would mean changing mental models. This shows that the continued persistence of

piece rate calculation practise permeates from the way cost is estimated by government and

experts and workers, also forms the trade practise and worker cohesion in the workstation. It

needs around coordination of around 6-7 different skills in a handloom weaving workstation. In

piece rate calculations, learning is considered as a non productive output. To bring in

awareness, one needs to merely change the costing practise.

In Design to Cost calculations, learning would be considered as an investment in Human Capital,

with periodic returns from every budget period. The method of averaging wage rates would be a

weighted probability average, i.e. an incentive which encourages ―risk pooling‖, as the super

efficient compensate for the low performing worker of the same team during the period of

learning, like health insurance. Most communities are quite mature at forming stable partition

equilibrium to create the career path based on skill, with links to the market. The actually

difficulty lies with the expert who creates the incentive structure. (It is told of economists, that

they teach each other, and the people, what the people already know!!!)

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Designs): Enterprise Social Responsibility

It is only Design that break rigid patterns of thinking, such as Design Thinking inherent in

Flexible Manufacturing Systems, that startegises some means of ―risk pooling‖ of the social unit

of a workstation, and provides an incentive to learn and improve productivity.

Enterprise Social Responsibility should extend to vendors of MSME unit, at least to those that

have direct linkages with the MSME unit. In Tirpur cluster for instance, labour contractors man

the entire factory with a modified BOOT (Build Own Operate Transfer) without the ownership.

There are conditions of (Social) Asset Specificity that enables such contracts, such as labour

contractors are relatives of the owner. This can be found in many clusters, some of which are

reviewed in the NID website, like the Thangadh ceramic cluster. It is to be noted that what binds

the two social groups is Design. It is a matter of opinion whether the Design creates Asset

Specificity or Asset Specificity enables Design flows within the two social groups. In our opinion,

as illustrated by the case of Anupam Industries given above, Design flow precedes the

development of Asset Specificity and dependency conditions.

Considering the large value addition done by the casual workers in almost all MSME units, and

the excellent social relations of these with Tier IV and Tier II units with casual labour, the Design

Intervention would be to improve workstation Design of these units. As a large number of MSME

units started as workshops for onsite Project work, and workers leaving project site after project

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close constitute the bulk of unorganised skill pool in Industrial areas, this single effort would

translate to productivity improvements in the cluster as a whole.

But, the axiom of Enterprise Social Responsibility is ―charity begins at home‖. It requires only

small investments in design to make major breakthroughs at the cluster level. Where design

(product design, workstation design, etc) has intimate connection to dynamics of customer-

product-producer-market relation, even a modicum of design contextualised to some sort of ―risk

pooling‖ ESR mechanism would make immense differences in outcomes, especially when the

practise of payment of wages on piece rate basis is firmly entrenched by the unit‘s management.

Design Opportunities for direct ESR charity at home types are legend, starting from creating

lifestyle goods for welfare, such as safety and healthcare, or food, or Uniforms and clothing, etc.

None of the MSME units, even those employing around 100+ workers, have an in house

canteen or cooperative, which even modest units in more developed Industrial Estates (to my

knowledge) of Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai provide. For example, the Sambad

Newspaper located in the Industrial Estate of Rasulgarh operates a canteen for its own staff and

persons coming to it on business. This canteen is open to all outsiders who have unrestricted

access, and is quite popular. There are no Tables and the modus operandi is by self service.

We found the Industrial Entrepreneurs Association canteen, built on land given by government,

not open to all, and not having any canteen either, even for workers of members.

The way to start the Design with a motive at charity at home ESR, or simply adopt one from

someone with core expertise in the area, is to place the Design in a maslow‘s hierarchy of

needs table, and choose the one that is most suitable to the current position of the workers.

Workstations for training and production should be separate, since they work out of different

premises. For example, ―production‖ in trainer workstations would not be on piece rate basis,

but a machine hour basis used for most CFC, indicative of amount of practise (educational

credits) by trainee. Design of workstations is accordingly modified. When the trainee comes to

an actual production area, the ―risk pooling‖ should continue even if there is a strong piece rate

system operating in the actual production system, often actualised by a Quality Circle.

A course was designed and submitted by this Design Expert to the MES (CSTRI Kolkata) for the

Foundry sector. This has been tentatively approved, and is suitable for the foundries included in

the NAS.

65

After moving into their new preemies, Unicos has reengineered layout. See product design made suitable

for stacking Finished Goods at far end of room

8. Packaging, Logistics, Storage Related Design Opportunities

The perception of high cost to land, and

sale to housing builders who work on a

different economics for giving land to

Builders for 25% ownership of built up

area and collection of rents by taking in

tenants, should also prompt entrepreneurs

towards Space Innovation, and thereon to

good housekeeping, and finally to

productivity improvements.

The NAS quite clearly established that the

high cost of land does not in anyway add

to cost of production and profitability. It

has merely made the alternative of renting out to warehouses and godowns a lucrative

alternative when manufacturing does not provide adequate returns. However, the percentage of

profitable enterprises in the best of Industrial Estates hovers around 25%.

Design Opportunities for Space Innovation needs a theoretical understanding of Space

utilisation as well as empirical data from experience and observation.

However, the NAS finding is that a modicum of planning for Logistics and storage is not made

while receiving a fabrication order. An initial plan, say a layout plan for storage, workstations,

and Logistics, would morph into excellent Design Opportunities, and provide innovative means

of collaboration, vendor development, and cost reduction.

Opportunity Area Cluster Level: Reduce Rejections, Wastages in Material, Process, Resources, and Drudgery in Labour (NAS 17)

An ongoing Lean Manufacturing programme with CTTC as consultants undertaken by 11 out of

the 20 MSME units of the NAS sample addresses the issue for Lean Manufacturing. This is

nearing completion of the first phase.

While the Lean Manufacturing programme has straightaway gone to Lean Tools, the Diagnostic

study reveals that the Design Innovation mentioned therein does not quite capture the

customer-product-producer-market relational dynamics. However, a major concern has been

the release of space inside the factory premises through application of Lean tools, especially

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application of Kaizen. Of the 11 in the Lean programme, 6 have given a preference for welding

bay, as this is the time taking operation, the most likely to be cluttered up because of waiting

jobs, the area where most defects would be found, and highly interactive with testing that is

outsourced, and with shortage of high quality welders and fitters in the Skill Pool available in the

area. In terms of cost contribution to Value Addition to the raw materials, however, welding

operation occupies the fifth or sixth position. The highest cost contribution comes from scrap

generated, rejects, and wastage, the domain of the fitter and fabrication drawing section.

The economics of cost contribution of Land (Space) is not felt, as most projects have been

conceptualised as value addition over the land that is owned by the entrepreneur/MSME unit,

and Land cost does not enter into the Balance Sheets. This, it forms the blind spot in the

(accountant‘s) vision developed for checking up on the cost contribution in the product, and

requires special tools to check up on the use of this strategic resource. Land (space) figures as

a first time calculation while setting up the plant and machinery while deciding the layout, and

subsequently ignored during the project planning stage.

The cluster level issue is to bring influence of strategic resource into the calculation, and make

this as part of the contract with the client, i.e. factor in the customer-product-producer-market

relation into the cost estimation. Design Thinking is eminently suited for such an exercise with

Design to Cost. Considering that Engineering and Fabrication contracts have provision for

contract amendments, deciding contracts progressively, claims and counter claims mid way into

the order, stage wise payments, Design to Cost should be thoroughly exploited to get a fair deal

both for one self and the client.

Most clients, especially clients of heavy engineering and fabrication, also look into the partners

to whom the MSME unit has outsourced, provided of course the MSME unit has taken care to

properly draw up the outsourcing relationship and can make it presentable. There is advantage

in choosing an outsourcing partner from the same cluster in terms of lower cost of contracting

(transaction costs). Since transaction costs are normally explicit in most contracts, and budget

provision are made to cover such costs, benefits of interventions like Lean, Design, and other

NMCP programmes would get shared without incurring further cost. These fall into the area of

―risk pooling‖ and ―reducing transaction costs‖.

Design Opportunities are mapped around this issue in a manner somewhat different from

Transaction Cost economists, who would want systems of governance that keeps getting larger

and larger, until the firm is fragmented. This is given below.

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Tool for Cluster Mapping: Space Innovation

The binder to such cooperative engagement is Design, and sharing of Design Information

costlessly is the means to do it. There is a downside about such sharing; a disloyal employee

likely to change job and walk away with the market. What most entrepreneurs do not realise in

is that it is possible to be proactive in such matters. Williamson terms this as mytosis, a term

borrowed from division of the cell to form a cell with similar and complementary functions, which

happens when a cell is fully developed and condition of Asset Specificity after the division is

likely to remain high. Mytosis corrects defects of long standing, as the unit adapts to the change

in environment (customer-product-producer-market relation) at the stage of division.

Management gurus talk of another variant; to practise harvesting after MSME reaches the state

of full growth and move onto a new venture befitting his intrinsic nature.

While Designers cannot be expected to know how each MSME unit writes its internal

(organisational DNA) codes, an outline of the general pattern of adaptation can be given.

The Designers tool is fashioned from the equation ―Product Design enshrines the customer-

product-producer-market relation‖, and those ensembles occupy finite space with a boundary

having infinite length. This idea is captured by Mathematicians to present the picture of growth

as occurring due to recursion, and that patterns repeat across scales. In other words, the

pattern of growth would be the same across scales, whether for Land that is at a premium, as or

workstations, the smallest indivisible social unit in the factory. From this follows that Space

Innovation begins with the workstation.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Designs) for Cluster Level: Space Innovation

Configure workstations with a concern for ergonomics, usually strategised by a feedback

mechanism from workers. (Incidentally covered in the Lean programme such as Quality Circle,

monthly meetings, Visual Control etc. and found to be highly under developed or totally absent.)

The next step is obviously to do the same with workstations of vendors, i.e. colonise the friendly

and useful bacteria important for body‘s functions. The integration of systems is actually present

in distribution networks of vehicle manufacturers, quite a few who are in the Industrial Estate.

Adoption of the pattern is done by small garages with not so swanky outfit, but wholly integrated

with machine shops equipped with fixtures and jigs.

Finally, to build in adaptable mechanisms of workstations by Flexible Manufacturing

Mechanisms in the shape of jigs, fixtures, and if budgets permit, mechatronics

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9. Infrastructure and Capability Enhancement

Designers, quality assessors, and clients who give contracts with stage wise inspection by third

party and payments, all look into this aspect of the MSME unit in the pre contracting stage.

Subsequently, infrastructure and capability is not reviewed unless there is something drastically

wrong and there is a face off. While Design related issues might appear to be in the control of

others, it is actually the MSME unit that controls the process after approval stage has passed.

The smaller MSME units with a product that is a little more than an off the shelf item (FMCG)

have no such aid, and have to manage these processes on their own.

While turnover indicates market power of the unit, the Design Point of View is more concerned

with Value Addition.

Cluster Level Opportunity Area: Value Addition and Increasing Competitiveness

The total turnover indicates market power of the MSME unit. The higher the buying/selling

power, the more control over Resources the MSME unit would have. It makes some difference

in the Business Model for the unit to have good market power, but this has little relevance to

Value Addition from the Design Point of View.

Infrastructure does influence control over strategic partners, but structure alone is like ballast, to

give stability as the boat is rocked by the chaos and mayhem of the market, including the

internal customer from the value network of the unit. The point of interest for a Design audit

working out from the customer-product-producer relation is how well the Value Addition is

leveraged to be competitive. Value Addition does not usually exceed 30% of the product‘s price

(cost to customer), of which 30-65% would be bought outs. Strategic partners might be

responsible for quite a significant proportion of the Value Addition in real terms.

To dominate the customer-product-production-market relationship within the boundary of the

market segment, the unit would use Design as the means to create a Business Model

favourable to itself, and afterwards maintain it by achieving a higher ROA (Return on Asset)

from all of its workstations compared to similar workstations in its Value Networks.

Tool for Cluster Mapping: QFD

In the format followed in Lean Programme diagnostics study, the very first information prior to

carrying out the study is to identify the design innovation of the unit. Here Design Innovation has

a process orientation. This means that Design precedes all activities for adopting Lean practises

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and quality improvements. Take for example application of Kaizen to Welding Bay in fabrication

with purpose of cost reduction and quality improvements. (Most of the units adopting Lean

practises identified Welding for Kaizen.) The Costing Estimate sheet is simple enough to follow.

Table 4: Costing Sheet for Welding

Item on Which Data is to be Collected Value

1. Plate thickness

2. Number of weld runs

3. Size of Electrode

4. Welding amps

5. Arc Voltage

6. Machine Efficiency

7. Arc Speed (Length of weld per hour)

8. Arc Speed (Length of finished joint per hour)

9. Electrode consumed (wt per unit length of joint)

10. Arc Kilowatts ((Line 4 times Line 5)/100)

11. Input Kilowatts (line 10/Line 8)

12. Power Cost (Rs per hour = Line 11 @ Rs/KWH)

13. Power Cost per unit length of weld run (Line 12/Line7

14. Power cost per unit length of joint

15. Electrode cost per unit length of joint (Line 9 x cost of rod per unit weight)

16. Labour cost per unit length of joint (labour at Rs per hour / Line 8)

Total Cost per length of welded joint = Line 14, Line 15 and Line 16

To dovetail Lean to Design, and indeed to study the initial condition (baseline) of the customer-

product-producer-market relationship, the appropriate tool is Quality Function Deployment

(QFD) or House of Quality (HOQ). While a full scope study using QFD takes it outside the scope

of NAS, and a half day visit to the unit is anyway not sufficient, the principle underlying QFD is

borrowed and used as a methodology for the Design audit.

The principle underlying QFD is that Design feeds into the Product, which in turn feeds into the

Process, and in turn determines the Production. In every stage, QFD collects differences in

perception, and either tries to narrow down differences, or broadens it further if the feature of

the product creates distinction and differentiation in the market. QFD thus forms a link between

70

the internal organisation and the external environment. It also helps to find Design issues that

are cross cutting, and link micro (the cluster) to macro (Industrial Estate as a Growth Pole).

A remarkable observation is that fabrication costs appear to be the same across MSME units in

a given cluster. The source of common occurrence can be usually traced to MSME units

drawing upon and enjoying a common Resource from the cluster, such as skill pool, knowledge

pool, services of a specialist, etc.

The NAS established that in fabrication and engineering, cost of Raw Materials account

between 70-90% of the costs of finished product. Advocates of Lean do have a strong cost

argument in their favour, and Welding Costs may not account for more than 5% of the product

cost. But the difference between actual cost incurred and the theoretical estimate made from the

procedure outlined in Table 4 can inform a great deal on efficiency of the other operations

carried out to prepare the job for welding, such as cutting, bending, joint preparation, and

logistics of transferring the job work, i.e. all Lean practises. In effect, the welding cost is an

indicator whether the best Standard Operating Procedure is followed. From a Cost Engineering

perspective, welding cost optimisation is indirectly optimisation of fabrication costs by tradeoffs

obtained from switching between SOPs. This would be the essence of a QFD analysis. It not

only determines the nexus between customer-product-producer-market in designing fabrication,

but can also be used to improve quality, reduce rejects, judge compatibility between sequential

operations, get it right the first time, and cost optimisation.

Design Issue: The welding engineer would have to design the joint, such as fillet, butt, lap,

single V, double V, etc.) depending on the application, such as ―bases‖ to support weight and

resist bending, ―covers‖ used to enclose and not subjected to internal pressures, and

―containers‖ that enclose space and are subjected to internal pressures. The balance of job of is

to ensure that the output of all operations falls within a tolerance (specifications), which is done

by the Designer setting up a SOP suitable to the context of manufacturing the product.

Thus, the Designer needs to undertake much iteration in the sequence Design-Product-

Process-Production (Manufacturing) to do some dynamic cost optimisation. The QFD analysis

can reduce the number of iterations to arrive at optimal point. Considering that 65% of

components in most engineering fabrication are bought outs, QFD can be applied between units

in a Value Chain/Value Networks. QFD can also be carried out between sections or

workstations inside the unit. For example, it is well known that welding machine efficiency in a

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Products Display Rack in the Office

shop floor is 50%, and while on a site it is 20%. This efficiency is greatly improved by using

welding fixtures, a thing that is non existent in Industrial Estates of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

Emerging Opportunity Mapping (Remedial Designs) at Cluster Level using QFD

OFD issues are not dealt with on the shop floor, but in conference rooms and computers. It is

mostly ―after the event‖ thing. QFD would give rise to a lot of Remedial Designs, but problems

should be fixed as a bilateral issue. It indicates that MSME units with design eco systems inside

the unit would benefit better than other units outsourcing the Design work to specialists.

Remedial Designs to management of QFD would look into Public relations equipment and

proper software that makes communication faster and compatible.

A crucial issue is starting at critical values that can be self sustaining. For example, if only one

or two units started using fixtures, it does not automatically follow that information about welding

fixtures (who, what, how and how much) would spread by word of mouth. It is only in certain

conditions that the word of mouth spreading about welding fixtures would self sustain. So a

Design Expert needs to not only know how and what welding fixtures would be useful, but also

the condition needed for self sustained spread of information in the cluster, otherwise called

Awareness.

10. Exhibition and Display Opportunities

Most units do not have a display in their premises as

concept marketing to any visitor to their premises. Exhibits

do not display the context, i.e. the value addition done by

the product sold in the factory in the context of the user.

In exhibitions held by government to showcase large

industries coming to the state, there are possibilities of

bootstrapping, since the client of the MSME unit is

generally large enough to put up a Display stall of their own.

Their exhibits and reputation can be leveraged to advertise

the ―customer value proposition‖ of the unit and its products

through visual merchandising

Keeping in mind the units USP of MSME to produce custom parts and prototypes in small

volumes, exhibits of finished goods should be accompanied by visuals of equipment where they

are used for customer to immediately relate to the context of the unit.

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Cluster Level Opportunity Area: Visual Identity, Branding, and Communications

Most of the MSME units have a website, or are listed in Industrial Directories and Yellow pages.

However, most of them do not have a belief on Visual Merchandising, even when producing

lifestyle products.

Design Opportunities exist to enhance image of the institution, especially when dealing with a

mature market. The need to communicate through visuals is more when market is local.

Remedial Design at Cluster Level Graphics Design and Linear Perspective

Opportunities for exhibition of parts are given by several fairs organised by agencies like CII,

MSME ministry, etc in Bhubaneswar Exhibition Ground held annual events..

If parts are small and light as shown in the photo, it can be panel mounted with pictures of its

application/installation.

Some units have brochures, but none have catalogues, and user information. The vast

educational Resources with 42 colleges in Bhubaneswar city itself, and around 60-200 faculty

strength in every college is totally unexploited, such as for writing articles on product usage,

studies, and so on. What most entrepreneurs do not understand is that sale of generic product

brands the institution, such as a fabricated item where the Design is proprietary of client.

Many units have websites, but these seem to be manned for posting information and then

forgetting about it. A professionally managed site cuts down communication costs, identifies

business leads and follow up, and is also an employee forum within the unit and Value Network.

Brochures are too crowded, and tend to be informative, but wordy and verbose. Sometimes the

brochure needs to be re designed to lead to further information instead of looking like the

company has been cutting on costs.

Finally, Associations, or with their pressures IDCO, should put in place site maps in strategic

locations. Units and their workers must ―belong‖ and public display of name gives that

belongingness and fosters identity.

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CONCLUSION: REMEDIAL DESIGNS CAN SPUR CLUSTER GROWTH

Macro Perspective with Cluster Vision as a Tool: Ram Bharose?

In the practise of Cluster Development by the MoMSME and government, an essential part of

the cluster based approach is to obtain a validated vision during the cluster diagnosis stage. In

the usual case, cluster actors are made to go through the process of collecting diagnostic

information, and at the end of which carry out an envisioning workshop where cluster actors

hazard an informed guesstimate about how the cluster would grow.

This method of forecasting future cluster growth is remarkably accurate provided all actors in

the workshop possess the same information, share similar experiences of cause and effect, and

the facilitator does not dominate or lead actors towards a particular value. This is the so called

Harsyani doctrine, which says that rational agents having the same information would reach the

same conclusion. Errors in guesstimates of individual actors would cancel one another out.

But the accuracy is valid only if number of players in the cluster is stationary. The minute a

cluster starts growing, say by pumping in investment, prediction accuracy is lost. Apparently, a

cluster grows Ram Bharose (God willing, or by the Will of God)!! But God has a Design, and

mathematicians have dared to venture to map what God‘s design is. A Design Intervention

needs to be placed within the framework of God‘s design for cluster growth to give some means

the check on growth of the Design adoption for a product or process, and to change course, or

the Design, if predicted growth of adoption do not materialise and avoid costly mistakes.

There is much Research work done in cluster dynamics and relationship to growth. For

example, the NAS revealed that 75% of the units in the Mancheswar Industrial Estate have

converted to non manufacturing activities, like godowns, warehouses, and educational

institutes. However, from a Space Innovation point of view, this is actually a rational allocation of

space. A finding of this NAS for example, is that very active and productive units had the main

battery where manufacturing and value activities is carried out occupies <30% of floor area, the

rest being taken up for storage, internal logistics, administration, workers rest room, etc. All of

such activities are but facets of communication, and need >70% of allocation of active space for

healthy growth of activity volume and thereon to growth of cluster.

The ensemble approach given in a rudimentary form in this report provides some interesting

parallels to God‘ Design, or God‘s footprint as it is called in the internet. Cluster grows by a

power law of growth. The area of a picture from a projector grows according to square of the

74

distance, a volume by the third power, a flywheel stores energy according to fourth power, and a

flywheel increasing in thickness and radius according to sixth power. So to what power law does

cluster growth follow?

Cluster growth creates opportunities to rectify some faults, since in reality, the growth is only

one of the key ways to adapt to the constantly evolving customer-product-producer-market

relation, and its effect on Product Design would change it. Remedial Design is to float with the

current, and is a statement of what needs to be done to enjoy the opening offered by cluster

growth. If there is no Remedial Design, then decay sets in, and Evolution would pick up other

survivors better at adapting to the environment. The case of unutilised capacity is due to

extinction of those Product Design that Evolution has passed by. This is given below.

Unutilised Capacity: Design as a Public Good

Unutilised capacity is the bane of any MSME unit, and is a sign of incipient sickness. The

Remedial action for sickness is to search for new markets, change or add new product lines to

utilise additional capacity, add balancing equipment and capacity if necessary, and make

adjustments in the finance structure like Debt restructuring to service the emerging reality. In

short, to adapt to the changes in customer-product-producer-market relation.

Peter Drucker in his book ―Entrepreneurship and Innovation‖ gives examples of how a change in

underlying reality of the market can make or break a unit. It never happens suddenly, but in slow

incremental steps. Design Development is a good indicator of this changing reality. If there is

stagnancy in the Design, it calls for investigation of what is actually happening out there. The

innovation suggests itself, and is motivated by entrepreneurs risk aversive behaviour.

Not to develop is to not to trade, and not to trade is to die. The following photographs illustrate

the capacity that has been squeezed out by the Design change, or obsolescence, even though

the units continue to function and make profits. Discussions revealed that units had nil

Depreciation cost in the books for concerned equipment, and thus continued to have them.

Amortisation costs are low, since the equipment can be disposed off only at scrap rates.

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Subsidy from Government

The Cluster level report lays down a case for the state government to provide subsidy towards

the Beneficiary Contribution for units participating in any Design Development scheme.

To summarise the various issues given in the Cluster Level portion of the NAS report:

1. Design Development is self sustainable after it has crossed the threshold limit of 15%

Adoption of the total number of units in need of the Design Solution. This provides a

A Whole Section of this Foundry Producing Manganese Steel Castings

by Thermit Process Lying Idle

A Lathe not Used for Past Two Years in a

Fabrication Unit

A Moving Hoist Lying to the Side, With No Alternate Material Handling of

Long Sections Not Utilised for Years

A Press Tooling Not Used for Years for Want of Tooling

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strong argument in favour of subsidy towards cost of adoption where such threshold limit

has not been reached.

2. The NAS reveals that most entrepreneurs are averse to Disruptive Design

Developments, and prefer instead Incremental Design Development for adding new

products, increasing revenue, and improving profitability. In short they show a risk

aversive behaviour, particularly when competition reduces profits to zero, or to marginal

values. This is normal behaviour pattern in Economics. One consequence is that under

conditions of very thin profit margins, economic agents with risk aversive behaviour

would tend to buffer risk with large cash holdings and lower asset utilisation. That is to

say that they would ignore assets that form the base of the manufacturing pyramid that

are great Resource consumers, but important as a means of controlling Design and

strategising Incremental Design Development. Without subsidy, economic agents would

merely pass these costs to the cluster lower down in the Value Chain with lower

marginal returns, but where bulk of labour is actually employed.

3. Most Incremental Design Development originates from the customer-product-producer-

market relation. It is needless to emphasise that this relation must follow democratic

norms so that there is no Design monopoly, and Design Information is shared with least

costs. According to Williamson, subsidy here would be taken as the cost of democracy.

It maybe noted that instances of Design Development captured in this NAS have been at

the behest of the government procuring public service goods against a competitive

bidding process. Hence a subsidy for Design Development creates a roll over effect for

improving competition and benefiting the public at large.

Workshop Report

Workshop Report DAP Band 5

Of

Bhubaneswar Fabrication and Engineering Cluster

Sponsored by

“Design Clinic Scheme, Ministry of MSME, Govt. Of India”

Under an Agreement with National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, the Implementing

Agency, and Central Toolroom and Training Centre, Bhubaneswar

Prepared by

Dr. N. P. Gantayet, PhD

December 2012

120, Madhusudanagar, Bhubanesar-751001, Phone 06742390311, mob: 09937631559 www.thermo_orissa.com; e-mail: thermo.orissa@gmail.com,

niladrigantayet@rediffmail.com

1

BROAD DETAILS

Cluster Name: Bhubaneswar Engineering and Fabrication cluster

Design Expert: Dr. N. P. Gantayet

Programme Band: Band 5

INTRODUCTION

20 industries participated in the NAS. As mentioned in the NAS report, the units fell into different

categories given in Table 1.

Table 1: Category of Industry

Category of Industry No of Units for the NAS

1. Foundry 3

2. Heavy Engineering and Fabrication 3

3. Light Fabrication Products (Household and assorted) 6

4. Light Fabrication Products (Control Panels) 2

5. Composites and Polymer products 2

6. Packaging and Printing 1

7. Transformers 2

8. Functional Textiles (Medicare) 1

Total 20

While the workshop emphasised the commonality of Design Philosophy in manufacturing, each

day had to be differentiated to suit the special needs within the category.

The overall approach followed was to introduce the idea that problems in design of fabrication

products could only be addressed by considering that manufacturing activity took place within a

Complex System. Problems in attainment of productivity, product acceptability, and marketing

arose due to tendency to over simplify the complexities of the situation.

Five complex systems were taken up for each day as Domain areas for discussion. They were

(Day 1) Agriculture equipment, (Day 2) Foundries and Metal Casting, (Day 3) Energy

equipment, (Day 4) Novel materials for Building sector, (Day 5) Medical Textiles. While the

functionality of product could be described as “linear”, system attains complexity because of the

non linear characteristics of the substance handled by the fabricated equipment. Sometimes,

2

the process of manufacturing such as foundry is itself non linear, compounding the non linearity

when the equipment processes material having non linear characteristics.

The approach enabled to discuss changes in paradigm in engineering due to development of

material science and materials with novel properties. It touched upon grey areas that were mix

of traditional and emerging engineering disciplines in order to address a design issue. In

conducting activities of the workshop, the following axioms were followed.

(1) Case Based Reasoning was one of the best ways to understand the engineering design

paradigm of complex systems.

(2) Complex systems followed the same causal relationships as linear systems, but the path

followed by the system is difficult to predict a priori.

(3) Complex systems exhibited remarkable precision of the optimal point. For example, the

optimal point of operation of a thermal system like a furnace or oven is actually a

stationary point, and is replicable across a broad range of operating values.

(4) Complex systems could be analysed only under dynamical conditions, i.e. on run time.

This made it possible to make cost as a variable to analyse design issues.

(5) Where operations were seemingly linear, such as cutting and joining by welding, it was

the organisational dynamics (or the human interaction) that introduced the complexity.

The last three characteristics of complex systems had important ramifications for attainment of

quality at some specified level, such as 3∑ or 6∑.

Case Study of participating units and information collected during the NAS was used as

illustrative examples. Since a majority of the units were concurrently running a Lean

programme, the workshop added value to the Lean programme also.

The following pages describe the proceedings of each day. Earlier, the Remedial actions had

been listed in the NAS report and circulated. While the notion of “cost” as a design parameter

had been introduced in the NAS report, the workshop expanded on the use of Engineering Cost

Models and Design to Cost to not only analyse Design issues but also strategise solutions.

Opportunity areas discussed in the workshop were based on remedial solutions.

3

LAYING THE FOUNDATION IN THE INTRODUCTORY ROUND

Some time was taken to on the first day to lay down the foundation for subsequent days.

Considering that this was a first time the DAP workshop was being held in the state, participants

uniformly opined that they would like to get a feel of the proceedings on the first day in order to

determine the level of participation for subsequent days. To Design Experts, this seemed as fair

comment, and was not unexpected. Salience would persist not only for this workshop, but for

subsequent DAP Awareness programmes in the state.

As expected, the first day’s programme was attended by owners, and subsequent days by new

employees of the units. Units used the workshop as a platform for orientation of incumbents

prior to them being given a responsible position in their factory. Design Experts and organisers

(CTTC) experienced in such events thus devoted the first day for laying down the foundation by

discussion of following events.

1. How to measure precision by taking the example of market as a complex system.

2. How to handle loss of communication of any content, such as when information about

Remedial measures discussed in the workshop was communicated by participants to the

actual users of the information, i.e. workers in the factory. (Although this in itself was not

a deterrent for communicating content, the problem in these units was lack of formal and

structured feedback systems like Quality Circles and Monthly Meetings.)

How to Measure Precision

After giving the idea that complex systems had optimal points that had good precision, the

measurement of efficiency boiled down to measurement of scatter (error) due to deviation from

the optimal point. The obvious choice was the statistically normal distribution function.

Since Maths is an anathema to most persons involved in production and marketing, the normal

distribution density function was explained by means of the PLC curve of a new women friendly

pedal driven paddy thresher product introduced by the Government for women in agriculture

(Figure 1). This item being a subsidy item, the design and cost was standardised prior to

release for fabrication. Any fabricator registered with the Government could take up

manufacturing of the equipment under Rate Contract. The specification of the equipment and

design parameters were given by a drawing. The item under consideration was being

manufactured by Unicus Engineering. Guest Speaker Prof S K Nanda from Orissa University of

Agriculture Technology mentioned that there were around three fabricators in the state besides

Unicus who made this equipment under Rate Contract.

4

Shri Sibasis Maiti, Gen Manager CTTC welcoming participants on first day of the Workshop

Participants discuss Agriculture Equipment on Day 1 with Design Expert Dr. N. P. Gantayet and Guest Speaker Prof. S. K. Nanda

5

Figure 1: New Product by Unicus

NAS 1. Product Design Development

Motorised Paddy ThresherPedal Paddy Thresher (Women Friendly)

PDD routes are many. This PDD follows Incremental Design Development involving multiple agencies (institutions) and actors

Figure 2: PLC Curve for the New Product

Introduction

Growth

Maturity

Decline

PLC Management

Faster

Longer

Higher

Tactical differentiation

Competitive positioning

Strategic regeneration

Crossing the Chasm

In order that the PLC curve hit home and etch in the memory of participants, the standard curve

was supplemented by the cash flow and investment needed to survive in the market.

6

Figure 3: Etching the Normal Distribution in the Mind

Product Life CycleCash Flow Summary

Intro-

ductionGrowth Maturity Decline

Net Income

Investment

Intro-

ductionGrowth Maturity Decline

Intro-

ductionMaturity DeclineGrowth

Cash Flow from Operations and Investments

Since all participants would have some experience of cash shortage in running the unit, the

shape of the PLC curve that explained cash shortage would never be forgotten (constructivism

learning).

The introduction of Cash Flow made it possible to introduce the notion of “cost” as a property of

the product as distinct from “price” that is the exchange value of product.

How to Handle Loss of Information in Communication

After some time spent on discussing the Remedial measures to the problems faced by Unicus in

fabricating the earlier generation paddy threshers (motorised) product, participants were asked

how much of the content discussed in the workshop would be communicated to the shop floor.

Opinion varied, but the final figure was only 10% retention of information about the proposed

remedial measures. 90% of information would be lost. This 10% forms the prior estimate of the

probability for adopting suggested remedial measures. (Remedial measures are given in the

Design Audit Report of Unicus Engineering.) The number of workers who would actually adopt

the suggested Remedial measures in percentage terms would be even lower.

A simple way to increase probability of adoption of remedial in the unit was to promote the New

Product (pedal paddy threshers). Since people generally accept that introduction of new product

would mean overcoming teething problems, this would bias the probability of adoption of

remedial for extant practises in the unit. This is shown in Figure 4.

7

Figure 4: Biasing Probability of Adoption of Remedial for Extant Practises

Remedial a Cluster Wide Issue

• Around 45 Remedial suggestion provided in this slide show, applicable cluster wide

• What would be the retention after workshop to take a decision on investment– Likely to be 10% (4 to 5 suggested by unit themselves)

– i.e. Probability Remedial taken up by cluster, P(R) = 0.1

– According to PLC curve, this is not sustainable

• How to increase chances of cluster taking up?– Apply Bayes rule to improve chances of MSME unit

taking up remedial

Managing Message Retention

• IF:– New Product is taken up, because unit is forced to

take up to remain in business

• THEN:– Teething faults will show up necessitating close study

of Remedial

• THEREFORE:– Promote New Product (e.g. NID-DCS)

– However, No prior assessment of cluster taking up new product, i.e. P(new) can be formed

Feedback received on subsequent days showed that the stratagem of introducing New Product

to generate interest in Remedial measures worked well.

This stands to reason, as prior assessment of how many would adopt a New Product cannot be

formed until the new product is actually taken up. In such cases Bayes Rule applies (Figure 5)..

8

Figure 5: Bayes Rule for Increasing Chances of Adopting Remedial

Apply Bayes Rule

• Set up problem as P(R|N), i.e. Remedial taken up if MSME unit forced to go for a New Product– R: Remedial, N: New– P(R|N) = [P(N|R) x P(R)] / [P(N|R) x P(R) + P(N| not R) x P(not R)]

– P(R) = 0.1, P(not R) = 1 - 0.1 = 0.9– P(N|R) = 0.7 (as found from studies of Business Incubation

scheme, and study of requests by MSME units for Design Projects)

– P(N| not R) = 0.3

• Therefore substituting numerical P(R|N) = 20.6%– Chances are good as per PLC curve that Remedial Design

would self-sustain, since it is higher than 16%

SOME CAVEATS AND MURPHY’S LAW

The theme of New Product introduction through incremental design development provided an

excellent backdrop for making Remedial measures in the factory a “pull factor”. Firstly, it is

normal to expect that a new product would have teething problems. Secondly, anything new

should be more attractive than the previous product. For example, for the new portable paddy

thresher to be women friendly, it should look feminine besides having other ergonomic features.

In effect, the “pull factor” for a factory to adopt suggested Remedial measures would come

about due to two opposing Murphy’s Law; (1) “Beauty is skin deep, but ugliness runs to the

bone”. (2) “If anything has to go wrong, it will go wrong”.

The first law is suggestive for positioning of a new product in the market to lengthen the PLC

curve to ward of competitors; essentially to convey a message of necessity of product design

and re-design in incremental steps to survive in a fiercely competitive market. Especially since

the purpose of Rate Contract is to ensure that there is no monopoly supplier, and invite many

manufacturers to produce the item at the same time. Under such conditions of fixed pricing,

small marginal differences such as looks, colour, aesthetics, etc. in the product would make

large differences in competitive positioning. This is given in Figure 6.

9

Figure 6: Competitive Positioning and Regeneration

Industry

Weak

Competitor

Product Life CycleCompetitive Positioning

Strong

CompetitorFirst Mover, or

Predatory Follower

Last In …

Mkt AMkt B

Mkt C

Mkt D

Product Life CycleRegeneration

The second law is essentially summed up by probability a Remedial measure would be taken

given that the event of manufacturing of a New Product is observed, i.e. P(R | N). Conversely,

units are more likely to invest in Remedial Designs if it is positioned as investment for New

Product, given by P (N | R) = 0.7 to take care of Murphy’s Law. It saved the Design Expert from

10

having to use risk aversive statements in all the five days of the workshop. It meant a change in

meaning of the word Remedial from “something is wrong” to “be prepared”.

Psychologists would call the latter approach as “I am okay, you are okay” in contrast to “I

(Design Experts) are okay, you (Units) are not okay”. Most owners and workers know the

mistakes being made. What the Experts emphasised was the offer of collaboration to change

the situation, obviating the necessity to be critical and overbearing. It converted warnings to

possibilities. Other aspects of the workshop like food and ambience and timings were duly taken

care in keeping with the esprit of offer of collaboration.

DAY 1: AGRICULTURE EQUIPMENT

The case study of UNICUS was thoroughly analysed and Remedial suggested given below.

Conserving Human Energy-the most expensive form of energy

• Reducing Vibrations– Alignment of all rotating parts on one line

– Balancing of main rotating part

– Use of flywheel for fluctuating and eccentric load of paddy threshing

– Self aligning bearing on one side of main shaft

• Place for retrofitting fractional HP motor or dynamo to run on NRE/Solar

• Reduction of fatigue by operation while sitting– Many models prefer bicycle (chain sprocket) drive

Prof S K Nanda said that the mechanised farming driven by tractor power or diesel engine was

applicable to only holdings of 4-10 Ha, who constituted less than 25% of the farming community.

Power driven equipment became feasible only if small and marginal farmers constituting 75% of

the farming community, <1 Ha and 1-2 Ha, combined to form clusters with common ownership

of farm machinery. This needed Social Engineering and could not be solved by mere levy of

subsidy. The opportunity was therefore for smaller hand driven machines that saved labour.

11

Prof Nanda provided many examples of the products being introduced. The salient features of

these products are given in Figure 7 below. (Details available in CD). He also provided the

systematic approach to Design issues of Farm Equipment

Figure 7: Opportunity Area for Farm Machinery Equipment Manufacturing

Methodology and New product for introduction in

MSME on Agril. equipments

• Material substitution in agril. Machinery( e.g plastic hopper & metering components in ferti-seed drill, G.I sheet cover on thresher

• good quality paint/Protecting layer of zinc/plastic

• Use of Welding fixture / Drilling jig to be encouraged

• Tempering by Water/ Oil quenching in EN steel

• 1. Battery ULV sprayer, 2. Groundnut decorticator, 3. Vegetable Seed extractor, 4. Inclined plate planter, 5. Maize sheller rotary, 6. post hole digger, 7. Mower (PT), 8. groundnut thresher, 9. Seed cleaner, 10. Plastic paddy drum seeder

Figure 8: Systematic Approach to Design

DESIGN CYCLE

RECOGNITION OF A NEED

PRODUCT RELEASE

PROTOTYPE BUILDING AND

TESTING

PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND

DEVELOPMENT

CREATIVE DESIGN SYNTHESIS

FEASIBILITY STUDY

SPECIFICATION AND

REQUIREMENTS

DESIGN FOR PRODUCTION

DETAILED DESIGN

FE

ED

BA

CK

FE

ED

BA

CK

FE

ED

BA

CK

FE

ED

BA

CK

The day’s discussion ended with request by participants to give a Design Project proposal on

Farm equipment that was being earmarked by government for subsidy and promoted by them.

12

DAY 2: METAL CASTING

As expected, on Day 2, the participant profile changed from owners to employees. These

employees had newly joined and had been sent for orientation training, i.e. to use the workshop

as a platform for learning. However, as the workshop design had indicated, the highlight of the

day would be the new product introduction every day. The new product for Day 2 was a

Grinding Roll used for coal grinding in a Raymond Mill.

The session started by a quick review of the main issues of design of Day 1, mainly engineering

design of complex systems. This was elaborated with respect to melting and casting, based on

Case Study of Anupama Industries (given in individual unit report in the CD.)

Changes in product design of castings took a long time and were not in the control of the

manufacturing unit. Foundries only enjoyed freedom in process design, process optimisation,

and process control; all of which was done by an appropriate design and setting of the

workstation. Foundry processes tended to be non linear, because the characteristics of the

material was non linear, and it dynamically interacted with various components of the

workstation with many feedback loops, thereby introducing complexities in the system.

In complex systems, if the operating procedure comprised of several steps, a fault introduced in

an earlier step would manifest only after several more steps had been taken, making analysis of

the fault very difficult. For example, a blow hole in a casting that became visible during

machining could be due to a fault in the mould (too much moisture or too less impervious), or in

the melting (too little boiling or melt not properly deoxidised) or in the raw material itself

(composition not correct). Hence, the only way to correct faults in complex systems was

“prevention”, i.e. activities done a priori, mainly by manipulating design parameters through

appropriate workstation design.

The difficult aspect of complex system was its modelling, but its redeeming feature was the

precision of the optimal point. This had to be designed taking values from prior operations and

recorded observation. Even so, the optimal point could be arrived at only by experimentation

and trial and error. Once the settings were made, complex systems gave remarkable precision.

A cue was taken from the presentation of Prof S K Nanda (Figure 8), and also from the NAS

Report to state that the correct workstation design and practise involved feedback and

iterations. Knowledge of statistics and (time robust) optimal design helped reduce costs.

The modern trend in design was introducing new materials with superior properties, which at the

same time necessitating radically different design approaches (Figure 9).

13

Figure 9: Direction of Change in Engineering Design

NAS 4: Innovation in Process

• Applicable to Institutional Actors / Designers

• Target: Cost Reduction– Being a Rate Contract item, manufacturing cost

reduction adds to profits

– Plasma Cupola (lower energy costs, use of turnings)

• Target: Functional Design Change– Directions of Change is introduction of new

engineering materials, e.g. Carbides in metal matrix, maraging steel

– Combinations of operations (Heat Treatment)

Remedial (NAS 1-5) Mainly Unlearning

• Grey Iron Casting

– Switch to DI and SG Iron

– Sand Reclamation

– Fettling

– Heat Treatment (if switch is made to DI and SG)

• Machining

– Improvements and increased use of Jigs and Fixtures

• Investment Casting

– Melting Practise (e.g. Degassing)

The most dramatic improvements were obtained by training workforce to unlearn and relearn

very quickly given in Figure 10.

A course for Skill Development of workers in a Foundry under Modular Employability Scheme of

DGET was also discussed with participants.

14

Figure 10: Unlearning and Re Learning

NAS 7: Training and Skill Upgradation

• Issues:– No MES course in Skill Training in Foundries

– Anupama at early adoption stage, i.e. “Crossing the chasm”

• Killer application: “Unlearn and Re-learn”– First used by Alvin Toefler

– In Odisha context used by R S Behera (Chairman RSB)

• as reported in 1st Edition of Times of Odisha, Dec 1, 2012

Guest Speaker Er Chinmaya Das further elaborated on integrated design of products by

decoupling and un-coupling variables for attainment of specific properties.

Table 2: Classification of Variables

Customer Variable Functional Variable Design Parameters Process Value

X (1, 1) X (1,2) X (1,3) X (1,4)

X (2.1) X (2,2) X (2,3) X (2,4)

---- ------ ------- --------

X (n,1) X (n, 2) X (n,3) X(n,4)

The basic idea was to fill up the matrix such that row vectors were uncoupled or decoupled.

Each element of the row vector was mapped to the other using a tool like Kaizen or QFD.

Addressing the problem of under utilised capacity, he outlined the concept of forming a virtual

enterprise, i.e. a temporary alliance in cyber space, and disbanding after the job is over. This is

the next stage of cluster development, where the virtual enterprise partners solved design

issues in cyberspace prior to committing resources in reality to complete the job.

15

DAY 3: ENERGY EFFICIENT EQUIPMENT

By Day 3 the group had stabilised. Informal discussions revealed that they had excellent

exposure to practise based learning and were used to following protocols. Some of them had

degrees in engineering. In short, they were not novices.

An overview taken at the start of session revealed that the basic definition of complex system

was clear, although doubts remained as to how to proceed with engineering design. There was

clarity also that problem arose if there was tendency to simplify the complexity.

Looking at the progress of the workshop and learning curve of participants, it was decided to

use the Blackboard (white board actually) to clarify some of the doubts. Having doubts is a

healthy sign in a workshop, as it shows a deepening interest on the subjects being discussed.

The group were joined by officials from CTTC, making the discussion even more participatory.

Incidentally, discussions on setting Design Parameters in workstations, and the fact that Kaizen

and QFD tools were used as mapping tools following approach recommended by Er. Chinmaya

Das brought it closer to the practise being followed in the concurrent Lean programme.

One participant in fact opined that the discussion should be relevant to problems detected in the

Lean programme. Also, that the method followed in the workshop should dovetail the

performance based learning (protocol oriented learning) followed at CTTC and by the Lean

Programme. This provided an excellent lead to introduce “Engineering Cost Model” as an

estimator of performance of complex systems.

The cue from Table 2 was used to differentiate between Engineering Cost Model and Costing

practise followed by Accountants. It was explained that Table 2 could be derived from the

Tabular functions of the QFD matrix, where rows were product characteristics, and columns

were operating parameters.

QFD was actually a set of four nested Tables that mapped as Design → Product → Process →

Production. Normalising the QFD matrix would give Table 2. Further understanding was needed

to know what normalising was, and the session proceeded to explain concept of normalising.

The concept of vector was explained with reference to vector borne disease like malaria of

which every person had excellent understanding. The concept of coupled, decoupled and

uncoupled was explained by comparing transmission of HIV and malaria by blood, and why is it

that mosquito bites don’t transfer HIV. Thus row vectors of Table 2 were normal to one another,

because changing one would not change the other.

16

Once meaning of vector and coupling is understood, it followed that Engineering Cost Model

was a parametric based model, and was a mapping between variables of Table 2 expressed in

cost terms. One could use any other unit to make the comparison between two alternatives,

such as energy, or an arbitrary scale of customer satisfaction. Since cost performance was the

most sought after variable, it was practical and more dramatic to use cost to do the mapping.

Using a simpler problem that could be depicted on the blackboard by a 3D sketch, it was shown

that the Accounting Cost Model followed the diagonal vector of a matrix. The mapping along this

vector was done assuming a discounted cash flow for the inner product of the cost vectors. The

philosophy was that along the vector (incurred cost), benefit could not be counted twice, such as

increase in valuation of a building when price appreciates due to a neighbourhood coming up.

On the other hand, the Engineering Cost Model followed the parametric approach and was

essentially a regression coefficient for all variables. It allowed the use of stochastic variables,

and therefore more accurate when used as an estimator than the Accounting Cost Model.

From the Design point of view, normalisation simplified the calculation by bringing down the

number of variables one had to deal with in any exercise, such as unit cost reduction.

But the most important factor in favour of using Engineering Cost Model over the Accounting

Cost Model (based on end to end value stream map) was that it was an excellent indicator in

experimental approach to finding the optimal (operating) point in a complex system. Taken

together with the fact that only way to fix problems of complex systems was by setting Design

Parameters a priori, Engineering Cost Model became a good tool to use to fix such problems.

One way of looking at using Engineering Cost Models with a purposive objective, say unit cost

reduction or design tradeoffs, was to compare the method with treatment of certain ailments

where prognosis of treatment is the only diagnostic tool, such as for trialgar neuralgia. Facial

nerves get excited for no reason giving a lot of pain to the patient. Trialgar neuralgia cannot be

diagnosed by any equipment like MRI, thermal image scanning, etc. The only confirmation that

the patient has this ailment is when the patient responds to the medicinal treatment.

This approach is the recommended approach for Designclinic. It is also the approach for Lean,

excepting that Lean uses a protocol based approach, whereas Designclinic is protocol free.

In the exposition given by Er Saroj Patnaik provided a compilation of the list (with graphic

illustrations) for optimal design and operations of furnaces, ovens, and driers. The presentation

is given in the CD. Highlight of the presentation is the confirmation that complex systems have

an optimal point that can be fixed only through Design and Design tradeoffs.

17

DAY 4: MAKING PRODUCTS FOR BUILDING SECTOR

Guest Speaker Prof. R K Sahoo spoke first about the opportunity areas in the Building sector.

The theme was on energy efficient buildings, and the best practises followed in constructing

them. The overview included a mention of the Regulating agencies and accrediting bodies that

provided certification for the energy efficiency achieved.

After his exposition, the topic of concept design was discussed with reference to designing a die

to bend pipes and thin tubing (Figure 11).

Figure 11: Die Assembly for Bending Pipes and Tubes

Die Assembly Set for Bending Pipes

The importance of using circular and other hollow cross sections was to achieve higher strength

to weight ratios in fabricated items. It was explained that although the operation of bending

appeared linear, the system of Figure 11 was non linear, as operations took place in the region

of elasticity curve where permanent deformation occurred due to plastic flow of micro crystalline

material of the pipe.

Many products were made using bends of tubular and hollow shaped sections, such as

furniture, lighting poles and fixtures, domestic appliances, railings and balustrade, signboards,

frame for pictures, agriculture equipment, mudguards of automobiles, boilers and chemical

engineering equipment, bioreactors, play school equipment, sports equipment, etc.

18

The problem being faced by manufacturers was to avoid crimping on the inner radius of the

bend. On the other hand, a deliberate crimping could be targeted by mastery of the operation,

such as for bellow joints and valves.

Importance of concept design was paramount for toolmakers, especially for making jigs and

fixtures as in Figure 11. Not spending enough time and effort on the concept design often led to

rejection, or very expensive rectification when desired results were not achieved in use.

A case study from CTTC for making dies for plastic caps for bottles was discussed, where

aesthetic appeal needed to be combined with special properties. The die had to be finely

engineered, and it was possible to do this only by trial and error. A good concept design prior to

making the prototype would have shortened the number of trials. In this particular case study

under discussion, the rectification took around three months, and considerable expense was

incurred, as the deficiency was pointed out when the die was in use in production.

In another example form CTTC where concept design had been practised, a competitive

advantage was obtained for a forging die by developing appropriate hardness. What was

remarkable was that the Heat Treatment protocol that was designed to get desired results was

done using rather simple and not so accurate Rockwell Hardness tester. A scientific approach

would have entailed costly analysis such as microstructure, chemical analysis, and other

metallurgical tests.

In engineering and fabrication where tools, jigs, fixtures, moulds, and dies are extensively used,

giving a detailed drawing to toolmakers would be counter productive. Toolmakers are extremely

skilled technicians who achieve good dimensional accuracy. What they need is good

instructions for making the tool for a given part, i.e. concept design comprising of sketches and

instructions, and access to charts showing behaviour of material that is being fabricated.

The concept design activities include making the different components and testing each

component separately to show that it functions. The assembly of the parts at breadboard stage

would show that each component part is contributing to the product’s functionality.

Concept Design means analysing the fabrication process from basic principles, and condensing

knowledge of the stages of production such as prototyping, pilot plant production, and quality

attainment at the concept design stage. An example of the component sketch as part of concept

design is given below (Figure 12). Toolmaker has to factor in these instructions to make the tool.

Nowadays, however, the CNC machine has replaced the technician skill of the toolmaker. What

CNC cannot achieve is making the concept design.

19

Figure 12: Instructions Given in Concept Design Stage for Tube Bending Assembly

Prevention of Buckling (Crimping)

Common DefectsPrevention of Buckling

From the above it is apparent that concept design stage would provide a road map for

manufacturing the product, giving only salient points, including where detailed design and study

would be required during actual operations and trials. This needs protocols, but not mentioned

in the concept design stage. Protocols are actually part of detailed engineering. Two

approaches for laying down paths (road maps) were discussed with reference to dynamical

systems where Material Science played an important part, such as like tube bending, thermal

equipment, plastic flow, metal casting, etc. The first was by mathematical modelling using

equations and data such as finite element analysis. The second was to follow nursery rhymes

as the protocol for finding the path, using Engineering Cost Model as the indicator.

DAY 5: MEDICAL TEXTILES AND VALEDICTORY FUNCTION

This being the last day, the Guest speaker Shri Ishwar Nayak gave the presentation of Shri S K

Patra on the opportunity areas in Medical Textiles that could be immediately taken up by MSME

units in Odisha.

Following this, the Design Expert summed up the learning and different subjects of the past four

days prior to breaking up for the Valedictory Function. Special Secretary of Dept of MSME, GOI,

was the Chief Guest for the Valedictory function.

20

Design Expert Dr. N. P. Gantayet giving a summary of the Workshop of last five days on the Valedictory Function

Shri Sibasis Maiti addressing participants on Valedictory Function of Design Clinic Workshop

On the dias L-R are Shri Sibasis Maiti (GM, CTTC), Shri Panchnan Das (Special Secretary,

Dept of MSME, GoO), Shri Ashok Mondal, (Coordinator, East Zone, NID-DCS), Shri J K Rath (President AEIBA-Industry Association)

21

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Feedback of one of the participants was that the workshop “touched his heart”. This statement

sums up the overall feeling of all participants attending the workshop. We could discount the

Valedictory Function, as it was a formal affair, excepting that special mention was made by the

Special Secretary to Govt of Odisha, Dept of MSME, for scaling up the DAP.

Design Experts were able to communicate this feeling by focusing on why faults arise, what to

do when they are detected, where to go for consultation. As the narrative of the workshop

shows, the issues were a mega discussion on complexity and complex systems. No attempt

was made to provide Breakthrough Design solutions, since in complex systems, faults and

defects occurred during run time.

The achievement in the workshop, and indeed of this particular DAP, was linking the

happenings inside a factory unit to the market, inter alia the Engineering Cost Model. By

following the Case Study method from the data and graphics collected during the Interactive

Design Research made it easier for the participants.

The study of complex systems was approached by taking participants gradually from the

surface to inside, like peeling off layers of an onion. From improving aesthetic appeal to making

products look feminine to setting up differential equations (Calculus of Variations) for plastic flow

regime of metals inside dies for undertaking finite element analysis at concept design stage. But

the clincher was using Engineering Cost Model as an indicator for design tradeoffs, or as it is

often termed, Design to Cost. While this may appear far fetched, the underlying assumption is

that all complex systems have stationary points (optimal points), including weather systems and

markets. Its a question of tracking the path to be followed in reaching the point, and having

determined it, to follow it as far as practical.

That markets have ways of determining the true value (cost) of a product is a well known theory

propounded by Hayek. Therefore Engineering Cost Model is safe to apply as an indicator of the

efficacy of Design. Data collected over twenty parameters of the NAS checklist provides an

initial formulation of the Engineering Cost Model, and is validated by taking up a Design project.

The market forms an external influencer of the stationary (optimal) point inside the factory.

There is one provision that Remedial of Designclinic (or any other programme like Lean) is

effective if cost is consumed, i.e. cost is a property of the product, which if consumed to give

rise to consumption demand.

22

There are fictional costs, such as collecting sale proceeds without any transfer of material goods

or service, but this merely shifts the stationary point (true cost) resulting in under consumption,

and does not disturb the equations governing the dynamics of markets, or effectiveness of

competitive strategies. It is like a red shift of the lights coming from distant stars that are moving

away from us. Knowing the characteristic spectrum of the lines, the red shift merely informs the

distance the star is from the observer. Similarly, the corruption of fictional costs, such a piracy,

stolen goods, or charging for goods that are not made or sold, is soon detected by the shift in

true value of products determined by markets, as well as give an accurate estimation of the

under consumption and depression of consumption demand.

The only necessary condition is to follow protocols. Even levy of fictional costs cannot escape

the finality and reality of protocols. What the workshop has achieved showed how even nursery

rhymes can be used to set the elaborate protocol to be followed to erect in reality those Designs

made in the most imaginative of minds. However, it has not ignored the use of sophisticated

methods like Finite Element analysis to set protocols for realising Designs on the shop floor.