SPOT DESIGN CLINIC WORKSHOP REPORT

Name of MSME Bhandara Zilla Laghu Udyojak Sanstha, Bhandara

Schedule (2 days) 25th Oct 12 ~ 26th Oct 12

Location Mujbi, Bhandara

MSME Contact Person Mr. Rambilas Sarda (President, Bhandara Zilla Laghu Udyojak Sanstha) Mr. Pankej Sarda (Kothari Enterprises, Mujbi, Bhandara)

Design Expert Mr. Sharad Dahake (NAGPUR)

Synopsis: Brass/Copper Utensil industry of Bhandara is well established and is known for traditional pure brass utensil quality. The industry is looking forward for design intervention to create modern lifestyle products in the area of utensils and promote products for health benefits. The 2-day design clinic workshop was directed towards building a mutual understanding towards design implications and need for design.

Day 1 Day 2

EXISTING PRODUCT STATUS Major Utensils produced in Bhandara cluster are 1) Handi, 2) Parat, 3) Ganji, 4) Bucket, 5) Kadai, 6) Lota, 7) Dinning Sets. They are produced in various shapes and sizes. The designs are mostly traditional and not changed since 40 years. The demand for traditional utensils in brass and copper is slowing diminishing due to inroad of stainless steel and plastic utensils. But brass and copper utensil have health benefits as compared to SS and plastic utensils.

SCOPE OF DESIGN INTERVENTIONS: 1) Explore new designs for improving usage, user benefits,

customer preferences and new market demand. 2) Design suitable package style for modern trade channel,

logistic concerns and on shelf display. 3) Study market competition and bottle necks for market

penetration. 4) Study need for brass/copper utensils in upcoming markets

like modern trade. 5) Classify traditional, commercial and modern utensils in

brass and copper, to manage product design line-up. 6) Study issues and concerns for brass/copper utensils and

applications in modern lifestyle. 7) Study modern usability of brass/copper utensils in area of

water handling, storage of water, cooking various food items, drinking and eating habits, lifestyle changes and preferences.

OPPORTUNITY AREA

SPOT DESIGN CLINIC WORKSHOP REPORT

UNIT DESCRIPTION: There are around 10~12 small and medium scale industries in Bhandara, managing a turnover of approximately rupees 10~15 crore. The units are labour intensive and depend majorly on manual skills for operation like raw material casting, heat treatment, forging, cutting, welding and finishing. Most of the units manage complete processing right from managing raw material casting to final end finished product. They are fragmented in terms of process and manage their own product range for different markets. The industry is disorganised in terms of demand and supply.

DESIGN INTERVENTION 1) If industry is organised and structured

in terms of operational process, the quality and efficiency of cluster can grow further.

2) Creativity and problem solving can be take to next level of detailing through specialisation within the cluster.

3) Task team must be formed to handle modern design demands and control of quality parameters.

4) Macro management is needed to maximise benefits of design clinic and MSME schemes.

DESIGN AUDIT

SCOPE OF PRODUCT DESIGN: 1) Make new range of

brass utensils which can bridge the gap between traditional brass utensils and modern utensils.

2) Create new shape and form to differentiate against traditional look and compete with model utensils.

3) Range of new products can be created focusing on water storage and health benefits.

SCOPE OF REDESIGN: 1) Do user survey (women

segment with modern lifestyle) to see issues and concerns related to brass utensils.

2) Redesign existing utensils to make them easy to clean and use (ergonomics).

3) Improve aesthetic quality by superior quality finishing and surface design (like patterns / textures / coatings)

SCOPE OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: 1) Develop moulds and

techniques to produce new utensils.

2) Develop packaging and printing suitable for communication and marketing.

3) Prepare samples for test market.

DESIGN AUDIT

To Design Brass Utensils in Modern Context

SCOPE OF TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE 1) Designs would required good quality

surface finish for modern trade (like uniform mirror/ matte finish).

2) Small upgrade focusing on finishing improvement can bring lost of sales benefit. Specially buffing inside of utensils.

SCOPE OF OPERATION & PROCESS INNOVATION: 1) Laser etching, engraving process can be added for improving branding

like printing logos, surface designs, textures or information.

2) Retail packaging can improve product presentation in modern outlets and prevent damages.

3) Tin electroplating process can improve uniform coating inside and outside brass/copper utensils.

DESIGN AUDIT

Current Status: Non –uniform outside finish. No or less provision for inside finishing.

Premium Branding

Laser Printing

SCOPE OF R&D: 1) Brass ingot casted in Bhandara are of high quality due to

quality of natural mould material available. There is still need of controlling material and process by scientific methods. Taking help from MGIRI, Wardha was suggested as one of the option.

2) Exploring brass anodizing process for multi color effects.

OPPORTUNITY IN WORKSTATION & TOOLING DESIGN: 1) New product designs will required change in forming

tools and dies for batch production.

2) Major activities are turning operations and most workers have sitting workstations, which reduces labour efficiency of product handling. Standing position workstation will be good to manage product well.

DESIGN AUDIT

DESIGN AUDIT

MARKET STUDY & RESEARCH: Traditional Market: Current market for Bhandara brass utensils is in and around border states of Maharashtra. The sales is targeted mainly in rural and tribal areas. The objective to purchase brass utensils is mainly for rituals, wedding ceremonies and daily utility. Modern Trade: In modern trade, brass/copper utensils are rarely available. Great marketing efforts would be required to promote brass utensils in this new channel. Also customers (like foreigners or upwardly mobile people), in case required, try to explore traditional markets.

EXHIBITION / DISPLAY DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES: 1) Since no work has been done in promotional activities,

there is huge scope of opportunities in exploring range of options for promotional design activities.

2) A showcase of Bhandara brass & copper products can be created in Bhandara city, to create brass utensil tourism.

3) Brass and copper utensils can be exhibited in trade shows and yoga forums.

Product Display Example

DESIGN AUDIT

METHODS ADOPTED FOR EVOLVING DESIGN INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THE UNITS: Co-creating new designs with Units: 1) User and market information collection will be done by

participants. 2) Modification on product usage will be evaluated by

selected end customers. 3) Since this was first interaction on design, design

intervention is currently limited to consultation. 4) Some units will start product improvements as self

initiation on design. 5) The overall strategy will be to guide units for design

improvement, towards suitable product modification for modern lifestyle.

6) New range of products will be tried ones modification starts giving positive results on initial design intervention.

FEED BACK OF PARTICIPANTS: 1) Design clinic workshop had brought all units on one

platform, for promoting Bhandara brass utensils.

2) More interactions on design should be conducted on regular intervals.

3) Participants will contribute on user information collection as initial part of design intervention process and testing design methodology.

4) A design understanding was developed that can improve products effecting better sales and growth.

DESIGN AUDIT

TRAINING & SKILL UP-GRADATION: Most unit worker are traditional brass smiths. They are good in basic lathe work, casting and forging. Further training would be required in proper material handling and product finishing skill. This will provide good appearance quality to products. Most product appears crude due to improper surface quality. This can be improved by sharing good surface quality understanding for buffing and cleaning.

INFRA CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT FOR MODERN TRADE: 1) There is huge scope for infra capability enhancement in

area of tinning brass.

2) Advance tooling like CNC lathe can be adopted for modern machine finish and dimensional accuracy.

3) Metal engraving capability can help durable and premium branding which cannot be remove by regular utensil cleaning.

As is To be

DESIGN AUDIT

ERGONOMICS & ENVIRONMENT FACTOR: Ergonomics: Cleaning and handling of brass and copper utensil is major concern as compared to steel and plastic utensils. There should not be areas in utensil which restricts hand cleaning and accumulation of residuals. Environment:

PACKAGING, LOGISTICS & STORAGE: Most of the utensils are packaged in transparent plastic foils to prevent damage while transportation and stacking. Utensils are normally stacked taking support of product itself. Therefore stacking of utensil is main concern for storage as well as logistic benefits. Packing & design must support stacking of product.

Non-ergonomic for cleaning and usage

Utensils of brass and copper get tarnished due to oxidation. Long exposure of salt, oils and moisture will cause corrosion and change in colour.

DESIGN AUDIT

MENTION ON THE SPOT REMEDIAL DESIGN SOLUTIONS AND POTENTIAL DESIGN PROJECT: 1) Make cleaning easy by using soft shapes. 2) Improve glossy finish of tin surfaces by uniform buffing. 3) Utensil weight can be reduced by structural changes and use of bidding. 4) Consider cluster as large scale unit and organise the structure according to process specialisation like recycling, brass

ingot making, shaping, tinning, finishing, turning, casting, product, etc. This can improve quality and overall efficiency of the cluster.

5) Try lazer etching or engraving for branding. 6) Approach MGIRI (Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization, Wardha) for metallurgical services. 7) For product improvements, must focus on end user requirements. Must discuss brass utensil needs with housewife,

without investing in expensive user research.

Potential Design Project: 1) To design range of brass utensils for modern retail market. 2) To design range of water storage and utility item addressing health concerns. 3) To design suitable package for utensils, which can help product promotion and branding. 4) To redesign traditional Parat, Ganj, Balti, Handi, Kadhai, etc to improve on customer and user preferences. Study

user/customer needs and make suitable modern design adaptations.

DESIGN AUDIT

Design Clinic Photographs (Day 1 – Interacting with Cluster President, members and factory visit)

DESIGN AUDIT

Design Clinic Photographs (Day 2 – Design Discussion with Cluster unit members and factory visit)

DESIGN AUDIT

Profile of Design Expert:

Sharad Dahake

Designer is graduated from NID, Ahmedabad (1997-2000). He has done specialisation in Product design. Currently works as design consultant and founder director of Ideal Mockups Pvt. Ltd. In small span of professional carrier his experience include design management as head of design at LG Electronics India, working in various large scale industries and design experience in products like television, refrigerator, washing machine, microwave, Audio system, moduler furniture and lifestyle products. He had won many national and international recognitions in area of industrial design and as amateur artist. Had been speaker in CII Annual Marketing Summits, CII-NID Summits and design festivals and emphasised upon quality of design output and efficiency. He was members of CII National Committee of Design for 2 years and contributed towards improving support structure for design in India.