January 13, 1997
Hello MADE Members,

Below is the generic justification "write-up" from the Project Admin. committee.
Please feel free to use this to obtain support from your management. If you have
any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Paul Russell
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Project Proposal
Measurement and Analysis of Distribution Environments (MADE)

Description

Participate in an industry consortium to collect transportation environment data (shock, vibration, and temperature) within the distribution channels [your company name here] uses.

The majority of today's high tech companies, including [your company name here], base their package specifications and test requirements on information collected between 1959 and 1977. However, these measurements were taken with recording devices with low accuracy and poor repeatability. This key element of the process was often overlooked by the users of the information. Additionally, improvements in the distribution channel's equipment and procedures make it necessary to collect new data to characterize modern distribution systems. Today's new recording devices have overcome the problems of accuracy and repeatability, shedding new light on the shipping environment.

Expected Results

A better understanding of our distribution environment which will allow [your company name here] to develop more cost effective packages that deliver higher performance. A glimpse into the future may reveal a worldwide web site from which a packaging professional could access information on the shock, vibration, and climate hazards of a given route. The user could identify a proposed shipping route, and the site would return a high level summary report, complied from the data stored there (see appendix A). The user could then refine their inquiry to get more specifics about the information collected and its applicability to their particular product and distribution channel. Testing could then be customized to represent a given set of transit hazards, which could lead to a reduction of packaging materials and logistics costs.

Development Partners

Committees Membership

Responsibilities

Project Administration - Paul Russell (Chair) Hewlett-Packard 415-857-7482

- Logistics, Process flow
- Generic Justification


Test Plan - John Bridges (Chair) Dell Computer Corp. 512-728-5471

- Develop the Test Plan


Equipment - Matt Daum (Chair) Hewlett-Packard 208-396-7726

- Recorder fixturing
- Data transfer
- Calibration
- Availability


Statistical - Mike Williams (Chair) Intel 503-696-2633

- Sample size
- Variables
- Confidence level


Analysis - Jorge Marcondes (Chair) San Jose State Univ. 408-924-3210

- Report formats
- Validity checks

Timing/Duration

Cost Information