Recommendation for the Best Vendor for the Shaft Machining Task - Essay Sample

Introduction

Following the task I was given to make recommendations on which vendor between Ace Machines and Best Machinery should supply the company with steel shafts for gearboxes, I have assessed the two companies and here are my findings and final recommendations as the Chief Manufacturing Supervisor.

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To achieve the most accurate and favorable finding, the two companies had to produce 100 shafts each, from which my team would make quantitative and qualitative comparisons. The results heavily relied on the diameter, in inches, of the gearbox shafts from the two vendors. From the diameter, the team got other statistical derivatives such as mean, variance, and standard deviation. The findings are as below.

For Ace Machines gearbox shafts, the diameter (X) had a normal distribution and a mean of 2.48, and a variance of 0.001, thus giving a standard deviation of 0.032. The diameter (X) for Best machinery gearbox shafts had a normal distribution and a mean of 2.51, variance of 0.02, giving a standard deviation of 0.045. The desired diameter (X) of the shaft is 2.5, give or take 0.05. What this means is that the assessment cannot rely on the diameter mean, since the magnitude of the difference between both A and B are similar. However, the two have slightly different standard deviations. B has a higher standard deviation than A, which gives B a slight preference than A.

However, it is best to consider other factors, such as tolerance intervals to ascertain further which is the best option. Tolerance intervals are the interval within which, with some confidence level, a specified proportion of a sampled population falls (Ali & Bhaskar, 2016). Here, the tolerance level is based on the normal distribution X-sigma limits. As X increases, the interval widens in both A and B. However, the variability or interval width is more in A than in B. looking at the overall men of the tolerance interval of both A and B, they stay quite close to the desired diameter of 2.5, making the issue of unbiasedness and accuracy similar in both two cases.

Further statistical analysis on variability and precision of the two samples show significant differences. A has better accuracy than B. shaft machining heavily relies on precision, just like any other form of machining in the manufacturing industry. Ace Machines have shown better precision than Best Machinery; it is the best option for Automotive Parts Corporation. Higher precision adds several manufacturing advantages when achieved. First, there is a reduced error, which in turn translates into low material wastage. With little material wastage, the company does not incur huge loses that might come with a lack of precision or material wastage. Precision will also result in a consistent product quality, which translates into consumer confidence in the brand (Wuest et al. 2016). Other advantages associated with precision include improved workflow, reduced turnaround time, and faster production cycle.

With the above assessment, I highly recommend Ace Machines as the most reliable and cost-effective vendor to supply Automotive Parts Corporation with the shafts. The vendor has demonstrated that it can provide materials that meet our standards and quality.

I do hope that the assessment will be of great use to you during your decision-making process.

References

Ali, Z., & Bhaskar, S. B. (2016). Basic statistical tools in research and data analysis. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 60(9), 662-669.

Wuest, T., Weimer, D., Irgens, C., & Thoben, K. (2016). Machine learning in manufacturing: Advantages, challenges, and applications. Production and Manufacturing research, 4 (1), 23-45.