Rubber Tapping Tool - Lecture notes 4 PDF

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Rubber Tapping Tool all infomation
Rubber Tapping Tool all infomation
Rubber Tapping Tool all infomation
Rubber Tapping Tool all infomation...

Description

  FinalReportandBusinessPlan     E105:ProductDesignfortheDevelopingWorld Prof.KenPickar Prof.JasonIssac VinayMathewJohn MichelleJiang       December7,2010        TeamRubberTap(Team3) DilipMathew KieferAguilar RyanNewton SandeepKumar TylerHannasch

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TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan  

TableofContents Section

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Page

 RubberTappingProcess………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3  MarketPain………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4  TargetMarkets……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4‐8  

PrimaryMarketAnalysis………………………………………………………………………………………................5‐8 SecondaryMarketAnalysis………………………………………………………………………………………............8

 CustomersandDistributionChannels……………………………………………………………………………………......8  Competition………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9  OurProduct………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9‐11  DesignConstraints……………………………………………………………………………………….........................9 

ProductDesign………………………………………………………………………………………...............................9‐11

 ImplementationStrategy…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12‐19  

BusinessGoals……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 FourPhaseApproach…………………………………………………………………………………………………………12‐13 CostandRevenueProjections…………………………………………………………………………………………….13‐18 FundingPlan………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………18‐19

 Stakeholders………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………19  EthicalConcerns…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………19  TeamChemistry………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20  Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20 

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2 

TeamRubberTap:FinalRep portandBusinessPla an  

Rubber TappingPProcess 

R ubbertappingistheproce essbywhichrawrubberlaatex—whichiisprocessediintorubber products— —isextracted dfromrubberrtrees,which hgrowintrop p icalregions. Totaparubbertree,ask illed rubberta pperusesaggougetomake aninitialsp piralcut180⁰ aroundthet reeandtwofeetdownth e tree.The cutis3‐5mm mdeeptoope enlatexconta ainingvesselss inthebarkw ithoutdamaagingthe cambiumlayerofthettree.Theraw wlatexflowsddownthespiralcutintoacollectioncup. A ftertheinitiaalcutismade ,askilledworkerremovesscongealedlaatexfromtheebarkand reopenst hecutbyrem movingasmallstripofbar keveryotherrdaytocollecc tmorelatexx.Allcutsar e madeint hemorningw whentheinteernalpressure eofthelatex‐‐containingvesselsishighest,andworkkers returntocollectfilled cupsintheaffternoon. 

Tyypicalgougeddesign

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Pictureoffarecentlyta appedrubberr tree

Agougeecuttingathinstripofwo ood

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gprocess. Figure1:PPicturesoftherrubbertappin g

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3 

TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan  

MarketPain 

TherubberindustryinIndiaisfacedwithashortageofskilledrubbertappinglaborastheresult offourphenomena1,2: 

64%ofrubbertappersareatleast40yearsoldandmostwillretireby2020.

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Rubbertappingisabluecollarjobthatfewyoungpeoplewanttodo.Infact,only6%of rubbertappersarelessthan30yearsold.

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Mostrubberplantationownersarenotsatisfiedwiththeskilloftheirlaborasolderrubber tappersegoisticallyrefusetoadoptmodernmethodsofrubbertapping.

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Thenaturalrubberindustryisgrowingatabout4%peryearandmorerubbertappersare neededtokeepupwiththeboomingdemandfromChinaandIndia.

Ourteamhasdevelopedarubbertappingtoolthataddressesthisshortageofskilledrubber tappinglaborinthefollowingways:(1)itallowsunskilledlaborersandwomentotaprubbertrees;(2)it reducestheeffortrequiredtotaprubbertrees;and(3)itincreasesworkerproductivity.Ourtoolalso increasestreelifetimebydecreasingtheriskoftreedamage.Whileourtoolmaynotchangethe perceptionthatrubbertappingisabluecollarjob,itreducesbarriersthatturnawaypotentialrubber tappers. 

TargetMarkets 

OurprimarytargetmarketistheIndianrubbertappingindustry(particularlytheindustryin Kerala,whichproduces92%ofIndia’snaturalrubber3).Oursecondarytargetmarketisothertropical regionsthathavesubstantialrubbertappingindustries,includingSoutheastAsia(inparticularIndonesia, Thailand,andMalaysia),SouthAmerica(especiallyBrazil),andAfrica(inparticular,Liberia,Nigeria,and theIvoryCoast).  

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 1

Socio‐economicProfileofRubberTappersintheSmallHoldingSector,T.V.UshadeviandV.N.Jayachandran, KeralaResearchProgrammeonLocalLevelDevelopment,2001. 2 InternationalRubberStudyGroup,Sept.2010. 3 http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Commodities‐Buzz‐Rubber‐Board‐To‐Create‐Pool‐Of‐Rubber‐ Tappers/2983350524

4 

TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan   PrimaryMarketAnalysis 

MarketHypotheses 

Ourteamdevelopedthefollowingmarkethypothesesasafocusforourmarketresearch: 

(1) Unskilledworkers(includingwomen)wanttoworkonrubberplantationsbutcannotwithout extensivetrainingbecausetheycouldkillarubbertreewithtoodeepacut. (2) Skilledworkersandwomenwhowanttoworkonrubberplantationswanttoolsthatrequireless strengthandendurancetouse. (3) Rubberplantationsneedmorerubbertappersandmoreefficienttools. (4) Rubberplantationmanagementandtheirworkersarewillingtoadoptanewtool. (5) Rubberplantationmanagementbuysandmaintainstoolsfortheirworkers. (6) MostorallrubbertappinginKeralaisdoneonplantations. 

Ourmarketresearchresultsatleastpartiallyvalidatedallofourmarkethypotheses,asshownin Table1. Table1:MarketHypothesisValidation Hypothesis Partiallyverified

MarketResearchResult

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(1)

Olderunskilledworkerswanttoworkonrubberplantationsbutcannotwithout extensivetrainingbecausetoodeepacutcanslowfuturetapping.Toodeepacutdoes nottypicallykillatree;itjustreducesproductivity.Youngpeopledonotwanttowork asrubbertappersbecauseitisabluecollarjob. 

Womendonotwanttoworkonrubberplantationsbecausetheworkistoohardand theyplaymoretraditionalrolesinthehousehold.Afewwomenindirecircumstances dochoosetobecomerubbertappers.4%ofrubbertappersarewomen.Plantation management,however,wantwomentoworkasrubbertappersbecausetheirwages arelowerandtheytypicallyhavebetterskills.4 Partiallyverified 

(2) (3)

Prospectiveunskilledworkersalsowanttoolsthatrequirelessstrengthandendurance touse.Whileskilledworkerswantthisaswell,itisnotamajorconcern. Verified Verifiedbeyondexpectation 

(4) (5) (6)

Plantationmanagementiswillingtobuyasuperiortoolat50%greaterprice(ormore) thanthecurrenttool. Verified Verified

 4

Socio‐economicProfileofRubberTappersintheSmallHoldingSector,T.V.UshadeviandV.N.Jayachandran, KeralaResearchProgrammeonLocalLevelDevelopment,2001.

5 

TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan    ImportantNumbersandAdditionalResults 

Table2belowsummarizessomeimportantmarketinformation. 

Table2:Marketdata OverallMarketinIndia 1.1 billionkglatex/year RubberproductioninIndia5 $4.8billion/year ~6.7%peryearthrough2011 6 Rubberindustrygrowth  3‐4%peryearafterthat Currentnumberofrubbertappers7 580,000workers 8 Numberofacresofrubbertrees  1.72millionacres India’sworldmarketshare6 10.7%of10.3billionkg/year PlantationInformation FractionofrubbertappingfarmlandinKerala9 92% 9 Typicalplantationsize Afewacres,butvaries(andcanbemuchlarger) Numberoftreesperacre9 180trees/acre 630kglatex/year Annualyieldofrawlatexperacre10 $2700/year 6 Salepriceofrawlatex Rs.180/kg($4.02/kg) SkilledWorkerInformation Fractionofrubbertapperswhoarewomen9 4% Lessthan30yearsold:6% 9 30‐40yearsold:30% Agedistributionofrubbertappers Morethan40yearsold:64% Numberoftreestappedperworkerperday9 270trees/worker/day Areaeachworkertaps(twicetheareaaworker 3acres tapseachday)9 9 Timespentperdaytappingtrees 3hours/day 1900kglatex/year 11 Annualyieldofrawlatexperworker $8100/year 75 ‐150paise/treetapped(100paise=1rupee) Skilledworkerwage11 (1.68–3.55cents/tree)   

 5

http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/05/20/bus02.asp InternationalRubberStudyGroup,Sept.2010. 7 Calculatedvalue 8 http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/05/03/stories/2010050350961400.htm 9 Socio‐economicProfileofRubberTappersintheSmallHoldingSector,T.V.UshadeviandV.N.Jayachandran, KeralaResearchProgrammeonLocalLevelDevelopment,2001. 10 http://www.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/rubber/crop.htm 11 Personalinterviewswithrubberplantationmanagement 6

6 

TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan   Additionalresults12: 

Rubbertappingtoolpurchaseandmaintenanceisnotamajorcostforplantationmanagement.

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TheRubberBoardOfficeofIndiaisamajortoolsuppliertoplantationmanagementandgives twoweekclassesonrubbertappingtounskilledworkers,thoughmasteringtheskillwiththe currentgougetakes1‐2years.

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RubberproductionpeaksfromAugusttoDecember,butcontinuesyearround.

 MarketSpecifications 

Fromourmarketresearch,wehavederivedmarketspecificationsforourimprovedrubber tappingtool: 

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Cost:Plantationmanagementwillbuythetoolat50%abovethecurrenttoolpriceifitissafer andallowsworkerstobemoreproductive.

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Features/Reliability:Ourtoolmustincreaseemployerprofitabilitybyeitherincreasing productivityorbyloweringlaborcostsinallowingunskilledlabortotap.

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Easeofuse:Easeofusecanimproveproductivitybyreducingfatigue.Whileitmaynotchange thebluecollarperceptionofrubbertapping,easeofusewillreducethenumberofpotential laborers,includingwomen,whochosenottoworkasrubbertappersbecauseitishardwork.



Durability:Ourtoolmustlast5years.



Maintenance:Ourtoolmustbemaintainedwithonlybasicsharpeningtools,withoccasional blacksmithattention.

 Surprises 

Ourteam’sattentionwasdrawntoafewsurprisesinourmarketresearch12: 



Rubberplantationmanagementarewillingtobuyasuperiortoolat50%greaterpricethanthe currentgougetool.Indeed,the“Anikkadankathi”toolismorethandoublethepriceofthe traditionalgouge.



Deepcutswillnottypicallykillarubbertree.Theyjustslowdownthetappingprocessforfuture cuts.



Womenarepreferredforlabor,sincetheirwagesarelessandsincetheyhavemoreskill,even thoughtheytapmoreslowlythanmen.

 12

Personalinterviewswithrubberplantationmanagement

7 

TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan   

ThepresenceoftheRubberBoardOfficeasadistributionchannelsimplifiesoursalesstrategy andoffersbothlegitimacyforourimprovedtoolandapotentialmeansoftrainingunskilled workerswithournewtool.

 ConclusionforPrimaryMarketAnalysis:ProblemStatement  Primary:InIndiatoday,rubbertappingplantationsarefacingalaborshortage.Ourgoalistoaddress thisshortagebydevelopingatoolwhichallowsunskilledworkersandwomentoworkasrubber tappers. 

Secondary:Ourmarketresearchhasalsoindicatedthat(1)plantationownerswouldlikeatoolwhich increasesworkerproductivityandreducesriskoftreedamageand(2)workersandprospectiveworkers areinterestedinatoolwhichrequireslessefforttouse.  SecondaryMarketAnalysis 

OurteamhasnotperformedindepthmarketresearchoutsideofIndia.Whileweknowthat rubberplantationownersinoursecondarymarketarealsofacedwithlaborshortages,wedonotknow thereasonsforthatshortagetodeterminewhetherourtoolcanaddressthatmarketpain.Wealso knowthattherubbertappingprocessisthesamearoundtheworld.Sinceourrubbertappingtoolis superiortothetraditionalgougetool,webelievethatourtoolwillbedemandedinoursecondary markets,especiallyifitiswelladoptedanditseffectivenessiswellproveninIndia.SinceIndiahasonly 10.7%oftheworldmarketshareofnaturalrubberproduction,thereisplentyofroomforourbusiness togrowbeyondourprimarymarket. 

CustomersandDistributionChannels 

Ourendcustomersareplantationmanagers,whobuyrubbertappingtoolsfortheirlaborers (ourendusers).PlantationmanagerstypicallybuytheirtoolsfromtheRubberBoardOffice(RBO)of India,makingtheRBOakeydistributionchannelforourtoolandanimportantstakeholderinour business.Ourbusinessmodelforsellingourrubbertappingtoolwillthereforebeacombinationofa directsales(torubberplantationowners)modelanda“middleman”(theRBO)salesmodel.TheRBOis notatruemiddlemanasitdoesnotdirectlybuyourtoolstore‐sellthem;rather,itsimplyallowsusto selltoolsatitslocations,freeofchargeorcommission13.

 13

PersonalinterviewwithRubberBoardOfficeofIndia

8 

TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan   

Competition 

Ourmarketresearchrevealedtwocompetitors:thetraditionalgougerubbertappingtoolthat requiresskilledlabortooperateandanewer“Anikkadankathi”tool,whichhasanadjustablebladeto varythedepthofcut.Thenewertool’sblademustbeadjustedforeverytree,sotappingonetreewith thistooltakesaslongasittaketotapthreeorfourtreeswiththetraditionalgouge.Ourcompetitors claimthatthe“Anikkadankathi”toolcanextendarubbertree’slifefrom25yearsto50‐60years.We don’tbelievethereismuchdemandforatoolthatextendsarubbertree’slifebecauseingeneralpeople donotinvestinanewtooltogetareturn25yearslater.Theverypresenceofacompetitorisgood, however,asitindicatesamarketneedforatoolsuperiortothetraditionalgouge.Thetraditionalgouge toolispricedatRs.450($10.06),andthe“Anikkadankathi”toolispricedatRs.1000($22.36). 

OurProduct Ourrubbertappingtoolisaffordable,maintainable,andenablesunskilledlaborersandwomen toworkasrubbertappers.  DesignConstraints 

Ourteam’smarketspecificationsandbusinessgoalssetthefollowingdesignconstraints: 



Ourtoolmustloweremployerlaborcostsbyeitherincreasingproductivityorallowingunskilledlaborto tap,whileenablingaworkertotapenoughtreestomakeasufficientsalary.



Ourtoolmustlastatleast5years.



Ourtoolmustbeabletobemaintainedlocallywithonlybasicsharpeningtools,withoccasional blacksmithattention.



Ourtoolmustbeabletoberepairedwithlocaltoolsandparts.



Ourtoolmustbecheaptoproduceanddistribute.



Ourtoolmustbeintuitivetousesothatanunskilledworkercanbegintappingtreeswithminimal instruction(attheverymost,twoweeksofinstruction,sincetheRBOoffersatwoweektrainingclass).

 ProductDesign 

Figure2onthenextpageisanIllustrativedrawingofourprototypegivingbothasideandtop view.Thecoreofthetoolismadeofwood,howeverinordertoprotectitagainstwearfromthetreeit isplatedwithanaluminumsiding.Thebladeismadefromstainlesssteel.Wewillincludethecurrent toolprototypewiththisreportinordertoallowforabetterunderstandingofitsdesign.

9 

TeamRubberTap:FinalRep portandBusinessPla an   





Figure2:PPreliminaryproototypedesign





c Taable3ontheenextpagelisstshowourtooolwilloutpeerformtheexxistingprodu ctandour competitionanddescrribehowmecchanicallythisswillbepossiiblebecauseofourdesign n. 





10 

TeamRubberTap:FinalReportandBusinessPlan   Table3:Productfeaturesanddesign Areainwhichwewill Whythisareaisimportantto outperformthecompetition thecustomer Plantationownershavereported thattheyarefacingaskilled laborshortage.Theabilitytouse Fastertolearntouse unskilledlaborwillalsodecrease laborcostsandallowIndian plantationstobemoreglobally competitive.

How,mechanically,ourtoolwill accomplishthisfeat Weareconstrainingthecutboth verticallyandhorizontallyto makeiteasytomakethecut. Afterafewiterationstoperfect theshape,thetoolshouldonly needtobeplacedonandpulled alongthecut. Ourbeliefisthatwomenare Womenarecurrentlynot deterredfrombecomingtappers employedinthetappingindustry becauseoftheamountof inlargenumbers.Accordingly, physicalstrengthrequired.Since thereisanopportunitytobring ourtooltakesaminimumsized themintotheindustrytosolve cutittakeslessstrengthtouse thelaborshortage. andthusalleviatestheissue. Thewoodplannerisdesignedto Thiswillwinworkersupportfor takeaspecificsizedcut.Wewill ourproductandwillalso calibrateittotaketheminimum increaseproductivityby neededcutandcombinethat alleviatingperformancelosses withandergonomicdesignto causedbyfatigue. reducetappingeffort. Bybracingtheplaneragainstthe Cuttingthetreewillcause problemstappingthetreeinthe tree,ourtoolmakesitvirtually impossibleforthebladetocut futureorinextremecaseskill thecambiumlayerofthetree. thetree. Increasedtappingspeedsallow Ourtoolwillmakeonesmooth forasingleworkertotapmore cutinwhichtheplanerisslid treesinday,bothreducingthe alongthecut.Th...