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Comfort Industries
Material Analysis for Seat
Coverings

Prepared for:

Vera Michaels, Manager of Materials

Joe Smedley, Vice President of

Manufacturing

Carl Skinner, Chief Operating Officer

Prepared by:
Wilson Jones
Senior Consultant
TechCon Consulting
October 23, 2018
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Contents:
1. Deterioration
2. Conclusion
3. Intro and
Recommendation
3.1 Handling
3.2 Deterioration
4. Manufacturing Ease
5. Cost

1. Deterioration

Comfort Industries is a manufacturer a wide range of chairs and seats. The seats are used in cars,
carts, boats, and industrial equipment such as tractors, backhoes, forklifts and other equipment.
This investigation involves the vinyl material for seats and seatbacks used in the equipment
sector. Many of these applications are for equipment in rugged situations such as outdoor use in
a variety of climates.

Currently Comfort uses a material from is supplier Broadwell Plastics called MCD14b. Recently
Broadwell introduced a new material different from their current material, which is called
MRP21. They will continue to produce MCD14b. The introduction of the new material
prompted an investigation of both Broadwell lines and a new material from Acme Products
called Coverall in order to find the best material to achieve manufacturing and customer
expectations.

Table 1. Product Summary

Product Name Supplier Status
MCD14b Broadwell Plastics Current
MRP21 Broadwell Plastics New material
Coverall Acme Products Alternate supplier
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This investigation focused on three criteria:

 Manufacturing ease
 Deterioration
 Cost

2. Conclusion

The results of the study show that a change to the new Broadwell material MRP21 would
increase cost of materials yet improve ease of manufacturing as well as provide a longer lasting
material in the field. This change appears justified. The details of the tests follow.

The manufacturing ease of the materials involved handling the material and operation with
cutting and sewing machines. If there are problems in the efficiency of the use of the material in
production they could increase production time as well as cause problems with the amount of
excess material and waste. The tests involved sample production of five units with each of the
three materials. Operators were then asked to rate the materials between 50 and 100 for handling
characteristics when operating both cutting and sewing machines.

3. Introduction and Recommendation

3.1 Handling

A. Current Material
The current material MCD14b from Broadwell provided the lowest score for handling with our
current machines. The 75 score was the lowest of the compared materials. Improving this
characteristic has many advantages. It can speed up production. It could improve the durability
of the machines. It could reduce the waste caused by difficult handling during operations.

B. New Material
The new Broadwell material, MRP21, provided an overall score of 90 for cutting and sewing
handling which was a significant difference from the current product (See Figure 1). The cutting
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and sewing handling characteristics showed a significant change from the current material. The
75 rating of MCD14b was dramatically different than the 90 rating of the new material from
Broadwell.

Figure 1. New material is superior for cutting and sewing machines

C. Coverall
Acme Coverall had a score of 80 for cutting and sewing machines. Although this is greater than
the current material, it is still significantly more difficult to use than the new material from
Broadwell.

D. Conclusion
Concurrent with testing the manufacturing ease and handling for cutting and sewing, laboratory
tests were conducted to simulate the deterioration the material in given weather conditions. The
laboratory tests using the hot and cold testing chambers at Environ Laboratories were able to
condense the amount of time for testing from the real time of months and years to two weeks.
With these results the amount of months could be estimated to determine when cracks, bubbles,
or discolorations would occur in the seat cover materials. Environ Laboratories was able to
provide a range of months of environmental deterioration for each of the products.

3.2 Deterioration

A. Current Broadwell
Laboratory tests for the current Broadwell material MCD14b showed that in the different
conditions the average amount of time before deterioration will be between 16-18 months.
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MCD14b provides the least time before deterioration in the conditions given. Figure 3 includes
the material comparisons.

Figure 3. Coverall significantly improves deterioration time

B. New Material
Material MRP21 gave an estimated time of deterioration of 23-24 months. This was between the
other two materials still providing an improvement over the current Broadwell material. This
additional time before deterioration would be a benefit to the customer.

C. Coverall
Acme material coverall was the best in resisting deterioration showing a time before
deterioration of 28-30 months. This was a strong attribute of the material. The material
significantly surpasses the current material by almost a full year.

D. Conclusion
It is important to consider the cost of the materials for Comfort’s seats. Specific financial
projections for the costs will need to be completed considering waste, product configurations,
and projected production schedule for the coming year. Because the company uses two to five
square yards for each seat and seatback, and with production of equipment seats approximately
150,000 seats per year, cost is a critical factor when considering the materials. This will have to
be balanced by the ease of manufacture and the projected waste. The three alternatives were
compared here with simple cost per yard.

4. Manufacturing ease
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A. Current Broadwell
Our material at this time is was the material that was the material also is currently purchased at a
price of $10 per yard. Compared to the other materials this is about $3 to $4 dollars cheaper per
yard. (Figure 3).

B. New Material
The new line of Broadwell is priced slightly higher than the current material in use. It is $13 per
square yard which is an increase from the current material of $3. This cost will have to be
analyzed more specifically considering the production schedule.

C. Coverall
Coverall is the most costly of the materials at $14 per square yard. It can be a significant increase
our cost of goods in order to manufacture our products. . This additional cost must be
considered with the other factors.

Figure 3. Coverall is a significant cost increase

D. Conclusion
The result of the investigation is to recommend a change to the new Broadwell Plastics material,
MRP21. The summary of the test results supporting the recommendation is in Table 2.

5. Cost

Table 2. Results Summary

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Broadwell New Broadwell Acme Coverall

MCD14b MRP21
Manufacturing 75 90 80
handling score

Wear and 16-18 months 23-24 months 28-30 months

deterioration

Cost per yard $10 $13 $14

On balance the new material from Broadwell Plastics offers improvement in manufacture and
wear which can, following further analysis, cover the increased cost. It improves manufacturing
ease and extends the life of the seats with a delay in environmental deterioration. The improved
manufacturing operations can reduce the waste cost. The improvement in deterioration can
reduce the costs of warranty replacement. Further financial analysis and tradeoffs will be
necessary for a final decision. This report provides justification for that analysis. The new
material by Broadwell seems worth the change. Additional questions can be directed to:

Wilson Jones, Senior Consultant

TechCon Consultants
454 West Yucca Road
Mesa, AZ 85606
480-234-5678
WJones@Techcon.com