Last Wednesday, we drove up to Pride Industries near Sacramento. Not only was this an exciting field trip, it was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the business side of 3SD and see the actual assembly process. Since I’m new, I was given a tour of the facilities, and I got to learn a little about the company itself. Pride Industries is actually a non-profit, on top of being a manufacturing company. They provide employment opportunities to people with developmental disabilities, mainly in manufacturing and other services. They also provide rehabilitation, counseling, and job placement services.1 It was interesting to see a non-profit performing so similarly to a for-profit, mainly because they are still running a competitive business. It was a very cheerful place inside, and I got to meet quite a few people and see a lot of smiles. Pride completes a good portion of 3SD’s manufacturing and shipping needs.
The Pride visit was an opportunity to glimpse the business side of 3SD. I got to sit in on several meetings and hear about the nuances of inventory, the supply chain, and other things. I feel like a complete novice when it comes to that aspect of product development, but I am learning, slowly and surely. I’m continually astounded at the amount of work that goes into the business portion of these products, from marketing to regulation to sourcing to quality assurance. Let’s just say I’m doing my best to learn some new vocabulary.
The trip was also our first opportunity to see the brand new Pumani CPAP devices! Pride is currently manufacturing and testing the whole new batch of CPAPs that will soon be shipped to Malawi. We got to see the first unit they produced and take it back to San Rafael with us. I have to say it felt a bit like Christmas.
The devices sent to Malawi will contain the CPAP unit, three headset assemblies (that we have been assembling at 3SD), and a copy of the User Manual. We worked all day Thursday updating the manual with new pictures and slightly revised repair instructions that take into account the new model. 3rd Stone has an awesome little studio set-up for taking pictures of their products. Between the lighting stands, the backdrop, and the fancy camera, Jocelyn looked like a professional as she took glamour shots of the new Pumani. I also got to learn part of the documentation process for alterations.
Now that we have new Pumani devices, we have to test them for quality assurance. This involves testing the pressure and flow rate of the air coming out of the devices. At Pride, each unit is tested individually. However, we plan to conduct other tests on the few devices we bring with us to 3SD, including testing the durability of the pumps and casing and the lifetime of the device.
This week is going to be an exciting one—it’s PlanetBox’s 5th Birthday! PlanetBox lunch boxes are a huge part of 3SD, and so 3rd Stone is holding a birthday party to celebrate the successful product on Thursday. It’ll be a great opportunity to meet exciting people, and I’ll also be giving talks about the Pumani for those interested.
This past weekend involved even more exploration. We went to Union Square in San Francisco (by ferry!) and to nearby Berkeley. I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I just have to say it was beautiful! The Berkeley library made me a bit jealous.
Relevant Links:
1. http://www.prideindustries.com/