EXERCISES 79 Problem Analysis 4.16. After Crest toothpaste had been on the market for some time, Procter & Gamble, its manufacturer, decided to offer a mint-flavored version in addition to the original, wintergreen-flavored product. In the course of developing the new mint-flavored product, a test batch of mint-flavored product was produced by the same pilot unit used to produce wintergreen-flavored product. The pilot equipment used a tank and impeller device to mix the mint flavor essence with the rest of the ingredients to form the finished product (which is a very viscous solution). Some of the pilot plant product was packed into the familiar collapsible tubes for further testing. Tubes used in testing the mint flavor were identical to those used for the wintergreen-flavored product. In the packing operation, toothpaste was pumped through lines into the as- yet-unsealed ends of brand new tubes. After filling, the open tube ends were heat- sealed. The packing operation is illustrated in the figure. Automatic filling arm Clamps securely to tube CREST CRESTTM CREST Continuous movement of tubes To assess storage stability, some of the filled tubes were randomly separated into several groups and each group was stored in a constant-temperature room. Storage ment temperatures varied from 40 OF to 120 OF. the Early sampling of the mint-flavored product showed nothing unusual. However, sev- eral months into the test, a technician preparing to test the product from one of the to this stored tubes noted that the first 0.25 inch of paste squeezed onto a toothbrush was off -color. The rest of the product in the tube met the color specification. Nothing like this had ever been seen with the original formula. Further testing showed that a per- son had to squeeze more product out of those tubes that had been stored at higherPROBLEM DEFINITION EXERC temperatures and/or stored for longer times before a product that met the color spec- the pa ifications would exit the mouth of the toothpaste tube. Tubes stored for a period of with t time at 40 F contained no off-color product, whereas tubes stored for the same genera length of time at higher temperatures produced off-color paste. basis; contai The only exception to these results was a single tube, which had been stored at a 10% i temperature above 40 .F. A leakage of off-color product was found around the base most of the cap on this tube, but the product inside the tube met the color specifications. for the While other tests showed the off-color product to be safe and effective in cleaning ucts ha teeth, consumers certainly would not accept a color change in a product expected to An im have the same color from the first squeeze to the last. Moreover, such a change could levels have been an early warning of more serious problems to come. This phenomenon tell the had to be understood and eliminated before the new flavor could be marketed. Accordingly, various possible remedies were tested: caps and tubes made of differ- Two d ent materials, different mixing methods, and so forth. None of these changes had indepe any effect on the off-color problem. All raw materials, including the new mint flavor paste essence, were checked and found to meet specifications. A subsequent batch of the Oakley wintergreen product was made and tested for storage stability and, as usual, no off- everytl color problems occurred. custon Carry out a K.T. problem analysis to learn the cause of the off-color toothpaste. ery is 4.17. Chocolate butter paste is the primary ingredient used by a number of major bakeries Carry- Your TEAM assignment is the same as Exercise 4.16, on page 79 in your coursebook. - You should carry out a K.T. problem analysis to learn the cause of the off-color toothpaste. -Document your analysis in a Word Document, following the format of the "Fear of Flying" case on page 66-68