Integrated Approach to Product Design

The need of the hour

In 50 words:-

Traditionally product design has been confined to an elite group of persons in any organization. However with organization implementing multiple Management Systems, changing stake holders needs, legal obligations, and ever growing competition, it is no longer possible for the designers to be able to update themselves of all the requirements.

Traditionally product design has been confined to an elite group of persons in any organization. esigners are considered as the brain of any organization, since the future of the organization depended entirely upon the concepts and the products designed by them. !onfidentiality requirements, and due to its effect on the business, required that the design be kept as a closely guarded secret, perhaps known only to the top management and the designers. Since the requirements were simple " meeting customers# requirements, it was sufficient if the design process was limited to the core team of designers. However, with changing times, these requirements have become more comple$. %t is now, not uncommon, to find organizations having implemented Management Systems like the &nvironmental Management Systems and the 'ccupational Health and Safety Management Systems apart from the ubiquitous (uality Management System. The continued commitment to reduce environmental impacts and occupational health and safety risks requires that the organization identify and evaluate them at an early stage in the product life cycle. %dentifying them at an early stage not only reduces the cost but also acts as a preventive measure against legal non"compliance. Marketing the product in different countries requires that the designers be aware of the various legal requirements applicable within these countries. )lso legal requirements continue to evolve, constantly bringing in new legislations. *eeping track of the legal requirements are necessary since non"compliance would not only +eopardize the market but also make the organization vulnerable to legal action. ,roduct certification regarding performance and safety requirements are required depending upon the target market country. %ssues, like -'HS, need to be identified and tackled at an early stage of product design. -aw material cost and their easy availability are two of the most critical issues facing the top management of any organization. -ising cost of materials have made it mandatory .to remain in business/ that cost of raw material be considered during design. Material availability has to be ensured in order that large volumes are sustained without compromising on quality and price.

0ivek1amboodiripad

,age 2 of 3

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8hen planning for large volumes even a slight variation in input prices places the profitability of the pro+ect at high risk. Manufacturing constraints need to considered too. &asy manufacturing process reduces defects and reduces operational costs besides increasing the productivity. esigns that require use of highly skilled labor or that requires huge capital e$penditure on unique tools and equipment puts pressure on the resources and increases the e$posure in case the product has to be modified or dropped later. )midst all these .sometimes conflicting/ requirements, the customer and the end user should not be forgotten " a product with high quality and at a competitive price" value for money. Therefore, it is required that design process be robust enough to ensure that all these design inputs are considered. Too often the design engineers are knowledgeable about the product functional aspects only. %t is essential that design team move away from the traditional manner of working in isolation to working in an integrated manner with all the sub+ect e$perts so that all the design inputs are considered in their proper perspective. The need of the hour is to adopt an integrated approach to product design, which will ensure that all requirements are considered during the design process leading to better organizational performance. ,resent esign 'b+ectives include 2/ Meet customer requirements" quality, price and delivery 6/ Meet end user requirements" safety, reliability, functionality, serviceability, maintainability etc. 9/ Meet Statutory : -egulatory requirements ; -'HS, ,roduct marking, ,ackaging etc. 3/ Meet internal organizational requirements material : manufacturing costs etc 4/ Meet employees health and safety requirements </ Meet social obligations like protecting the environment =/ Meet shareholder interests ; return on investment : sustainable business
Health and Safety &nvironment (uality Material Statutory and -egulatory !ustomer !onsumer Shareholder !ompetition

& 0 % &

%dentify Design Process %nputs

!ustomer !onsumer Society 'rganization Shareholder

esign

0erify esign

0alidate 'utput

)uthorities &mployees

Some of the analysis and evaluation that needs to be carried out during design process and reviewed for suitability include

0ivek1amboodiripad

,age 6 of 3

45656723

2/ Hazard %dentification and -isk )nalysis .H%-)/ ; The impact of the product or its manufacturing process on the occupational health and safety of the employees has to be carried out. &mployees are becoming more and more aware of their rights and more and more employee litigations are on the rise. )lso organizations should consider their moral duty to reduce the impact of the product on those engaged in the manufacturing, handling of the product and use of the product. Therefore a structured method of identification and analysis must be carried out. %nputs from the )nalysis must be taken into account to reduce the risks that have been identified. 6/ &nvironmental )spect %mpact )nalysis .&)%)/ ; The &nvironmental )spects and the likely impact of the product not only during the manufacturing and use but the end of life impact while disposing of the product needs to be analyzed. )midst rising concerns of detrimental effects of technology, any effort in reducing the harmful effects of the new products either at raw material stage or in the finished product stage will lead to increase in not only brand image but reduce probable financial e$posures. Similar to the H%-), it is a structured analysis of the environmental aspects and their impacts, which includes impact on a short term and long"term basis, reversible and irreversible changes in the environmental. 9/ -eview of Statutory and regulatory requirements ; Statutory and regulatory requirements have to consider. >egal issues not only include country laws related to the product but also issues related to %ntellectual ,roperty -ights. 3/ %nternal design targets like reliability, cost of product, cost of inputs, manufacturing costs, servicing costs must be considered. -ising input cost and reducing availability will affect sustainability of any product. ,roduct reliability and warranty costs must be known in advance so that cost of product failures can be calculated. )ny unforeseen reliability issues will wreck havoc on the product life cycle and return on investment. Manufacturing problems must be identified and documented so that actions can be planed in advanced to reduce the effect. 4/ ?ailure mode &ffect )nalysis .?M&)/ ; ) esign ?ailure Mode &ffect and )nalysis process can be put into place, which can address all the requirements in the design stage. System of regular updating of ?M&) is required so that changes are considered whenever they occur. esign ?M&) acts an input to the ,rocess ?M&), which can further help in preventing and reducing manufacturing problems. )ddressing design inputs through multidisciplinary teams is not a new approach, but what is required to understand is that the scope and the span of knowledge needs to be increased. %t is not sufficient +ust to address the quality aspects. %t is not sufficient +ust to use quality tools. 8hat is required is to use the tools to design products that meets more requirements. >et us look at hypothetical situation" material ) is used to make a component for product @. %t has potentially damaging effect on the environment when sub+ected e$treme weather conditions. Special disposal mechanism is required to scrap the material. >egislations are under review to restrict the use of the material. ,roduct @ is made with material ) after spending a huge sum of money. ?ew years down the line , legislation is passed restricting the use of material ). -esult" 1ew substitute for material ) needs to be identified.

0ivek1amboodiripad

,age 9 of 3

45656723

'r a new product needs is nder design which requires special manufacturing arrangements. 'nce the design is released for production, it is found that workers are sub+ected to high levels of to$ic gases which was not considered during prototype. Several workers suffer from ill health. -esult" esign needs to be modified. >ooking at a real life e$ample is the used of deca brominated diphenyl ether . eca A & / is one of the substance which comes under -'HS. %t is a well know flame retardent but still is under review for inclusion under -'HS. The life cycle of any product designed using eca A & may have to be cut short if there is any change in legislation. )ll these requirements can be addressed only with an integrated approach. %t should not be limited to +ust the customer requirements but should include all previously mentioned .but not limited to/ requirements which have been identified. ) thorough design review process will ensure that all requirements have been identified, captured, addressed, verified and validated. Though the process does not remain as confidential as when a small core group is working but implicit faith in the integrity of the people will ensure that the resulting product design meets all requirements at a lower cost resulting in better organizational performance.

)uthor
0ivek 1amboodiripad BM ;() Management -epresentative .(MS : &MS/ : Management )ppointee .'HSMS/ >andisCByr >td. Doka %ndia

0ivek1amboodiripad

,age 3 of 3

45656723