PRODUCT AND SERVICE DESIGN

A single product and specific service design holds various responsibility to the
consumers. They are expected to provide satisfaction to the needs of the customers.
Moreover, it includes many functional interactions to offer. These are to translate the
customer’s wants and needs into product and service requirements. Second is to refine
the existing products and services. They can also develop new product and services. As
well as to formulate quality goals and cost targets. Product and service deign are also in
charge to construct and test prototypes, document specifications, and then translate
product and service specifications into process specifications.

In most cases, designers must be cautious to examine a wide range of legal and
ethical aspects. Furthermore, if there is a risk of harming the environment, such
considerations become much more essential. The majority of businesses are regulated
by a variety of government authorities. The Food and Drug Administration, the
Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency,
and several state and municipal agencies are among the most well-known federal
agencies. Designers have been scrambling to come up with alternate designs that are
acceptable to both government regulators and customers because of phosphates and
asbestos.

Product liability may be a powerful motivator for better design. It is the

manufacturer's obligation for any injuries or damages caused by a faulty product due to
poor craftsmanship or design is known as product liability. Many corporations, including
Firestone Tire & Rubber, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, cigarette industries,
and toy makers, have faced product liability claims. Manufacturers must also contend
with implicit guarantees imposed by state legislation under the Uniform Commercial
Code, which states that products have an implied warranty of merchantability and
fitness, meaning that they must be functional for their intended uses.

The suits and potential suits have led to increased legal and insurance costs,
expensive settlements with injured parties, and costly recalls. Moreover, increasing
customer awareness of product safety can adversely affect product image and
subsequent demand for a product. Thus, it is extremely important to design products
that are reasonably free of hazards. When hazards do exist, it is necessary to install
safety guards or other devices for reducing accident potential, and to provide adequate
warning notices of risks. Consumer business firms, and various government agencies
often work together to develop industrywide standards that help avoid some of the
hazards.

Ethical issues often arise in the design of products and services; it is important
for managers to be aware of these issues and for designers to adhere to ethical
standards. Designers are often under pressure to speed up the design process and to
cut costs. These pressures often require them to make trade-off decisions, many of
which involve ethical considerations. One example of what can happen is “vaporware,”
when a software company doesn’t issue a release of software as scheduled as it
struggles with production problems or bugs in the software. The company faces the
dilemma of releasing the software right away or waiting until most of the bugs have
been removed—knowing that the longer it waits, the more time will be needed before it
receives revenues and the greater the risk of damage to its reputation. Organizations
generally want designers to adhere to guidelines such as the following:

• Produce designs that are consistent with the goals of the organization. For
instance, if the company has a goal of high quality, don’t cut corners to save cost, even
in areas where it won’t be apparent to the customer.

• Give customers the value they expect.

• Make health and safety a primary concern. At risk are employees who will
produce goods or deliver services, workers who will transport the products, customers
who will use the products or receive the services, and the general public, which might
be endangered by the products or services.

Product and service design is a focal point in the quest for sustainability. Key
aspects include cradle-to-grave assessment, end-of-life programs, reduction of costs
and materials used, reuse of parts of returned products, and recycling.

 Cradle-to-grave assessment, also known as life cycle analysis, is a method of

evaluating a product's or service's environmental effect over the course of its useful life,
with particular attention to global warming, smog creation, oxygen depletion, and solid
waste generation. The goal of cradle-to-grave assessment is to choose products and
services that have the least environmental impact while still taking into account
economic considerations. This is used in product development to consider impacts at
every stage of a product's life cycle, from raw material extraction from the earth to plant
material growing and harvesting, fabrication of parts and assembly operations, or other
processes used to create products, as well as product use or consumption, and final
disposal at the end of a product's useful life. It also takes into account all aspects of
energy use, pollution and waste, and transportation.
 End-of-Life Program, This are the products that have reached the end of their
useful lives are the subject of end-of-life (EOL) programs. Consumer and commercial
equipment are among the items available. The goal of these initiatives is to minimize the
prevalent practice of dumping things, particularly electronic equipment, in landfills or
third-world nations, or burning, which produces dangerous air and water pollutants and
toxic waste. Although the programs aren't restricted to electronic equipment, it creates
an issue because it often contains dangerous compounds like lead, cadmium,
chromium, and other heavy metals. IBM is a fantastic illustration of how EOL programs
may be beneficial. It has gathered about 2 billion pounds of product and product waste
over the previous 15 years.
 The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Designers frequently consider three specific aspects of potential cost savings
and environmental impact: reducing the use of materials through value analysis;
remanufacturing and reselling returned goods that are deemed to have additional useful
life; and reclaiming parts of unusable products for recycling.

1. Reduce: Value Analysis refers to an examination of the function of parts and

materials in an effort to reduce the cost and/or improve the performance of a
product. Typical questions that would be asked as part of the analysis
include: Could a cheaper part or material be used? Is the function necessary?
Can the function of two or more parts or components be performed by a
single part for a lower cost? Can a part be simplified? Could product
 specifications be relaxed, and would this result in a lower price? Could
standard parts be substituted for nonstandard parts?

2. Reuse: Remanufacturing, An emerging concept in manufacturing is the

remanufacturing of products. Remanufacturing refers to refurbishing used
products by replacing worn-out or defective components, and reselling the
products. This can be done by the original manufacturer, or another company.
Among the products that have remanufactured components are automobiles,
printers, copiers, cameras, computers, and telephones. There are a number
of important reasons for doing this. One is that a remanufactured product can
be sold for about 50 percent of the cost of a new product. Another is that the
process requires mostly unskilled and semiskilled workers. And in the global
market, European lawmakers are increasingly requiring manufacturers to take
back used products, because this means fewer products end up in landfills
and there is less depletion of natural resources such as raw materials and
fuel. Designing products so that they can be more easily taken apart has
given rise to yet another design consideration: Design for disassembly (DFD).

3. Recycle. Recycling is sometimes an important consideration for designers.

Recycling means recovering materials for future use. This applies not only to
manufactured parts but also used during production, such as lubricants and
solvents. Reclaimed metal or plastic parts may be melted down and used to
make different products. Companies recycle for a variety of reasons, including
cost savings, environment concerns, and environmental regulations. An
interesting note: Companies that want to do business in the European Union
must show that a specified proportion of their products are recyclable.

PHASES IN PRODUCT DESIGN

1. Feasibility analysis. The market analysis (demand), economic analysis

(development and production costs, profit potential), and technical analysis
 are all part of a feasibility study (capacity requirements and availability, and
the skills needed). It is also vital to respond to the question of whether or not it
is in line with the mission. Marketing, finance, accounting, engineering, and
operations all need to work together.
2. Product specifications. This includes teamwork between legal, marketing,
and operations, as well as precise definitions of what is required to satisfy (or
exceed) client needs.
3. Process specifications. After the product specifications have been
established, the focus shifts to the process specifications that will be required
to manufacture the product. Cost, resource availability, profit potential, and
quality must all be considered while weighing options. This requires
accounting and operations to work together.
4. Prototype development. Once the product and process requirements are
complete, one or few units are built to see if the product or process
specifications have any flaws.
5. Design review. Any necessary revisions are made at this point, or the project
is abandoned. Marketing, finance, engineering, design, and operations work
together to decide whether to move forward or not.
6. Market test. To measure the level of consumer approval, a market test is
used. If the product fails, it is returned to the design review stage. Marketing
is in charge of this phase.
7. Product introduction. The new product is promoted. This phase is handled
by marketing.
8. Follow-up evaluation. Changes may be changed or forecasts adjusted
based on user comments. Marketing is in responsible of this phase.

DESIGNING FOR MANUFACTURING

This is a method of product design that focuses on making the components that
will make up the final product as simple as possible. DFM is primarily focused with
lowering total part production costs and decreasing manufacturing operations
complexity. The process of developing or creating a product such that it is simple to
build at the lowest feasible cost is the goal of this process. The review of raw material
selection, secondary processes (finishing, plating), dimensional requirements, and even
final packing should all be part of the process.

 Concurrent Engineering

Many firms use simultaneous development, or concurrent engineering, to ensure

a smoother transition from product design to production and to reduce product
development time. Concurrent engineering, in its most basic form, is bringing design
and manufacturing engineers together early in the design phase to create a product and
its production processes at the same time. This notion has lately been broadened to
include production professionals (for example, materials specialists) as well as
marketing and buying personnel in loosely connected, cross-functional teams. In
addition, suppliers and consumers' opinions are routinely requested. Of course, the goal
is to create product designs that represent both client desires and production
capabilities.

Traditionally, designers created a new product without consulting production,

then handed it over to manufacturing, which had to build a procedure for generating the
new product. This "out-of-the-box" approach posed significant production issues,
resulting in several disagreements and significantly lengthening the time it took to
complete a project

It also contributed to an attitude of "we versus them." The simultaneous

development technique has a lot of appeal for these and other reasons. The following
are some of the major benefits of this strategy:

1. Manufacturing personnel are able to identify production capabilities and

capacities. Very often, they have some latitude in design in terms of selecting
suitable materials and processes. Knowledge of production capabilities can help
in the selection process. In addition, cost and quality considerations can be
greatly influenced by design, and conflicts during production can be greatly
reduced.
 2. Design or procurement of critical tooling, some of which might have long lead
times, can occur early in the process. This can result in a major shortening of the
product development process, which could be a key competitive advantage.
3. The technical feasibility of a particular design or a portion of a design can be
assessed early on. Again, this can avoid serious problems during production.
4. The emphasis can be on problem resolution instead of conflict resolution.

However, despite the advantages of concurrent engineering, a number of potential

difficulties exist in this co-development approach. Two key ones are the following:

1. Long-standing boundaries between design and manufacturing can be difficult to

overcome. Simply bringing a group of people together and thinking that they will
be able to work together effectively is probably naive.
2. There must be extra communication and flexibility if the process is to work, and
these can be difficult to achieve.

Hence, managers should plan to devote special attention if this approach is to

work.

 Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Product design is increasingly being done on computers. For product design,

computer graphics are used in computer-aided design (CAD). Using a light pen, a
keyboard, a joystick, or another similar device, the designer may edit an existing design
or create a new one on a monitor. Once the design has been input into the computer,
the designer may manipulate it on the screen by rotating it, splitting it apart to see the
interior, and enlarging an area of it for closer inspection. The designer may get a printed
copy of the finished design and save it online, making it available to everyone in the
company who needs it.

Transformers, vehicle parts, airplane parts, integrated circuits, and electric

motors are among the goods being created in this approach. The enhanced productivity
of designers is one of the key advantages of CAD. It is no longer essential to
painstakingly generate mechanical drawings of goods or parts and edit them several
times to rectify mistakes or integrate modifications. Designers' productivity is increased
by 3 to 10 times using CAD, according to a preliminary estimate. A second significant
advantage of CAD is the construction of a production database that can include
information such as product geometry and dimensions, tolerances, material
requirements, and so on. However, it should be mentioned that this database is
required for CAD to operate, and maintaining it requires a significant amount of time and
effort.

Some CAD systems enable designers to run engineering and cost studies on
their ideas. For example, a computer can calculate a part's weight and volume, as well
as do stress analysis. When there are several possible designs, the computer can
swiftly sort through them and choose the best one based on the designer's
requirements. CAD with finite element analysis (FEA) capacity can significantly reduce
the time it takes for new goods to reach the market. It allows developers to run
simulations to help in the design process. New product development, analysis, and
commercialization FEA is used by designers in areas including aeronautics,
biomechanics, and automobiles.

 Production Requirements

Designers must consider production capacities, as mentioned previously in the

chapter. Design must have a firm grasp of manufacturing capabilities (e.g., equipment,
skills, kind of materials, timelines, technologies, and specific talents). This aids in the
selection of designs that are compatible with the user's capabilities. When prospects
and skills do not align, management must explore the possibility of growing or modifying
capabilities in order to capitalize on those possibilities. Forecasts of future demand may
be quite important in terms of providing information on demand timing and volume, as
well as demand for new products and services.

For manufactured items, manufacturability is essential: ease of fabrication and/or

assembly is critical for cost, productivity, and quality. When it comes to services, the
accessibility of providing the service, as well as the cost, productivity, and quality, are all
important considerations. Design for manufacturing (DFM) refers to the process of
creating goods that are compatible with a company's capabilities. Design for assembly
(DFA) is a similar manufacturing approach. A good design must consider not just how a
thing will be manufactured, but also how it will be put together. The goal of design for
assembly is to reduce the number of pieces in an assembly as well as the assembly
techniques and sequencing. When referring to the ease with which things may be made
and/or assembled, another, more broad term, manufacturability, is frequently used.

 Component Commonality

Customers are frequently offered a variety of products or services by businesses.

Frequently, the characteristics and components of these products or services are very
similar. This is particularly true of product families, but it also applies to a wide range of
services. When a part can be utilized in several products, it may save a company a lot
of money. Car makers, for example, use internal components like water pumps,
engines, and gearboxes to do this on the nameplates of various automobiles.
Companies gain from uniform training for assembly and installation, improved chances
for cost savings by purchasing in bulk from suppliers, and the commonality of repair
components, which decreases the inventory dealers and auto parts stores must stock.

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

It's essential to get feedback from customers to verify that they will like what we
are about to offer. Although getting client feedback may be done informally through
conversations with them, there is a formal technique to capture their desires. Quality
function deployment (QFD) is a method for incorporating the "voice of the customer"
into product and service development. It is a process of development in which the goal
is to make sure that the client’s needs are taken into account at every step of the
process. The primary aspect of QFD is listening to and comprehending the consumer.
Requirements are sometimes stated in broad terms, such as "It should be simple to
alter the cutting height of the lawn mower."

Once the criteria have been identified, they must be translated into technical
words that are applicable to the product or service. A remark regarding altering the
height of the lawn mower, for example, might refer to the mechanism, its location,
directions for operation, the tension of the spring that regulates the mechanism, or the
materials required. These must be connected to the materials, dimensions, and
processing equipment utilized for manufacturing purposes.

THE KANO MODEL SERVICE DESIGN

The Kano model is a product and service design theory developed by Dr. Noriaki
Kano, a Japanese professor, who proposed different categories of quality and posited
that understanding them would better position designers to assess and address quality
needs, rather than the traditional view of "more is better." His methodology elaborates
the characteristics that clients value the most. The approach uses three types of quality
definitions: threshold, performance, and excitement.

The first quality approach refers to consumer criteria that, if present, it will have a
minor impact on customer satisfaction but, if absent, lead to discontent is called as the
threshold attribute a.k.a. the basic quality. For example, installing a very short chord
on an electrical device would almost always cause consumer discontent, but adding
longer cord beyond the certain length will not boost customer satisfaction. Another
customer criteria that create satisfaction or discontent is dependent to their level of
functionality and attractiveness are referred to as performance quality a.k.a. the
satisfiers. Customer satisfaction may be improved by lengthening the tread life of a tire
or the duration of house paint. The third feature is the quality or attribute that is
unanticipated by the consumer and produces excitement, called as the "wow" factor,
such as a ticket for supper for two at the hotel restaurant after checking in, is an
example of excitement quality a.k.a. the delighters. Customers are dissatisfied when
fundamental quality attributes are missing or at low levels, but they are not satisfied
when they are there, even at high levels. Depending on the degree to which
performance elements are present, they might cause pleasure or discontent. Because
excitement aspects are unexpected, they do not create dissatisfaction when they are
missing or at low levels, but when they are there, they have the potential to cause
excessive amounts of satisfaction.
 Features that excite people become performance features over time, and
performance features suddenly become standard quality features. The rate at which
various design aspects migrate is a crucial marketing input that will allow designers to
continue to satisfy and excite clients rather than wasting time and resources upgrading
what have become basic quality characteristics.

The Kano model simply teaches us that the design components that go into each
area of quality must be determined first. Additional efforts in such areas should not be
undertaken until fundamental necessities have been addressed. Cost–benefit analysis
applies to performance characteristics, and these elements should be included as long
as the benefit outweighs the cost. The use of excitement characteristics might be
difficult. Customers are unlikely to express enthusiasm in surveys since they are
unaware that they desire them. Small increases in such elements, on the other hand,
cause disproportional improvements in customer satisfaction and, in general, boost
brand loyalty, therefore it's critical for businesses to seek out and add these aspects
whenever they're economically possible.