Design for manufacturability is a must to achieve
a zero-defect product where the principle in DFM must be followed. Some of the
major DFM principles are:-
- Design with least part to reduce supplier chain and manufacturing process complexity
- Design product which is simple to make
- Consider the availability of raw materials which use design for manufacturability strategy.
The world is haunted by poor design product
especially in some traditional industry where the product life cycle is more
than 30 years such as industrial equipment and aerospace where those products
are designed without design for manufacturability principle. Unfortunately,
most of these companies esp. those big multinational companies choose not to
acknowledge the poor design of their product.
The main reason could be political where a large
investment had to make and could cause the shareholder to be unhappy with huge
investment make to redesign the product.
To work towards zero defect, there must be rigour
and quality awareness throughout the supply chain from the transformation of
raw material to piece part, subassembly and final product. This includes the followings:
- Product design for manufacturability
- Product design for simplicity
- A systematic approach to supplier quality
management through 7 essential areas (http://www.7esupplierquality.com/)
- Control of process input according to what had been discussed in this website
- Accurate data analysis to understand what contributed to the defect
- Understand the variation throughout the supply chain
I am sure if all the 6 steps are following
through, working towards a zero-defect should become a reality.
