Make no mistake, this is not about POD (my personal handle) but what it means. This is about DFM/CE. Don't make another mistake thinking it is possible to have one without the other. It isn't. My job is to prove it through all of you as the best possible DOE.

You all know how I feel about designing it right the first time, every time, on time, at an acceptable cost. Some of you have experienced this as being much more than rhetoric. You all know, or think, how difficult that often is, but shouldn't, for various reasons we've all pronounced. Simply, I as you abhor poor quality anything and continue finding ways to correct it. That's not good enough. Poor quality must be prevented. Many others do it, in other industries, so why not us?

It is just that simple. I know you all agree and would do better jobs avoiding, correcting, or otherwise preventing defect - if only you could. You may not be able, but someone must become responsible and it's my job to assure someone signs up. This doesn't let any of you design, process development, manufacturing engineering, or quality types off the hook. It makes you partners in the effort. Through you, our future management types, my goal is to see DFM/CE become a positive plague upon the earth - assuring defect is not designed into anything we seek to build or buy.

Proof Of Design meant, in the time of our first space explorations and times thereafter in the aerospace community, ensuring the design met intent (proposed, specified requirements). It required, absolutely, DFM first (producibility then). It meant assuring all responsible individuals provided critical input to the design process, and all those following. This meant concurrence. You just can't get there from here without it.

CE is required first to evaluate process capabilities and to determine what changes to a process, or a design, or both must be made to ensure producible, acceptable product. This requires design, process, manufacturing, quality, management, customers, and all other cognizant, responsible experts being able to clearly communicate exactly what is required and what is available to make it acceptable.

No one individual or function can know, presume to know, be responsible for knowing, or do it all. Designers cannot be expected, as too many are today, to know everything about fabricating or assembling PCB's. Process or manufacturing engineers cannot know all design requirements as electrical performance or other critical factors involved in a design or product. Therefore, CE makes DFM possible. More on this later, but for now we will deal with basic elements and requirements as a functional quality system and DFM/CE elements.

Today's ISO 9000 world evolved from MIL-Q-9858 (only nine pages and still at a REV "A" just as it was in 1965 at introduction) - its self-proclaimed foundation. The following ISO design requirement shall be met while noting there are 137 ISO shall statements that must be turned into "we are" statements to ensure compliance and registration - but you already know that:

Summary of Requirements:

Compliance requires demonstrated effective control over the entire product design/development process including identification of customer needs and expectations, preparation of a marketing/technical specification, and plans for the development project, the development process, the provision of adequate resources and qualified personnel to the project, and regular product design reviews. It also requires the control of design output as in technical data sheets, product applications, and specifications, identification of regulatory requirements, and design verification and validation. Formal procedures are required for subsequent improvements or modifications.

1) Procedures to control design process
2) Design and development plans
3) Technical interfaces identified and documented
4) Customer requirements fully documented
5) Identification of Regulatory requirements
6) Design reviews
7) Documentation available to show design output meets specs
8) Design Verification
9) Design Validation
10) Control of design changes

OK! So what's new? It's not new. It's DFM/CE and how it easily is integrated into ISO's 4.4 requirement. If you really read and apply the key points, it already is. This integration is DFM/CE and continuous process improvement (CPI). ISO, unfortunately, is leaving it up to us to figure out. The following represents simple DFM/CE requirements (note how they track the key points. Note they were in use way before ISO's rudimentary introduction to the USA in 1987):

• MORE COMPLETE, COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS
• PRODUCTION PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED AND CORRECTED EARLY
• DESIGN FOR OPTIMUM COST EFFECTIVE PRODUCTION
• SUBCONTRACTOR CAPABILITIES AND DEFICIENCIES CLARIFIED WITH RESPECT TO CUSTOMER AND DESIGN REQUIREMENTS - AND THE REVERSE
• PRODUCT QUALITY, RELIABILITY, AND MAINTAINABILITY IMPROVED
• NEW TECHNOLOGIES NEEDED TO ACHIEVE DESIGN PRODUCIBILITY IDENTIFIED AND EXPLORED
• PRODUCTS DELIVERED ON SCHEDULE WITHIN COST
• MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR MORE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION
• LOWER COST TO CUSTOMER
• HIGHER CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

• EXPERIENCED TEAM MEMBERS
• RIGHT DECISIONS CONCERNING BID/NO BID
• EXPERIENCE ON SIMILAR PROJECTS
• MEANINGFUL PRODUCIBILITY ASSESSMENT DATA
• SYNERGY REQUIRED
• AFTER CONTRACT - SAME TEAM TO EFFECT DESIGN FOR PRODUCIBILITY
• DESIGN AND OTHER TEAM MEMBERS WORK TOGETHER
• INTERACTION AND COMMUNICATION
• PRODUCT ENVIRONMENT

• PRODUCIBILITY ENGINEERING
• DESIGN ENGINEERING
• SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
• MANUFACTURING
• MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
• SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
• QUALITY ASSURANCE AND INSPECTION
• TEST AND ANALYSIS
• OTHERS AS REQUIRED

• GAGING POLICY NOT BASED ON CURRENT STANDARDS
• SPC TO CONTROL PROCESSES, NOT TO SATISFY CUSTOMER DEMAND WHERE IT SERVES NO USEFUL PURPOSE

I think you all recognize this stuff as text book. It is, and it should be clearly understood, implemented, and used in all we do as engineers. If done, we all benefit - from concept to customer acceptance. The most important thing is we all will do it right the first time, on time, every time, at an acceptable cost and profit.

I've worked in over 100 companies during the past 17 years as an "independent" consultant/contractor. I've seen DFM/CE, CPI, and TQM work about 30% of the time. It was a pleasure, but little challenge, working in those organizations. It was less a pleasure, of sorts, working in other places - but what a challenge often met with the strangest of resistance. You know the resistance types I mean. I have a list of objections to improvement (positive change) growing over 120 items. They all must be overcome, but how? In the following installments we'll work on the answers together (concurrently).

Again, OK! I invite comments early on in this column. I challenge you all to challenge not me but what can be. If you are management, challenge yourselves by seeking better results (improved quality) through more effective process management starting at the customer or design level moving throughout your entire operation. If you aren't, challenge management to ensure you have all the tools needed to manage processes instead of results as defect. This column will provide some of the justification you need. My goal, within a continuing column series, is to expand on all the above DFM/CE points and make them real for CPI - for us all.

Now you know what it is anyway and what are the basic tools required to make DFM/CE work. Next time, we'll begin breaking it down and show ways to apply it all. Enjoy and remember to just do it, but do it right, while avoiding or preventing fugarwe meetings by using clearly defined agendas based on the above.

MoonMan
Email SMTnet or pod@ix.netcom.com
Location varies with contract assignment
Current assignment: DFM/CE support at major CM