new product development tracking metrics 1

Assuming the part design aspects are complete and approved, the next step prior to "drawing release" should be "drawing check". Some metrics would be:

tolerance stack
identification of critical dimensions
material specification
finish specification
drafting standards

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

Why not follow a drawing through its process and record what happens to it? Ultimately, you're going to need to do that on each drawing to get the actual values for the metric.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

But, where is your engineering checklist? Do you not have a process?

TTFN

FAQ731-376

Drawing check? I thought that went the way of the Dodo? Even if it didn't I'd hesitate on the 'identification of critical dimensions' but that's a discussion for another day.

vishaank - you need to work out what the steps in your process are, they might be something like (however it varies so much by industry, complexity etc. that it may differ a lot):

1. Define Requirement
2. Determine Basic Concept
3. Break the job down into the various tasks that need to be completed and the expected deliverable's. Estimate the amount of time required etc. maybe a project plan - just don't make it more complicated than it really needs to be.
4. Create basic model or, if in 2D, layout.
5. Do any analysis you can up front to validate the design such as stress analysis etc.
6. Have a preliminary design review prior to creating detailed drawings (or equivalent MBD) with input not just from design but from manufacturing, quality and any other relevant parties such as Marketing & Financial etc. Only once everyone agrees with going on to the next stage do you progress to the below detail design tasks.
7. Create detail drawings.
8. Check the drawings.
9. Create formal stress and other analysis reports if appropriate.
10. Create test plan.
11. Hold Interim Design Review - decision on if to build prototype(s).
12. Create routings/work instructions/CAM programs etc.
13. Create Prototype(s)
14. Test Prototype(s)
15. Prepare Test Reports.
16. Iterate design to fix any failings - major redesigns may require more of the previous steps to be repeated.
17. Critical Design Review - this is the decision to go into initial production.
18. Initial Production - use this to fine tune the manufacturing process, may also need to use units from here for some regulatory testing or the like that has to be done on fully representative units.

Some of these can be broken into smaller steps, some can be run in parallel or perhaps moved in order depending on how tight you schedule is compared to how risk averse you are. I'm sure I missed out or glossed over some but hopefully it gives some ideas and may illicit comment from others.

Also, depending on your situation you may need to worry about other things than just engineering, such as marketing or financial aspects etc.

Content from original post thread301-272959

ornerynorsk (Industrial)
25 May 10 13:29

You might want to look into a stage/gate process. You still need to identify the steps to take, but there are many good softwares available.


vishaank (Mechanical)
25 May 10 13:55

thanks a lot, but we do have a flow chart but still it takes a lot of time to releae drawings to the production shopfloor. i need ur help on creating the metrics for engineering function which their manager should monitor in order to understand how the progress of engineering team is .
regards
vishaank


KENAT (Mechanical)
25 May 10 15:54

forum768: -Engineering Project Management might be a better place for this kind of thing - you may find something of use there already.

A stage-gate progress is not just a flow chart.

Split the process into different stages, with certain tasks to be completed in each stage before proceeding to the next stage.


MikeHalloran (Mechanical)
25 May 10 20:41

If it was easy, anyone could do it.

Which is precisely the problem with stage- gate and similar processes. Reduce a chaotic process to a well defined set of procedures, and an idiot, or at least a lawyer, could do it. At which point you can 'save money' by discharging the people with the actual skill.

It's a slippery slope.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA


btrueblood (Mechanical)
26 May 10 10:16

And, there are times in product development when you must run "open loop" for awhile (when speed matters). Not often, and not for long, but it should be allowed for in a really good document control procedure.



KENAT (Mechanical)
26 May 10 10:31

thread768-272985: new product development tracking metrics is perhaps a better place for this discussion to continue.

Not drawing checks, a checklist. Hospitals have gone down that road in a big way. We were in the ER Saturday night, and every treatment room had a checklist posted:

> Verify patient name
> Verify correct procedure
> Verify correct site/side
> Verify marks (if applicable)

Humans are very inadept at managing complex tasks, so checklists ensure that things are not forgotten, and that things are done in the right order. This minimizes errors and re-do's

TTFN

FAQ731-376

Sorry IRstuff, but having been asked to come up with a comprehensive check list for drawings it was difficult to the point of impracticality.

The relevant drawing standards amount to hundreds of pages.

Then there are the relevant performance/functional issues etc.

Trying the distill this to a simple checklist or reasonable length is impractical in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, you could come up with a checklist that covers some of the biggest hitters, but it would almost certainly be possible to create a drawing that got a tick in all those boxes but was still incomplete/incorrect.

The checklist is NOT the procedure. It is not a "Surgery for Dummies." Your 18 item checklist is essentially what I was referring to, although ours is about 4 times longer, but the same general principles apply. In order to be ISO9001 compliant, you need to have this sort of process checklist, documented, and followed.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

Ok, I think I was misunderstanding your post then.

We had a list of things that were meant to be addressed as part of design reviews.

I don't recall any other checklists as part of the Design Office Quality Procedures and this was ISO9001, but it's been a while now.

You said "Not drawing checks, a checklist", this is what I was responding to. Bit of a sore spot for me having been forced to try distilling all aspects of drawing check into a simple checklist that any idiot who hadn't even heard of say 'GD&T' could follow.