DFMEA (DESIGN FAILURE MODE AND ANALYSIS) DFMEA like so many other fads that have been created to make engineers do their jobs has a real grain of truth behind it. It makes a lot of sense to look at a new product to see what can go wrong with it well before final release and tooling begins. With DFMEA as it stands at the moment it is so formalized and convoluted that it loses its purpose. I know of one OEM department that took a full year, with meetings, once a week, to create their required DFMEA long after it could serve any useful purpose. However most OEMs require a formal DFMEA so you may ..read more

ENGINEERING CHANGES The Change Process can be complex and there are actions by other departments can occur which will tie up the whole company if care is not taken. They are: Cost and Communication. COST It is essential that the company know how much a proposed change will cost. This enables good decision making by all concerned. Most of the time the exact cost of the change will not be known but an estimate by the engineering department must be made. This is done by use of a Cost Estimator, if one is available, or by consultation with the manufacturing department. Basically. Costs will be the ..read more

A budget is a normal part of an Engineering Office operation. It follows from the overall Company Strategy. In any Company the method varies- usually the Manager of each Department or Profit Center, or Division will be told to submit his or her Budget for the forth coming Year, based on the Company’s fiscal year. This may or may not be a normal Calendar Year that is from Jan 1 to December 31, some Countries and Companies function through a “ Financial Year” which runs from July 31 to June 30. International Harvester, for example, has its Financial Year from October to September based on the F ..read more

valuating your design completes the circle. You started off with instructions (SOW) to design something. You did so, released it to the world and evaluated it so the circle is complete. The reason that you test parts is to ensure that they will function according to their design. Your design must reflect the product need and purpose. Specifications are formal legal documents that instruct a Test Laboratory how to evaluate your part and therefore your design. Writing Test Specifications is an art and requires deep knowledge, not only of the Product and its design but also of test procedures. En ..read more

During the course of your career in management you will have to hire new employees or fire someone. HIRING Making the decision to hire a new employee is relatively easy. Living with the consequences may not be. The person that you are taking onto your team needs the following characteristics: Can the candidate competently do the work? Will that person fit into your team? Are they a good fit for the company culture? Do they have a future in the company? Attitude? Is the Resume well written? Can the candidate competently do the work? Qualifications are a starting point. What does a person need ..read more

by Mert. Wreford CHAPTER FOUR PROTOTYPES, CHANGE AND CO-ORDINATION The story is told that a major OEM went into production direct from CAD drafting to tooling without making any prototypes. It took 18 months to sort out the resultant mess. Creating product from scratch is not easy and getting the product into reality requires models and prototypes. I once had to design a complete pickup rear quarter structure. It went well, with a lot of input from manufacturing (they gave us permission to make the roof in one stamping, for example). The problem came with the rear quarter pillar. I had elimina ..read more

A budget is a normal part of an Engineering Office operation. It follows from the overall Company Strategy. In any Company the method varies- usually the Manager of each Department or Profit Center, or Division will be told to submit his or her Budget for the forth coming Year, based on the Company’s fiscal year. This may or may not be a normal Calendar Year that is from Jan 1 to December 31, some Countries and Companies function through a “ Financial Year” which runs from July 31 to June 30. International Harvester, for example, has its Financial Year from October to September based on the F ..read more

PROGRAM TIMING AND PLANNING. The SOW (Statement of Work) is the foundation of your program. Without it you don’t know what you must do and you are at the mercy of the customer, whoever that may be, either internal or external, you are at the mercy of the Sales Department who can and will change things around to suit the customer and your own management. Now that you have this signed document you can plan the work. In your company this may be the province of the Program Manager. He has different agenda to you so you need to watch carefully what it is that you are being tasked to do. In any case ..read more

The Statement of Work is so important that it must be in place and approved before any work can start any budgets created or any timing planned, or even as to who will do the work. The SOW is a legal document and your only protection against mission creep, cost reductions and employee layoffs. If the customer will not supply an SOW then you, with help from other departments, must write it to the best of your knowledge and get the customer to sign it. I cannot emphasize enough that without such a document, whatever it may be called you have no protection. Your customer may be either inside or ..read more

As a Manager the importance of good, excellent communication cannot be overemphasized. Communication goes Up, Down and Sideways. Sideways being the other divisions in your company, such as Manufacturing, Purchasing, Human Resources, Sales, Warranty. Finance, that you interact with. Cordial relationships and an understanding of their issues and concerns will help you deal with them and help you to get your own needs understood and addressed. It is imperative to keep your own Manager fully up to date. This is not to say that you need to be at his/her side every minute of the day. The real art is ..read more