2 Lessons about Remote Work for Design Engineers

Cross-functional teamwork is so important for product design. Our team is integral in understanding all of our customer’s needs: internal and external customers.

Remote work and social distancing have affected how we do our work, and how we communicate with our cross-functional team. Now, we’re starting to get back into “normal’ routines.

There are important lessons learned about the way we work. We talk about just a couple of perspectives that could affect how design engineers work.

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Always Plot the Data

We don’t just rely on the numbers – we always plot the data!

We review how we use plots to look past the numbers, and to be aware of common gotchas!

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Supplier Control Plans and Design Specs

Supplier control plans and design specs can go hand-in-hand in the quest for quality.

Control plans aren’t just for quality professionals! Learn how partnering with suppliers for a simple control plan can benefit your design process.

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Use FMEA to Design for In-Process Testing

Our manufacturing friends are approaching us with a problem.

They want to test the product during manufacturing. The way the product is currently designed doesn’t let them do this, or not easily.

Can we make a design change so they can test?

Imagine that they’re coming to us with this question before we’ve completed the design. Can they really see the future?

Perhaps, with strategic use of FMEA. We talk through a scenario of how to do it.

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Use FMEA to Choose Critical Design Features

We’re heading into pilot production.

We’ve got to finish those design specs and engineering drawings!

• Manufacturing wants to start cutting steel for molds.
• Suppliers want to work out the specs on their end.
• QA is asking what they should inspect.

Before you pass it along, have you identified what features are critical? Does it align with managing risk? And are you communicating that effectively on your specs and drawings?

Creating design specs is an important part of engineering design. We review a way to choose critical design features, based on risk.

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Get Unstuck: Expand and Contract Our Problem

We can get stuck when trying to discover a solution to a problem.

We talk about a Nine Windows tool and TRIZ – more thought-provoking methods that we can use to get unstuck and move on to the next step.

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Get Unstuck: Reframe our Problem

We can get stuck when trying to discover a solution to a problem. Sometimes it helps to expand our thinking into other avenues. We can reframe our problem within its contradictions. What is it not?

We review an Is/Is-Not Matrix: how it’s built, its purpose, and how it can help us.

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5 Options to Manage Risks during Product Engineering

We’re uncovering risks during our new product development, about our design. How do we manage risks? What options do we have?

There are at least 5 options we can take to manage risks. We talk about each, and how quality and reliability methods and techniques may help us with the next steps to be able to make decisions with our team.

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Prioritizing Technical Requirements with a House of Quality

As a design engineer, you’re tasked with translating vague customer statements into something technical and measurable. And you also need to identify what requirements are important: filtering the “must meet” requirements against the “should have” requirements. And, finally, you need to do this with your cross-functional team.

What if you miss something important?

It’s difficult. There is a method that we can use. Let’s talk about the House of Quality and how you can use it no matter where you work.

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Gemba for Product Design Engineering

If you have quality friends, you may have heard of Gemba. What is Gemba and can it help with product design?

Gemba is an ideology.

And, yes, it can help with product design!

We explore how and talk about why you might want to adopt the term “Gemba” for product design engineering.

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Product Design from a Data Professional Viewpoint, with Gabor Szabo (A Chat with Cross Functional Experts)

“A Chat with Cross Functional Experts” is a Quality during Design interview series. Our focus is speaking with people that are typically part of a cross-functional team for new product development. We discuss their viewpoints and perspectives regarding new products, the values they bring to new product development, and how they’re involved and work with product design engineering teammates.

Today we talk with Gabor Szabo. Gabor is an engineering and data professional with experience in numerous industries, including the medical device and automotive industries. In his current role a Sr. Principal Engineer of Operations Excellence, he works with various cross-functional teams on validating new processes and products, launching new products, helps them diagnose and solve technical problems. He hosts the Critical Talks podcast. He also develops software and builds data products in R.

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How Does Reliability Engineering Affect (Not Just Assess) Design?

Reliability Engineering isn’t just about assessments. It’s about providing information to make decisions. How does reliability engineering affect design?

We answer all the questions from the classical Kipling Method:

• What kind of design inputs can we expect from a Reliability Engineering working relationship?
• Why is their point of view important?
• When should we get them involved in the product development cycle?
• Who can we generally look to for a reliability engineering viewpoint?
• How can we get them involved?
• Where do we find out more information?

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