Integration of design for assembly into the product development process

Design for assembly (DFA) has proven itself as a successful approach in the reduction of manufacturing costs. Many analytical and practical advisory methods, with the objective of assembly time reduction, have been developed throughout the twentieth century. However, the integration of DFA and the related tools into the product development process (PDP) is an under-exposed subject. Integration can be defined as what activities should be carried out, when during PDP and who is responsible. This research proposes a DFA implementation strategy, in where DFA activities are proposed and ranked based on their effectiveness in reducing assembly time and costs. Through root cause analysis in a case company for a set of DFA issues found in a particular product, underlying causes in the PDP have been identified. To eliminate these causes a set of activities is proposed. The effectiveness of the activities is influenced by timing of introduction and the area of impact. Past researches have shown that less costs are involved with activities carried out in the earlier stages of the PDP. Analytical research of several of the case company’s products has shown that part count reduction is significantly more effective than the reduction of a part’s individual assembly time. The author recommends further investigation of DFA effectiveness within different sized companies as well as with other product types in order to enhance the general applicability of the suggested strategy