Conflicts are known to exist at the interface between product design and manufacturing. These conflicts cause frequent cost overruns and product introduction delays. In many traditional companies, the product-design group signs off on the design, and then they ''throw it over the wall." The group responsible for manufacturability takes over and reexamines the design for cost-effective mass production. While product design may have focused on performance and aesthetics, manufacturing looks after production efficiency. Also contributing to these conflicts are other factors such as (1) funding periods for design and manufacturing that do not overlap, (2) differences in education between design and manufacturing staff, and (3) offices that are not at the same location.
Some of these difficulties may be removed by way of organizing. Organizational options for improving the design-manufacturing interface include the following (Dean and Susman 1989):
1. Manufacturing sign-off-manufacturing has veto power over the final product design. Software programs (e.g., Assembly Evaluation Method by Hitachi and Design for Assembly by Bootheroyd Dewhurst) are available to calculate a producibility score for checking on manufacturability.
2. Appoint an integrator who performs liaison work between design and manufacturing and offers a balanced view.
3. Form a cross-functional team composed of members of design and manufacturing, with the final authority resting with the engineering department. The use of such cross-functional teams is known to have significant benefits such as assuring compatibility between the design and manufacturing processes, saving time, simplifying the design process, and reducing design changes.
4. Combine the manufacturing process and product design into one department.
In general, if the company's culture is conducive to absorbing organizational changes, then the organizational options of the team or combined department are to be
preferred. On the other hand, if the products and manufacturing processes are fixed,
then the organizational options of the sign-off or integrator tend to make more sense