Design for manufacturing: use of a spreadsheet model of manufacturability to optimize product design and development

Product design typically precedes factory implementation and requires an understanding of factory logistics to achieve optimized design for manufacturing. We developed a spreadsheet-based model of a future factory at the very earliest stages of design of an advanced range of medical products. The algorithms have since been applied to a wide range of product designs and manufacturing operations. The model was used to optimize product design for manufacturability, develop cost-effective manufacturing processes, and design and optimize the new factory. The model incorporates cost, inventory, and factory responsiveness, and can be applied to find the optimum solution between cost and cycle time reduction. Design changes initiated as a result of analysis using the model reduced subsequent manufacturing costs significantly and reduced the launch program by two years, because confidence in the model justified the commissioning of full-scale manufacturing equipment when the product was still only at the concept stage.