Design for X (DfX) Goal of DfX: Establishment and Practice of Product Definition ISHII Kosuke Importance of Upstream Design in Product Development and Its Methodologies OHTOMI Koichi It is said that 80 % of all life-cycle costs of a product are fixed at the product planning and design stages. Design is thus an important element of product development. On the other hand, the design greatly depends on the designer’s abilities, and so-called standardization is insufficient. It is therefore necessary to clarify what the requirements are at the design stage in order to develop a product strategically and efficiently. This paper introduces the Design for X (DfX) methodology for strategic product development. DfX is a systematic activity at the planning to conceptualization stages of product development that (1) analyzes the nature of the project, (2) identifies effective design tools and activities (the "X" in "DfX"), and (3) guides the deployment of these tools in the subsequent development stages. Product Planning Process Based on Voice of Customer KYOYA Yuji / NOGUCHI Kunio / NAKANO Takashi Products with numerous functions or high performance do not always satisfy customers. In order to develop successful products, it is essential to ask: "Who are our customers?" "What do they want?" and "How can we implement their requirements in our product?" Quality function deployment (QFD) is one of the major tools available for transforming customers' requirements into goal specifications. Toshiba has developed a product planning process based on the voice of customer (VoC) principle centering around QFD as a core tool, and has also developed supporting tools. This process has been widely introduced in Toshiba and applied to many product development projects. Approach for Quantitative Estimation of Design Load and Efficiency OZAWA Masanori The importance of performance evaluation at the early stages of product design has been widely acknowledged empirically and intuitively. However, few studies discuss this subject based on quantitative indices. In this paper, Toshiba proposes a methodology to measure the load and the efficiency of design by introducing basic information theory. We have applied this methodology to the analysis of actual design processes. Design Methodology for Optimizing Product Development Processes and Organizations MORI Toshiki Significant changes have taken place in product development in recent years, including enlargement of the scale of system design, tough time-to-market (TTM) competition, and cost reduction. As a result of these changes, it is necessary to innovate product development processes as well as organizations from the viewpoint of global optimization. The design structure matrix (DSM) is a systematic methodology for the design of efficient processes and organizations. Toshiba has developed a DSM tool called MTP (Matrix-based Task Planner) to support in-house projects for the innovation of product development processes. From this experience, we learned important lessons for the effective use of DSM such as clarifying its target and task definitions, paying attention to task sizes, and focusing on actual status and information flow. Trade-off Analysis Method KUROIWA Tadashi In order to promote strategic product development, it is important to establish a design proposal promptly after setting exact goals for a product's functions, performance, and cost. For this purpose, the trade-off analysis method, in which alternative designs or methods are weighed (trade-off analysis) at an earlier stage of design, is now reaching a practical level aided by developments in simulation technology and multi-objective optimization technology. We have confirmed the effectiveness of the trade-off analysis method by applying it in a case study to an earlier stage of the product development and design processes. Steam Turbine Development and Design Using Strategic Processes SASAKI Takashi / SUZUKI Takashi / TANUMA Tadashi The most important customer requirement in steam turbine design is the reduction of life-cycle costs from the introduction of a new unit, construction, business operation, overhauling, and retrofitting through to its decommissioning. In addition, the specific requirements of each customer are also important. Toshiba is introducing strategic processes of development and design for the life-cycle optimization of steam turbines. Joint development and manufacturing of a core component with General Electric Co. of the United States has been successfully completed. Toshiba is also introducing digital manufacturing systems for steam turbines in a digital data stream from the design process to manufacturing. Eco-design Support Based on Life Cycle Approach KOBAYASHI Hideki / KOBAYASHI Yoshinori / HATANAKA Hideharu Environmentally conscious design (sometimes called eco-design) is essential in realizing sustainable manufacturing. Several years ago, Toshiba developed design methods and tools to support eco-design based on a life cycle approach, and we have applied them to our in-house product development processes. The product life cycle planning (LCP) method serves to establish a design concept incorporating the “3Rs” (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Life cycle assessment (LCA), by which the environmental burden of a product life cycle is quantified, enables integrated environmental damage to be estimated. Our eco-efficiency index can be calculated using such LCP and LCA data. Simulation-Based Process Innovation of Firmware Development for Electromechanical Products KONDO Koichi / HOSHINO Susumu / MOTOHASHI Shoichi An electromechanical product is a complicated system comprising a mechanism, firmware, and an electrical circuit. Rework in the later design stage often has a close relationship with the firmware design. Improvement of firmware design therefore has a strong impact, shortening the design process and enhancing product quality. Efficient product development can be achieved in terms of iterative design refinement and simulation-based verification from the early concept design stage to the later detailed design stage. Toshiba has developed the VisualMechTM simulation tool to facilitate such design processes, and applied it to various products. In massage chair development, for example, we have substantially reduced rework by early-stage simulation-based reviews of firmware specifications. |