·Lackofsmooth/stableworkload.·Poorschedulecoordinationanddiscipline.·Productswithmorefunctionthannecessary.·Uncleardefinitionofrequirementsandspecifications.·Lackofstandards/standardization.·Timespentsearchingforandretrievinginformation/drawings.·Waitorqueuetime/bottlenecks.·Non-valueaddedactivities.·Excessiveprototypeleadtimesandcosts.·Excessivetoolingleadtimesandcosts.·Redesigntocorrecterrorsorproblemslateintheprocess.·Slowproductiontrialsandstartofproductionacceleration.·Toomanymeetings/conferences.January1997EliminationofWasteinProductDevelopmentByPeterC.VanHull,JamesR.Delnick,EoinM.ComerfordTypesofWasteinthePDProcessAutomotiveBestPracticesForumKeyIssuesBestpracticescompaniessimultaneouslymanagequality,costandtime(QCT)duringproductdevelopment(PD)toachievecustomersatisfactionandprofitabilitygoals;however,timeisthedriveroftheoverallprocess.Longdevelopmentleadtimesincreasetheriskthatcompetitoractionsorchangesincustomerwantswillcauseaproducttobe“out-of-date”whenitisintroduced.Timeisalsothedriverofeliminatingwasteinthedevelopmentprocessandimprovingproductivity.Consideringtheneedtocontinuallydevelopnewproductswithshortleadtimesandcompetitivedevelopmentcosts,eliminationofwasteintheproductdevelopmentsystemisahighpriorityforbothautomakersandsuppliers.Reducingleadtimesisnotenough--developmentcostsneedtobesimultaneouslyreducedtocopewithprofitpressuresthatexistintheindustry.Thetableoppositeidentifiesthekindsofwastethatexistinproductdevelopment.Eliminatingthesekindsofwasteisthebestwaytosimultaneouslyreduceproductdevelopmentleadtimesandcost.CommonProductDevelopmentProcessAcommonprocessthatisunderstoodandusedbyallparticipantsisaprerequisitetoreducingleadtimesandeliminatingwasteinproductdevelopment.AsDemingobserved,itisdifficulttoimproveaprocessthatisnotunderstoodorisunstable.Bestpracticescompaniestypicallyhaveaschematicdiagramthatisusedtocommunicatetheircommonproductdevelopmentprocessthroughoutthecompany.Inmostcasestheschematicidentifiesmajorprocesssteps,definesrolesandresponsibilitiesandhighlightskeystandardsorinformationthatareusedatvariouspointsintheprocess.Thecommonprocess,however,isnotrigidlyappliedinthesamemannertoallproductdevelopmentprojects.Itisadjustedtomeettheuniqueneedsofeachprojectandtakesintoaccountthedegreeofproductchange.Further,commonproductdevelopmentprocessesareusuallynotdescribedinmassiveproceduremanualsthatattempttodefineeverydetail.Instead,detailedprocessdescriptionsandproceduresaremaintainedonadecentralizedbasisbytheorganizationsthatareresponsibleforthevariouspartsoftheprocess.Operatinginthismannerallowsthecommonproductdevelopmentsystemtobecontinuouslyimprovedonanincrementalbasis.Italsocreatesownershipofthevarioussub-processesbyorganizationsthathavetoexecutethem.AutomotiveBestPracticesForumResourcePlanningandSchedulingBestPractices1.ProductcycleplansstaggerintroductiondatestoleveldemandonPDresources,therebypreventingtheneedtosupportpeakdemandlevels.2.MasterschedulesaredevelopedforeachPDprojectthatdefineresourcerequirementsandtargetdatesforkeydeliverables.Thedeliverablesare“physical”innature,e.g.,drawingsreleased,prototypesproduced,etc.3.Eachfunctionalorganizationandsupplierdevelopsdetailedschedulesthatestablishinterimtargetdatesthatmustbemettoachievetheirrequiredtargetdatesfordeliverablesinthemasterschedule.4.Formalcross-functionaldesignrevi...
