ME170

Term Design Project Tools

Product Design Specification

(PDS)

Course Instructor:
Mike Philpott
mphilpot@illinois.edu
 Product Design
Specification (PDS)

The PDS is a structured document

defining the agreed requirements to
be met by all aspects of the
enterprise to achieve a successful
new model or product
Inter-Departmental
Communication?

What Marketing What Sales

Requested Ordered

What Engineering What was What was Installed

Designed Manufactured
 Goal of PDS -
Unifying Document

What the
Customer
Wanted!
What the What Marketing What Sales
Customer Wants = Requests = Orders
=
What Engineering What is What is
Designs
= Manufactured
= Installed
 Role of the
PDS
The PDS is the basic reference
source - If used properly, and
combined with effective product reviews,
it may be used as the main control mechanism
for the product development activity.
The PDS evolves and changes - multidisciplinary
team structure assists immediate awareness of
changes to the PDS by all areas of the business.
Preparation of the PDS should be a disciplined
activity involving all areas of the business. The
following Primary Elements (a.k.a. the 'Design
Boundary') provide useful triggers:
The Design
Boundary
AESTHETICS PATENTS
TESTING
COMPANY
CONSTRAINTS
PROCESSES
MARKET
QUALITY
ERGONOMICS CONSTRAINTS
RELIABILITY TIMESCALES SIZE
WEIGHT
CUSTOMER
SAFETY SHELF LIFE

PRODUCT
PRODUCT MAINTENANCE

LIFE SPAN STANDARDS ENVIRONMENT

PERFORMANCE
TARGET
POLITICS PRODUCT
MATERIALS LIFE IN
QUANTITY COST
SERVICE
MANUFACT.
FACILITY
SHIPPING
COMPETITION PACKING
 1. Performance
Clearly, the performance demanded
or likely to be demanded should be
fully defined:

Speed - how fast, how slow

How often, continuously or discontinuously
Loadings likely - electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic
Precision - accuracy, repeatability, resolution
Tolerance of speed, rate of working etc.
The following should be guarded against:

Ambiguities
Over-specification
2. Environment
All aspects of the product's likely environment
should be considered & investigated - during
normal use, mfg., storage, transportation,
and display:

Temperature range
Pressure range (altitude)
Humidity
Shock Loading (gravity forces)
Dirty or Dusty - how dirty? - how clean?
Corrosion from fluids - type of fluid?
Noise levels
Insects
Vibration
Type of persons who will use or handle the
equipment - likely degree of abuse
3. Service Life

Should service life be short? -

advantages in high product turnover
creating more jobs, consumers like new
products, lower cost alternatives possible, etc.

Should service life be long? - advantages in high

product image, consumers want 'high quality'
now, ecology/resource wastage etc.

How long, how short, and against what criteria?

(i.e. hours, days of operation, distance travelled,
no. of revolutions, no. of cycles.
4. Maintenance
Designed for maintenance free op.?
Is it economic? Is it essential?
Is the market into which the product
will ultimately go, used to maintaining equipment?
What would the customer/user expect?
Is regular maintenance desirable?
Is it available?
Specify ease of access/maintenance to the parts
likely to require maintenance
What is the maintenance and spares philosophy of
the company?
Would consumable spares add revenue?
Is a need for special tools likely, desirable, or
unacceptable?
 5. Target Costs
Target Design and Mfg. Costs
Should be established from outset.
Should be checked against existing
products to avoid usual under-estimating
If at any stage it is obviously unattainable then
it may be necessary to compromise with other
terms of the PDS, or abort the project.
What is the likely investment required? Can the
company afford to tool-up? what limit is there
to this and over what period should tooling
costs be recovered?
Target Retail Cost
Is it compatible with competitors' products?
Can sufficient profit be made? have mark-ups
for others in the chain been established?
 6. Competition
A thorough analysis of the
competition must be carried out;
e.g. parametric studies through a
comprehensive literature search, trade
shows etc, and detailed examination of actual
products or systems.
It is very easy to "re-invent an inferior wheel"
If the evolving PDS shows serious mismatches or
deficiencies when compared with what already
exists, then these must be fully understood.
In order to stay in business, more and more
companies are carrying out these sort of searches
and parametric studies very thoroughly indeed.
7. Shipping

It is necessary to determine how

the product is to be delivered:
In bulk to the company's warehouse
Directly to the retailer or retailer's warehouse
Individually by mail order
By land, sea, or air
Home or overseas
Type and size of truck
Own distribution fleet, sub-contract, or retailer
Pallet container (ISO), transit case (DoD)
Shipping costs (may have effect on max.
dimensions - particularly if relying on mail order
Provision of lifting points (eye bolts etc.)
8. Product Volume
(Quantity)
Likely, and aimed for, annual sales in
terms of product quantity, or volume,
should be established. This will affect all
aspects of the product design:
Shape, and style possible
Method of construction - choice of
manufacturing processes
Method of assembly
Tooling: a small number off could require
very little tooling; a moderate number, cheap
temporary tooling; and a large number off,
permanent expensive tooling.
 9. Packing
According to the type of product
being designed, some form of
packaging for transport, storage,
advertising, shelf stability etc. will be required:
This can be a significant percentage of the
product cost - it must be considered and a
target given.
Type of packaging should be determined at
the outset, perhaps through market survey,
as it may well impose design limitations on
the product.
To what extent must packaging inhibit
against environmental effects such as
corrosion, shock-loading, etc?
10. Manufacturing
Facility
Are we designing to fill an
existing plant?
Do we have excess capacity in specific areas?
Should we try and utilize this capacity? Do we
have an inflexible FMS?
Are there plans for new plant and machinery?
How might this effect the design of the
product?
Make-in or buy-out policy: is the product
constrained to techniques with which the
company is familiar or has facilities for.
Are we to plan a completely new factory, or new
assembly area perhaps, for this product?
11. Size

Maximum Size:
Compactness and portability are
common general requirements
Some products are primarily
selected on a basis of size (e.g. powerbooks)
Beware of products growing during
the design process - no longer fits space, access for
maintenance difficult...
Minimum Size:
Sometimes necessary when ergonomics are
important - e.g. hand controls, VDU's, trunk etc.
Optimum Size:
User preferences, perhaps obtained from survey
data, should be specified.
In some cases the size may be standard, and may be
an essential requirement (e.g. kitchen units)
 12. Weight
As with size, maximum, minimum,
and/or Optimum may have to be
considered in many product designs.
Weight is important when it comes to
handling the product:
By the user (portability)
By the distributor (shipping costs)
Handling on the shop floor (processing and
assembly)
During installation
Weight may be governed by limits on flooring or
other supporting structures, where large structures
are involved.
13. Aesthetics and Finish
Difficult to specify and, therefore,
in many instances, is left to each
designer - the complaints come later!
Sales, manufacturing and others will always
criticize a design once it exists - these opinions,
and specific professional advice (i.e. from
Industrial Designers) should be obtained.
Color, shape, form and texture of finish should
be specified where possible. So often the
appearance just happens and strenuous efforts
are made afterwards to make it look better.
Remember, the customer sees it before he buys
it; physical performance comes later.
 14. Materials

If special materials are necessary

and known, they should be specified. Similarly,
if company policy or market studies indicate
specific materials these should be specified in
the PDS.

The converse is also true. If it is known that

certain materials should not be used, they
should be specified. For example: Toxic
materials in most consumer products, ferrous
materials in microwave cookers, untreated
steels in food processing equ., etc.
15. Product Life Span

Some indication of the life of a

product as a marketable entity should be
sought. Is it likely to remain in production for
2 or 20 years? This can often be based on
recent historical data for the particular type of
product.

The answers in this area can effect the design

approach, market promotion approach,
tooling policy, manufacturing facility, make or
buy decisions, etc.
16. Standards,
Specifications,
and Legal Aspects
Is the product to be designed to current
international and/or national standards. If so
these should be specified and copies obtained.

It is much easier to design to a standard than to

retrospectively attempt to modify semi-finalized
designs to match such standards.

Product liability relating to defects of

specification, design, and manufacture are of
increasing concern, as the product originators'
liability increases.
17. Ergonomics

All products have, to some degree, a man-

machine interface.

The likely nature of interaction of the

product with man should be quantified were
possible (For example: What heights, reach,
forces and operating torques are
acceptable).
 18. Customer

Specific and general information

on customer likes, dislikes, preferences
and prejudices should be understood and
written down before the design starts.

This may be obtained by discussion with

potential or existing users, surveys, and
examination of competitor's trends and
specifications.
 19. Quality and
Reliability
It may be necessary to conduct
special quality studies in the field
to evaluate, plan and specify the
required quality and reliability. It may be
necessary to monitor quality assurance of
suppliers, and insist on a particular minimum
failure rate.
Quality Measures - 6, Defects per unit (DPU) or
'defects per million opportunities'
In electronics, Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
and Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) are commonly
quoted parameters.
 20. Shelf Life
Must be specified and means to
combat decay considered.
Likely environmental conditions
whilst in storage or on the retailer's shelf must be
considered. Where possible the product should
be capable of at least the typical required shelf
life. Retailers do not like to have to cope with a
lower than normal shelf life.
In many cases it will be necessary to consider in
the design ways of overcoming likely shelf life
problems. (For example: Battery powered
products may have non-removeable long lasting
Lithium batteries or may require a simple means
for the operator to insert after purchasing).
21. Processes

Some companies will have their own

preferred processes and specifications. Except
in special circumstances, these should be used.

If special processes are to be recommended

they should be defined. (For example: special
plating, flow soldering, surface mount
processes etc.)
22. Timescales

Lead times for concept designs, detail designs,

prototyping, tool and die manufacture etc.
should be determined, and made known to all, if
an acceptable product development cycle time
and product launch date is to be achieved
(window-of-opportunity)
 23. Testing

Most products require some form

of testing during manufacture, after
manufacture, by the retailer or by the
consumer, to verify the compliance with the
product specification.

Test procedures and specifications should be

determined and added to the PDS. A new test
facility may be needed, product design for rapid
connection/disconnection to ATE may be
required, or it may be necessary to supply
retailers with special purpose equipment - these
are some of the decisions that should be made
prior to design.
24. Safety

The safety aspect of the proposed

design and its place in the market
must be considered.

Relevant safety standards and legislation

covering the product type should be quoted
and copies obtained (For Example: ISO 5724
'Safety requirements on Hospital Medical
Electrical Equipment')

Need for "Labelling" to give appropriate

safety warnings should be established. Most
electrical equipment requires this.
25. Company
Constraints

Is the product or project constrained

by company practices? These constraints
should be highlighted.

Is the company constrained by its previous

products? For example, is there a corporate
product image that should be adhered to?

Are there adequate in-house facilities and

personnel for the research, design and
development required?
26. Market Constraints

Feed-back from the market place

should be considered in terms of unacceptable
conditions.

For example: It is no good incorporating

components from certain countries in products
to be sold to Middle East countries; Patriotism
can be very strong.

Local and prevailing overseas opinions should

be considered.
27. Patents, Literature,
and Product Data

All areas of likely useful information

should be investigated and researched and in
particular possible patent clashing should be
known.

If patents are known about, in detail, before the

design starts, it is usually quite easy to avoid
infringing them.
28. Political and Social
Implications

Likely effect of the product upon

the political and social structure of the markets
or countries for which it is to be designed and
manufactured should be considered.

Stability of the market, product features to

avoid which may create social upset, and effect
of consumer movements, are all issues that
may need comment in the PDS.
29. Disposal

It is no longer possible to forget about the item

after ownership has passed to the customer

Non-biodegradable plastic packaging and items

made from various materials present a problem
of increasing magnitude - recyclability and ease
of disposal have become major marketing/sales
issues now.
 PDS
Conclusion
These are the primary elements
or 'triggers' to assist the preparation
of a comprehensive PDS.

The specification will be and should be subject

to amendment and alteration with the passage of
time and is, therefore, evolutionary.

Upon completion of a design, the evolved

specification provides the basic material for
handbooks, sales and technical literature, and
becomes the specification of the product itself
(rather than the specification for its design).