Techniques and tools

In item four of the SSPP, a company must identify the types of techniques used in analyzing and evaluating system hazards. The following section will discuss some of the tools commonly used by the safety practitioner. 

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These tools and techniques can be classified by three different criteria [22] the data to be visualized, the technique itself, and the interaction and distortion method. 

REIST Aerosol Science and Technology, Second Edition RHINE, TUCKER Modeling of Gas-Fired Furnaces and Boilers and Other Industrial Heating Processes ROSSITER Waste Minimization Through Process Design SAMDANI Safety and Risk Management Tools and Techniques in the CPI... 

In previous studies, the main tool for process improvement was the tubular reactor. This small version of an industrial reactor tube had to be operated at less severe conditions than the industrial-size reactor. Even then, isothermal conditions could never be achieved and kinetic interpretation was ambiguous. Obviously, better tools and techniques were needed for every part of the project. In particular, a better experimental reactor had to be developed that could produce more precise results at well defined conditions. By that time many home-built recycle reactors (RRs), spinning basket reactors and other laboratory continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) were in use and the subject of publications. Most of these served the original author and his reaction well but few could generate the mass velocities used in actual production units. 

It must be extensible, because not all features of product development will be foreseen at the time that the model is developed, for example new tools and techniques might emerge... 

The Toyota X300 fork lift truck project design cycle is concurrent in nature spanning all the major disciplines in the process with quality assurance reviews, stipulating the use of appropriate tools and techniques at certain points. The product development process produced by General Electric is called the Tollgate Process . Again, it is concurrent in nature and includes ten review points. 

DFA is one of the main tools and techniques prescribed by the PIM process. Other tools and techniques currently specified include QFD, FMEA and DOE. Significant benefits have been obtained through the use of the tools and techniques in a team-based concurrent engineering environment. They inject method, objectivity... 

Tools and techniques in product development 5.3.1 Overview of tools and techniques... 

A summary of each of the key tools and techniques considered to be important in the product development process is given in Appendix III. This covers such techniques as FMEA, QFD, DFA/DFM and DOE. Included for each is a description of the tool or technique, placement issues in product development, key issues with regard to implementation, and the benefits that can accrue from their use, and finally a case study. It would be advantageous next, however, to determine exactly what a tool or technique does. In general, the main engineering activities that should be facilitated by their use are (Huang, 1996) ... 

The decision to develop in-house or buy a tool or technique may arise as awareness of the opportunities in a business increases. Off-the-shelf products are more popular as the development of tools and techniques is very time consuming and labour intensive. A generally expressed desire is to use computerized techniques for easier documentation and design reuse. However, it should be noted that a paper-based... 

The benefits of using tools and techniques in general can be grouped into three categories (Fluang, 1996) ... 

A recent survey of companies in the automotive and aerospace industry found that many companies are unaware of the benefits that can be gained from the utilization of quality tools and techniques. The adoption of BS EN ISO 9000 (1994) and Total Quality Management (TQM) strategies might be expected to increase the utilization of methods. However, the extent to which companies utilize methods is more strongly related to annual turnover than employee count, therefore the use of tools and techniques is dominated by large companies (Araujo et al., 1996). 

The popularity of some of the key tools and techniques mentioned is shown in Figure 5.10, taken from two different surveys of UK companies. The importance of FMEA, DFM and DFA is apparent, although the survey conducted in 1994 did not ask for the usage of DFM or DFA. Equally, the 1996 survey did not include Poka Yoke. The minor popularity of techniques such as QFD, DOE and Robust... 

The integration of tools and techniques in the product development process... 

When a single technique is employed only local life-cycle cost minimization is achieved. If the global life-cycle cost is to be minimized, a number of techniques have to be applied (Watson et al., 1996). In this case, tools and techniques shouldn t compete with each other, but be complementary in the product development process. The correct positioning of the various off-line tools and techniques in the product development process, therefore, becomes an important consideration in their effective usage. Patterns of application have been proposed by a number of workers over several years (Brown et al., 1989 Jakobsen, 1993 Norell, 1993) and the importance of concurrency has been highlighted as a critical factor in their use (Poolton and Barclay, 1996). 

Before setting about the task of developing such a model, the product development process requires definition along with an indication of its key stages, this is so the appropriate tools and techniques can be applied (Booker et al., 1997). In the approach presented here in Figure 5.11, the product development phases are activities generally defined in the automotive industry (Clark and Fujimoto, 1991). QFD Phase 1 is used to understand and quantify the importance of customer needs and requirements, and to support the definition of product and process requirements. The FMEA process is used to explore any potential failure modes, their likely Occurrence, Severity and Detectability. DFA/DFM techniques are used to minimize part count, facilitate ease of assembly and project component manufacturing and assembly costs, and are primarily aimed at cost reduction. 

The so-called Q7 tools and techniques, Cause and Effect Diagrams, Pareto Analysis, etc. (Bicheno, 1994 Dale and McQuater, 1998 Straker, 1995), are applicable to any stage of the product development process. Indeed they support the working of some of the techniques mentioned, for example using a Pareto chart for prioritizing the potential risks in terms of the RPN index for a design as determined in FMEA (see Appendix III). 

Tools and techniques can enhance the success of a product, but alone they will not solve all product development issues (Jenkins et al., 1997a). Any implementation of tools and techniques within the product development process must take the following into account if the outcome is to be effective at all ... 

Booker, J. D., Dale, B., McQuater, R., Spring, M. and Swift, K. G. 1997 Effective use of Tools and Techniques in New Product Development. Manchester UMIST Press. 

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