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Original Date: 04/28/1995
Revision Date: 01/18/2007
Information : Design for Assembly Process
Lockheed Martin has identified and effected a key methodology to successfully implement the principles of concurrent engineering. This Design for Manufacture/Assembly (DFMA) approach ensures the proper balance between making components simple to produce as well as making them simple to assemble. The net result is a robust design that is more cost effective to manufacture.
The company previously applied the concurrent engineering philosophy using a traditional design review process. It determined that a formal event called a DFMA workshop was needed to ensure design-for-assembly and design-for- producibility considerations were addressed. After careful analysis, Lockheed Martin selected the Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc. software to help achieve this objective. To demonstrate commitment, Lockheed Martin established a policy that DFMA be included in all programs.
Lockheed Martin then embarked on a training program that taught the principles of Design for Manufacture/ Assembly and the specifics of the Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc. tools to the product teams. The various disciplines represented on the team were taught the methodology, and the teams were required to use this approach in a real- world application. The teams first established the as-is baseline model of their products, then brainstormed and iterated solutions to simplify the assembly. Finally, at the end of the training, each team presented its analysis to management.
The critical ingredients to this successful Lockheed Martin approach include mandating the requirement, training personnel, providing each team a real-world case study, and involving management. The resulting synergy of this approach has helped the company achieve the desired goals of simplifying both the design and the processes necessary to manufacture and assemble the design. Lockheed Martin has been able to significantly reduce the Bills of Material (BOMs) required to manufacture components, and over the life cycle of the many systems it produces, these component-level savings are substantial.
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