Today, industry and government focus
significant engineering and management attention on making goods more
producible. Facing increased pressure to reduce outlays, many companies,
organizations, and enterprises recognize that addressing producibility early,
as part of the design process, is the most effective way to reduce costs and
improve the quality of manufactured products. This guidelines document brings
together concepts, techniques, and tools into a single explanation of what
constitutes a successful producibility system, how to establish one, execute
it, and measure its results.
The Best Manufacturing Practices program's Producibility Task Force (PTF), selected from industry, government, and academic experts, gathered for the first time in the spring of 1997 to develop a common-sense approach to producibility. The PTF determined there are five basic steps in building and maintaining a successful producibility system. These five steps represent the criteria from numerous successful producibility programs and provide the basis for this document. By bringing together the basic elements of producibility, the PTF guidelines present a clear, easily understood picture of what any enterprise, regardless of size, can do to make its products more producible.
This guidelines document has significance for the future of U.S. manufacturing industries. We are now competing on a global scale where high quality is demanded and low cost is expected. The recognition of the importance of addressing producibility early in the product development cycle and the employment of an effective producibility system from design though production are critical to maintaining a vibrant position in the world marketplace.
Ernie Renner
Director
Best Manufacturing Practices Program and
Center of Excellence
