Avoiding rework in product design: evidence from the aerospace industry
International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management
ISSN: 0265-671X
Article publication date: 12 January 2010
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study commissioned by an aircraft producer that is concerned about the efficiency of its new product development process and the high number of engineering changes generated during aerospace programs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper focuses on nine structural design projects and explores the factors explaining the inter‐project differences in the number of engineering changes required after the structural drawings are released to the methods department. The method of inquiry used in this paper combines questionnaire‐based measurement of design performance with in‐depth semi‐structured interviews of managers and designers.
Findings
The research results suggest that, in an industrial context where both time pressure and labour shortage are considerable, design practices such as functional diversity, intense communication, collocation and strong project leadership, are associated with higher design performance. Furthermore, in a specific organizational context where the design work is divided among various companies located in different regions, effective partner integration is another key success factor.
Research limitations/implications
Although the strength of the findings is inevitably limited by the small number of observations, the results raise some important questions about the effect of time pressure and labour shortage on product development performance.
Practical implications
The results suggest that design performance is likely to increase if the production sustaining phase is actively promoted within aerospace companies, since this activity provides designers with considerable learning opportunities.
Originality/value
Using sensitive internal data on engineering changes and rich qualitative material, this paper indicates how design performance can be improved in organizations that tend to rely on design rework and other safety nets to achieve their quality objectives and comply with industry regulations.
Keywords
Citation
Dostaler, I. (2010), "Avoiding rework in product design: evidence from the aerospace industry", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 5-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656711011009281
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited