26. Manufacturing Requirements

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to have product manufactured in ideal conditions. For many specifiers of product the manufacturing facilities are dictated by the business and it is the product development group's responsibility to load the factory to the best of its ability with minimum capital investment.

The manufacturing unit that is to manufacture a product has a set of requirements of its own that should be considered during the product definition process. By considering manufacturing requirements at the product definition stage, the product development process can be more carefully directed towards a particular manufacturing capability than if the manufacturing requirements simply drop out of the product design and sales forecasts later in the product life cycle.

Manufacturing Capacity

A manufacturing unit may have a particular building space, work force capability or plant capacity limitation that will govern the type and maximum throughput of product through the plant. Similarly plant operating procedures related to other products being manufactured may impose a particular process upon the new product.

Testing

The manufacturing unit may require that particular test procedures be applied to inwards goods or outwards goods in order that its internal quality control objectives are achieved. This could include a specification for specific types of materials it is able to handle in preference to other types or it may imply the design of a specific interface on the product to allow the testing to be carried out.