Here's how you can smoothly transition automotive design projects to the production phase.

Setting project/product scope definition should be the first phase/task for any new developments. When it comes to Automotive applications., this first phase/task need more attention and wide exposer towards RFQ finalizations. This should be the base to define the entire development goals till production phase and beyond. This definition should cover Cost, Time and Quality aspects with clear acceptance criteria.

My experience has been that companies that do not fully buy into quality initiatives and policies from the beginning of the project (RFQ through R&D Development to First Day Production Run, PPAP and post PPAP) by adequately planning and budgeting for quality activities and resources, are companies that do not produce products on the production line that meet industry and customer specifications and standards.

Involving the other teams (like Manufacturing, Customer Service, Sales & Marketing, Logistics, Purchasing and Warrantee to name a few) in the Design portion of a product's lifecycle is key to holistic success. But you have to involve them only as much as is impactful to their roles. It's a difficult balance to achieve. As design engineers suss out the critical design elements, the team has have to have an idea of what can affect those elements. Building from those discussions, the design team must treat the downstream elements like customers and include their needs as additional VOC, which will alter the design. For example, Service & Warrantee may require backward compatibility, Manufacturing may be limited to existing equipment, etc...

Smoothly transitioning automotive design projects to the production phase requires meticulous planning and coordination. Start by ensuring all design specifications are thoroughly reviewed and approved. Maintain open communication between design and production teams to address potential issues early. Utilize project management tools to track progress and deadlines. Conduct pilot runs or prototypes to test and refine designs. Ensure all necessary materials and resources are ready for production, and establish clear quality control procedures. Regularly update stakeholders on progress and any changes. By fostering collaboration, maintaining transparency, and rigorously testing, you can ensure a seamless transition from design to production.

I find that designs fail to freeze because the goals leave too much to interpretation. Technical goals are made up of a technical "sentence" where each section contains a measurable. For example, "Must be faster than Competitor A" is not a goal that can be met. A goal is "The two-door sedan must be able to accelerate, with four 95% weight people, from 0-60mph, in 4.5 s on a 30degree up angle incline, within 100ft, while towing 2 tons." is a goal where the team collaborated and created clear measurables and conditions for measurement.

I like to test with what I consider Level 1 functions, Level 2 functions and Level 3 functions. Usually prototype 1 tests the larger primary functions. And each subsequent prototype can test the finer secondary and tertiary functions.

Nothing but, inputs finalization In accordance with IATF, APQP phase one I e. define inputs for the program/ project/ products which includes Project scope Project timeline Project resources Project deliverables

In my experience, many Research and Development Managers or Prototype Engineers are turning to Cloud Manufacturing in order to help expediate the process of transitioning from testing and validation through to mass production. Cloud Manufacturing Platforms such as Xometry, Geomiq and Fractory allow these engineers to very quickly source and test the viability of parts, while also tapping into a large supplier base that the Cloud Manufacturing Platforms have access to - many of who are capable of moving the parts into mass production almost overnight once the client is happy with the prototypes. This advantage provides companies who use Cloud Manufacturing Platforms a competitive edge against more traditional alternatives.

Establishing strong supplier relationships is critical in ensuring manufacturability of parts, from prototyping through to mass production. Clear communication about internal quality standards and expectations must be communicated to the supplier, as different clients may have a different understanding of what 'good' looks like. Making no assumptions about the supplier is therefore important, and mitigating risk with strong communication prior to moving into production. Clients should have strong capabilities to performance manage their suppliers to ensure that they have real time access to key performance metrics. All too often, post mortems are used to explore where the problem was instead of proactive tools to pre-empt the problem.

The right specifications are always important in any market. What can sometimes be difficult to connect is the link between failure rate specifications and quality requirements. How hard do you have to push reliability testing on your product to achieve a 10 ppm failure rate? Is your FMEA thorough and complete? Automotive is particularly challenging because of their operating environment and failure rate requirements. This will be more severe for life-critical components.

Smooth transition to production from development means quality due diligence from RFQ throughout development to PPAP and post PPAP was completed and non compliances taken seriously by the company. Dues diligence includes compliance assessments/ technical reviews/validation of T2 Suppliers, Test Lab Suppliers, Product Development Processes, Configuration Management, Defect Management Change management, Verification and Validation activities, Reliability Activities, Software Activities and Requirement to Test Artifact Traceability as well as working closely with the process engineer to address production line issues/risks. Non compliances should be an open book with documented mitigations in place and agreed upon by the customer.

Timeliness is addressing Customer requirements on the production line is of upmost importance. Knowing that you are missing a customer required process for over a year and not addressing it until 1st Day Production Run occurs is not acceptable. Knowing that you knew for over a year that the design would not meet customer requirements-- let alone industry standards - is not acceptable.