How can you use assembly worker feedback to improve your design?

1 Collect feedback

The first step is to collect feedback from the assembly workers who work with your product. You can use surveys, interviews, observations, or focus groups to gather their opinions, experiences, and suggestions. Ask open-ended questions such as what the most difficult or time-consuming parts of the assembly process are, what the most common errors or defects are, and how the design could be improved to make the assembly process easier, faster, or safer. Additionally, inquire about how the design affects product performance, functionality, durability, customer satisfaction, expectations, and preferences.

2 Analyze feedback

The second step is to analyze the feedback you collected from the assembly workers. Various tools can be used for this purpose, such as qualitative or quantitative methods, statistical or thematic analysis, or SWOT or PESTEL analysis. The goal is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your design, the opportunities and threats for improvement, and the trends and patterns in the feedback. For example, you can categorize the feedback into positive, negative, or neutral comments; rank it by frequency, importance, or urgency; compare it with your design specifications, objectives, or standards; and highlight any feedback that relates to the design for assembly and product lifecycle principles.

3 Implement feedback

The third step is to implement the feedback you analyzed from the assembly workers. To do this, you can use techniques such as brainstorming, prototyping, testing, or iterating to modify your design and evaluate its impact on the assembly process, product quality, and customer satisfaction. For example, you can generate ideas for improving your design based on the feedback, create prototypes of your improved design and test them with the assembly workers, measure the results of your improved design on the assembly time, cost, or error rate, and solicit feedback from the assembly workers on your improved design and compare it with the previous feedback.

4 Evaluate feedback

The fourth and final step is to evaluate the feedback you implemented from the assembly workers. You can use various methods to evaluate the feedback, such as feedback loops, reviews, or reports. The goal is to assess the effectiveness of your feedback process, and to recognize the lessons learned, the best practices, or the future actions. For instance, you can set up feedback loops to monitor and alter your design according to the feedback. Additionally, you can carry out feedback reviews to discuss and document your feedback process and outcomes. Moreover, you can create feedback reports to communicate and share your feedback findings and recommendations.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?