What exactly is a standard?
In product development, standards refer to a wide range of published documentation that details specific requirements for how to design, manufacture, and test a new product. These standards are developed through experience and often represent the shared knowledge of the relevant industry. The requirements stated in the standards are determined through a process of consensus and consultation with the industry. In general, standards cover three main phases, namely design, manufacture, and testing.
- Design: Some standards will provide detailed methodologies on exactly how to approach the design of the product and may include all the relevant calculations, applicable materials, and design limits. Others will only provide a rough guideline and can be very open-ended.
- Manufacturing: General manufacturing requirements can also be included and will typically cover fabrication techniques, manufacturing tolerances, and quality control procedures. It is important that whoever is fabricating the product is aware of these requirements so they can ensure they are met.
- Testing: Even if the design and manufacturing requirements are strictly adhered to, it is sometimes required to test the product to ensure it won’t fail during operation. This is typically required when failure can cause damage to property or result in human injuries. Testing can include destructive and non-destructive tests like fatigue failure testing and x-raying of welds, respectively.
Simply following a standard is often not enough, as the process needs to be certified either by an internal quality control system or in some cases, by a third-party inspector. Quality control (QC) inspectors are required to sign off that the product has followed the standard. No deviations will be tolerated; neglecting any part of the standard can result in expensive rework or potentially the scrapping of the entire product. This is why QC inspectors need to be involved in the entire design, manufacturing, and testing process to make sure that any deviations can be identified and fixed before expensive rework is needed.
Why use standards during product development?
In many cases, conforming to a specific standard is required by law. Countries may have their own set of standards or may refer to an international standard. Designing products to comply with the relevant standards has numerous benefits, some of which are listed below:
- Improved safety: Safety is arguably the most important goal of a standard, especially when the failure of a product can put people at risk of injury. Safety is ensured by proven designs, manufacturing techniques, quality management systems, and proof testing.
- Improved product quality: Following recognized standards is a great way to ensure that the final product is of the best quality possible. Most standards are developed in an iterative process which results in a final product with the best possible quality.
- Government compliance: Attempting to sell a product that does not adhere to the law can result in sizable fines and expensive recalls. Even if the product is successfully launched this does not mean that the government can’t retroactively reject it.
- Development speed: Standards help speed up the product development process by allowing designers to work within existing frameworks.
- Manufacturing Speed: Standards provide details on various manufacturing processes and techniques related to achieving the requirements. This saves a lot of time as manufacturers don’t need to waste time refining the process and can rely on tried and true techniques and methodologies.
During product development, one of the first steps after finalizing the conceptual design is to understand the requirements of the various markets in which the product will be sold. This includes determining which standards need to be adhered to. This can be complicated because there may be different standards from various countries, and understanding where they agree and disagree is critical to achieving compliance in multiple jurisdictions. In addition to this, choosing the wrong standard can be very costly in the long run.
Standards compliance is just one part of a larger product development effort. Reach out to Riganelli Design if you’re in need of reliable, professional design assistance on your next project.
