Product Lifecycle Management

Why it matters

The handover from design to production is where most product cost is locked in and most version confusion begins. A change approved in engineering that never reaches the shop floor is a defect that will be found by a customer.

• Design decisions determine cost: Most of a product's cost is committed before anything is made.
• Version control is a safety matter: Building to a superseded revision is a recall waiting to happen.
• Compliance evidence lives here: Certification and regulatory approval attach to a specific revision.

The workflow

1. 01

   Concept development

   Need, market and feasibility assessed before design effort is committed.

2. 02

   Design engineering

   Product designed, with the bill of materials and specifications built as the design artefact.

3. 03

   Prototype testing

   Validated against requirement, with results recorded against the revision.

4. 04

   Product launch

   Released to production with the BOM, routing, costing and documentation complete.

Engineering change is the whole problem. Decide how a change reaches production, what happens to stock built to the old revision, and who approves the cut-in point — before the first change, not during it.

What you need in place

• Revision control on the bill of materials: With an effective date and a cut-in rule.
• An engineering change process: Assessed for stock, cost, tooling and compliance impact.
• A single source for specifications: Engineering and production reading the same document.
• Costing at design: So the margin is known before commitment, not after launch.
• Compliance records by revision: Certification is not transferable between revisions.
• End-of-life planning: Run-out of stock, spares obligation and service commitment.

Questions to ask

Metrics and KPIs to track