Design margins in industrial practice

Claudia Eckert,Ola Isaksson,Safaa Lebjioui,Stefan Edlund,Christopher F Earl

doi:10.1017/dsj.2020.19

Abstract

Abstract As products are being developed over time and across organisations, the risk for unintended accumulation and mis-conception of margins allocated may occur. Accumulation of margins can result in over design, but also add risk due to under allocation. This paper describes the different terminology used in one organisation and shows the different roles margins play across the design process and in particular the how margins are a critical but often overlooked aspect of product platform design. The research was conducted in close collaboration with a truck manufacturer between 2013 and 2018. The objective was to gain understanding of the current use of margins, and associated concepts evolve along the product life cycle, across organisation and product platform representations. It was found that margins already play an important role throughout the entire design process; however, it is not recognised as a unified concept which is clearly communicated and tracked throughout the design process. Rather different stakeholders have different notions of margins and do not disclose the rationale behind adding margins or the amount that they have added. Margins also enabled designers to avoid design changes as existing components and systems can accommodate new requirements and thereby saving significant design time.

Highlights

IntroductionMany companies would state that their aim is to design products that meet their requirements in a reliable and cost-effective manner
This paper reports on an empirical study in a truck company which analysed how different groups in the organization add and reduce margins throughout the product development process
This paper describes the different terminology used in one organization and shows the different roles margins play across the design process and in particular how margins are a critical but often overlooked aspect of product platform design

Summary

Introduction

Many companies would state that their aim is to design products that meet their requirements in a reliable and cost-effective manner. Therein lays one of the fundamental tensions of product development. A reliable product is often one that has large safety margins so that it can handle unexpected patterns of use over long periods of time, while a cost effective one might just meet the requirements, that is, one that is not overdesigned. Many products share components with other products through product platforms, which are designed to the requirements of the most demanding application, and thereby overdesigned with regards to many of their applications. At the heart of this is the question what are suitable margins on components and systems? A margin on a design is intuitively a straightforward concept, indicating a sort of surplus to what At the heart of this is the question what are suitable margins on components and systems? A margin on a design is intuitively a straightforward concept, indicating a sort of surplus to what

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Discussion

Conclusion