The role of product safety and liability in concurrent engineering

Abstract

This paper explores the role of product safety and liability in the early stages of product design in a concurrent engineering environment. The paper presents an overview of literature pertaining to the significance of product liability for manufacturers. Further, the paper presents a system approach to product safety, a conceptual framework for design for safety and liability, and a product safety program, which covers the three safety techniques of Preliminary Hazard Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis. The focus of the paper, in terms of incorporating safety in the product, is on design, manufacturing, and providing warnings. The example of a disc braking system is presented and discussed in order to explain, test, and validate the model and methodology. The developmental aspects of product safety are considered and a Knowledge Based Management System (KBMS) is developed. The KBMS is capable of integrating data bases and knowledge bases into a system that generates form design features. These design features also contain product safety attributes. Finally, the paper presents conclusions and an assessment of the results and provides additional perspectives.