Up Front

Cha, Cha, Cha Changes

 

Terry Persun

Editor-In-Chief

Last month Designfax focused on the design and manufacture of fiber optic equipment in combination with our scheduled semiconductor equipment coverage. In order to meet the needs--ever-changing needs--of our readers, we switched gears as quickly as we could, doing our best to suggest and illustrate ways in which both industries used similar OEM components.

New technology is great and can increase production speeds, lower costs, and help a company to maintain a strong and healthy end-user product. It's often what makes a product special and that's why some companies like to keep their applications and technologies to themselves--so their competitors stay behind a little. Further, over the years, designers have become more and more concerned about the manufacturability of products and components because of overall costs, which are important in the competitive markets of today. What many engineers do not design for is service.

Although new technologies and manufacturing practices are allowing companies to turn out products with more features and benefits to users, I've noticed an increase in the need for training. Service departments (in companies that still have one) often have to train on-the-fly. Newly designed equipment means untrained service engineers have to troubleshoot by guesswork, with varying rates of success.

This has been an ongoing and growing problem for several years now, one which I believe the next generation designer must take into consideration--not only the technology, not only the manufacturability, but also need to consider the training of service engineers. The cost savings inherent in new designs and the increased sales due to features and benefits can quickly be eaten away through the need for numerous and long service calls, when a minimum of service information created during the design cycle could take care of the problem.

If your company is "cutting edge," as so many are these days, consider those increasing aftermarket costs. Begin to design with service in mind. Change is a part of the engineering field; it should be as painless to your company as possible.

tpersun@designfax.net