A practical, customer-oriented DFE methodology

Raychem Corporation has developed a Design for Environment (DFE) methodology that incorporates customer and other stakeholder concerns about environmental, health, and safety issues throughout the product life cycle. The goal of our DFE approach is to introduce the EHS issues into the product development process so that these topics, along with other key design parameters, can be proactively addressed as product concepts are developed. To accomplish this objective, we developed tools that are practical, qualitative, and applicable to the broad range of high-performance products that Raychem develops manufactures, and markets for electronics, industrial and telecommunications applications. The methodology has to pertain to both precommercial products and existing, mature products and, above all, consider the EHS needs of the customer. The methodology is also tailored to be compatible with Raychem's Product Design Review Process, a set of procedures and practices used to facilitate the development of a product and verify that all the specified requirements have been met. A cross-functional product development team guides the product through this process. The responsibility of applying the DFE methodology must belong to this team; therefore, the DFE methodology is designed-to be simple and flexible, allowing the product development team to use it effectively and to improve it in the future to ensure buy-in and ownership. Since reducing a product's time to market is so important in today's business arena, the DFE methodology should also accelerate the product development process or, at the very least, not slow it down. Thus our DFE methodology does not require time-consuming studies such as life cycle analysis. Rather than generating new data, qualitative information is used when quantitative information is not available. The DFE methodology and the integration of the DFE tools into the Design Review Process will be presented.