There is one particular process that the Quality Department should get themselves involved in ASAP. That’s right – it’s the New Product Development (NPD). It’s a grand opportunity to work in cross-functional teams and contribute by providing expertise in quality related matters. The times when Quality Teams were merely responsible for quality control activities are long gone. Today, quality assurance starts with the concept of the product and travels all the way up to the aftersales support of the Customer. The best way to get yourself ahead of the game is to make your presence at the NPD count. Let me show you how.

Being proactive, not reactive.

New Product Development process is a peculiar one. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that it usually changes upon the arrival of the new R&D Director, Head of Design or CTO. The principle of the NPD doesn’t fundamentally change, but the number of steps does. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for it to be just a PR stunt. The reality is that regardless of a number of stages (or steps) there are activities that must happen to deliver a new product to the market.

As a quality professional, you should reject the role of an observer in the NPD process.

If the business doesn’t value the input from the Quality Team than you may have to rethink your career options.

If you ask anyone working in the Quality Department “how are things?” I bet the answer will be “oh, we are quite busy”… Now, you could accept that, but wait! The role of QA is to make sure the workload is smart, not heavy. Getting a seat in the NPD meeting is an excellent method to achieve that.

By controlling all aspects of the quality before a new product is launched, you will reduce the risks of the following:

• Nonconforming parts
• Assembly issues
• Rework
• Scrap
• Cost of poor quality
• Customer complaints
• Etc.

Adding value to the NPD

Bear in mind that a number of different tasks/assignments will vary depending on the industry and manufacturing type. Below I have compiled a list of potential activities that Quality Department could become responsible for in any NPD process.

Concept and product brief

1. Review brief and provide feedback
2. Provide recommendation regarding production location and suppliers
3. Initial new vendor assessment
4. Contribute to review of technical drawings and prototypes
5. Confirm that prototypes conform to technical requirements

Final development

1. Agree on the component specification for all new parts
2. Define manufacturing limits for critical parts
3. Ensure critical dimensions are highlighted in technical drawings
4. Double check if existing components meet the requirements of the new product
5. Define and agree on reliability testing
6. Carry out new vendor audits
7. Evaluate installation trial report

Tooling and component approval

1. Inspect and approve all components
2. Ensure all tooling is identified and calibrated
3. Confirm that service schedule for tooling has been implemented

Bench build and pre-production

1. Inspect and approve builds
2. Confirm packaging specification
3. Sign off drop test report (where applicable)
4. Sign off production reports

Project review and closure

1. Analyse First Pass Yield, Rework and Scrap
2. Collate and analyse customer complaints
3. Evaluate supplier performance

I hope you find this information useful. Let me encourage you to join the QUALITY2day.com and get access to the PREMIUM LIBRARY where I have put a number of FREE documents for you to download. Enjoy!