A Framework for Effective Implementation and Sustenance of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly Guidelines in the Aerospace Product Design and Development Phase of Aerospace Advanced Product Quality Planning 2020-01-5111

The aerospace industry had recently initiated the journey towards the transition to the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process, for the manufacturing and assembly process of their products in their supply chain, aiming to continually meet the rising delivery demand of the global aerospace industry and improve the quality and costs of current products and services. Of the various APQP process elements and requirements, one specific requirement is the application of Design For Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA^®) guidelines, early in the product design and development phase, aiming to design, develop, and analyze the designs for effective and efficient product realization. These guidelines, though widely used, are fairly new for the aerospace industry, and there is no standard framework readily available to aerospace organizations for the successful deployment of these guidelines in the Aerospace APQP process. The study in this technical paper is a continuation of the research work carried out on the enhanced Design For Manufacture (DFM) guidelines in the aerospace industry and focuses on the development of such a framework derived from the existing APQP and DfMA models that can be specifically enhanced to suit aerospace processes for the implementation and sustenance of the DFMA^® guidelines in the Aerospace APQP product design and development phase. The study focuses on the importance of the framework for the application of DfMA principles in aerospace designs, highlighting the design intents, actions, and sources that support the design goals. The study analyzes the current challenges and opportunities that the design and supplier organizations can mitigate and adapt for a successful APQP transition from the current traditional manufacturing and assembly processes appropriate for all aerospace product designs and services. The framework methodology is developed using the Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) concept by defining, measuring, analyzing, designing, and validating the DfMA guidelines for successful implementation and sustenance in an aerospace environment. The framework proposed can be tested in an aerospace design manufacturing environment and used as a reference guide for organizations intending to effectively apply and sustain the DfMA element in the Aerospace APQP Phase 2 of Product Design and Development.