Design Process Error-Proofing: Development of Automated Error-Proofing Information Systems

This paper presents a framework for representing and deploying error-proofs (poka-yoke) in the product development process. Information technology (IT) already plays a key role in product development through tools such as numerical computation, CAD, simulations, and process planning. Information management for error-proofing in manufacturing is also quite common in many industries. However, experts agree that many field failures and quality problems stem back to errors in engineering design. While there are many case studies on design process error-proofing, one must deploy them through leveraging engineering information systems for them to be effective. Towards this goal, this paper proposes the use of quality function deployment (QFD) to characterize potential design errors, evaluate the risks, identify effective error proofing elements, and prioritize their implementation.