DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURABILITY: EARLIER INTEGRATION OF APPAREL MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Design for Manufacturability (DFM), one Concurrent Engineering (CE) area, is defined as designing producibility into products rather than modifying designs to correct deficiencies. The purpose of this research was to develop a model of DHVI activities specific for apparel and to determine if apparel-manufacturing activities could be integrated earlier in product development. Associates, who worked in focus groups, were given questionnaires to identify apparel activities, multi-disciplinary teams, and enabling technology. Data collection required apparel associates to use familiar as is environment activities and reorganize them into a to be DFM model. Data were analyzed using qualitative research and conceptual modeling methods. [Tesch, 1991; Marca & McGowan, 1988] Creating sub-categories under primary DFM constructs unified DFM apparel activities. IDEF_O diagrams identified activities, multi-functional teams, and enabling technology for each DFM construct. Findings confirmed that in the to be DFM model apparel associates could make manufacturability decisions earlier in product development.