Design documentation is the essence of any engineering project. Specifications, drawings and diagrams are main sources of information on the product. Without this set of documents, each project participant works independently, relying on verbal instructions, notes on napkins and fragments of letters. As soon as an employee quits the job or there is a need to change the supplier, chaos ensues.

Having no design documentation, project participants have scattered data. The purchasing department, production and contractors use different sources of information, which leads to incompatibility of parts and systems.

It is crucial to understand that the design documentation is a legal document, reflecting the requirements for the quality and composition of components. Don’t you have the appropriate documentation? Say hello to financial losses: your purchasing department purchases mismatched components, while your partners and suppliers produce parts with irrelevant dimensions. You are unable to file any claims if you have no design documentation. The quality is deficient, your clients are unhappy, while deadlines and budgets circle down the drain. The reason is that the production spends time troubleshooting instead of simply putting the part in place and shipping the product.

If you lack up-to-date documentation, it is almost impossible to transfer production to another plant or expand it at an existing one. In case you have all the information retained by separate people, then the loss of a key employee jeopardizes the entire project.

Therefore, if you do not want to nip your project in the bud, it is important to carefully consider the design engineering.

When it comes to creating industrial equipment, every step matters. In this sphere, it is important not just to come up with an idea or make a drawing, but also to turn it into a real, ready-for-service product. In this respect, the prototyping and creation of a development batch come into the picture. What are their benefits and how do they help in the successful implementation of the project? Let’s figure it out.

MVP — minimum viable product
In a highly competitive environment, it is crucial not only to develop a product, but to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. The concept of MVP — a minimum viable product — allows to test key ideas and get feedback from potential users at the earliest stages of the development. It not only reduces development time, but also affords to minimize costs at the initial stage.

Technical design specification: joint work with the customer
The technical design specification allows to determine specific parameters and characteristics required to implement the project. It is important to balance them so that the product is not only functional, but also cost-effective. Only then will the prototype be most closely approximate market expectations and demands.

Pilot Sample: from idea to reality
An engineering sample is the first step from a notion to specificity. This is not just a simple prototype, but а full-fledged operational product that can be tested and certified. It allows to see in practice how the idea works and make the necessary adjustments at the development stage.

Development batch: testing and production launch
A development batch is a small production batch required for the production process fine-tuning and testing the consistency of the equipment operation under actual operating conditions. Such a batch is not just a run-through prior to the high-volume production. It allows to control the quality and technological effectiveness, as well check design parameters with variations in the properties of parts and components. All of this minimize risks and allow for avoiding bad surprises at the stage of the product launch in the market.

Production supervision is one of the core components of the successful design development in the sphere of the industrial production. This process not only ensures the project compliance with the original concept, but also the error prevention, quality improvement and standards compliance. Let’s take a closer look what the production supervision is like and why it is so important in the development of complex engineering decision.

What is the production supervision?
Production supervision implies the constant participation of the designer in the project processing. It is a kind of “bridging” between the initial idea and its implementation. The main purpose of the production supervision is to make sure that the production correctly understands the designer and the solutions they have incorporated.

Production supervision allows to:

1. Choose those contractors who understand what is written in the documentation and have the necessary technologies;
2. Quickly improve the design to specific manufacturing capacities;
3. Minimize assembly and setup costs by the production briefing on design-integrated technological features;
4. Keep records of design comments for further product improvement;
5. Successfully pass testing and certification owing to understanding the possibilities improvement, features of the equipment adjustment, as well as the impact of design, defects and deviations of components on the final result.

Impact of the production supervision on the development process

• At the production stage: when the project enters the production stage, the production supervision secures compliance with all technical norms and standards. This guarantees the full conformity of the final product to the Customer’s expectations.

• At the commissioning stage: when the product is ready for operation, the production supervision ensures its proper installation and test of all systems to comply with design requirements.

• At the full-scale production stage: upon the full-scale production, it is important to be able to approve any non-compliance with design documents, and, in general, to timely update the technical documentation. It is also important to collect and record expectations to improve samples.