Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand, last week announced its management policy for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009. In the annual policy outline, the manufacturing-oriented Innovation Division explained it will use the Itakona Board method "as a means of analyzing costs in detail."

From the announcement:

Focusing on comprehensive cost reductions, the Manufacturing Subcommittee will introduce the process by which to lower costs in initial developmental stages of manufacture. As a means of analyzing costs in detail, the group will use the Itakona Board method.

"The literal Japanese translation for the word Itakona is 'plates and powders,'" the electronics developer and manufacturer explained. "The board has adopted this name as the materials used in the products can be traced back to steel plates (ita) and powders (kona)."

After the company collaboratively lists every product component, analysts are able to examine the cost structure of each component to determine avenues where costs may be cut on the product. When a component is listed, there are many ways to view it, of course.

For example, a materials specialist might question if a less expensive material could have been used. He or she might also think about the performance. Could this material lead to a reliability problem if the material is too weak? Or would the material's use represent over-engineering and therefore lead to a higher-than-needed cost?

An engineer might also ask if some other component could do the work of the listed part. When components can do two tasks, the overall product becomes less costly — and often more reliable.

A manufacturing engineer looking at this component would ponder about how efficiently it could be assembled with other components, how quickly it could be done and how much skill would be required. Could a robot do it? How expensive would the robot be? He or she might also ask, if customizable products are to be made, could this component be used in many models or a few.

The purchasing manager might wonder if this part could be made more economically by another company or in house. Sometimes outsourcing helps bring more value. "Best-in-class companies are more likely to leverage outside organizations' perspectives in engineering," according to Aberdeen Group. "Specifically, they are 57 percent more likely than the industry average group to design with visibility to manufacturing feedback."

Maintenance and repair employees can contribute by offering their thoughts on how much maintenance would be needed to make the component and how much work will be required to repair it, then voicing their ideas on how to minimize maintenance and time/effort/cost to repair the product if the component fails.

Someone from the sustainability office could consider the component and voice his or her opinions on whether the material is the most environmentally friendly while meeting performance standards and thinking about how much energy will go into its creation. Once the product is assembled, it may be too late to change raw materials and processing without wasting scarce development funds. If a company doesn't yet have someone in this position, management may outsource this function. (Remember: The terms "outsourcing" and "offshoring" are NOT synonymous, though often the terms are misused as if they are. Outsourcing does not necessarily mean offshoring.)

Packaging and shipping personnel can add to product success by expressing their beliefs on how to assure product integrity during shipping at the least cost. These experts may offer ideas for superior shapes. Also, these folks may remind the company that in some sectors, customers in some nations may need to return the product if it contains toxic elements to facilitate recycling. Such actions may necessitate saving packaging or creating drop-off locations.

Listing components on a board so all concerned can contribute to product success could work well in a central location. When industry allies or consultants become involved, there are other ways to collaborate if distances between are great.

Beyond CAD and CAM drawings, for instance, images can be created in virtual worlds such as Second Life, which can show shape and color. When thinking about "product design and engineering in 2010, 96 percent of the best-in-class group [will use] digital simulation and prototyping of products compared with only 75 percent of laggards," according to Aberdeen. Already, a company catering to biologists, chemists, clinical researchers and other scientists has formed a social network to improve collaboration among experts.

These days, collaboration during product development is becoming even easier. It's a matter of taking advantage of collaboration and getting as much qualitative input as possible.

Resources

Matsushita Electric Announces Annual Management Policy
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Jan. 10, 2007

Product Innovation Agenda 2010: Profiting From Innovation Today and Tomorrow
by Jim Brown
Aberdeen Group, December 2007

Collexis' New Online Social Network, BioMedExperts, to Improve Collaboration Among Medical Researchers
Manufacturing Business Technology, Jan. 11, 2007