Development Process Innovation - ricoh. · PDF fileDevelopment Process Innovation ... Technological innovation is ubiquitous today. Product life cycles are getting shorter and shorter;

Development Process Innovation – A Concept for Increasing Customer Value

In the rapid changes of the work environment, manufacturing method that enables quick response to

latest customer needs is required. Since 2002, the Ricoh group has been conducting

customer-focused development process innovation. The home position of our innovation efforts is

with the customers, and our goal is to increase customer values. The innovation has five pillars:

platform and module design, robust engineering, 3D design, design resource optimization, and

cultivating innovators. This white paper clarifies why the innovation is needed, how it has been

conducted, and what values it has yielded.

July 4, 2014 Version 1.0.0

White

Paper

© 2014 Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Table of Contents

Executive summary ................................................................................................... 1

1. For timely responding to customer needs ............................................ 5

2. Delivering quality products without delay ............................................. 6

2.1. Why did we need to innovate our development process? ............. 6

2.2. MFP development depended on making numerous prototypes . 7

3. Planning a concept that motivates designers ..................................... 8

3.1. A special organization and commitment of everyone ...................... 8

3.2. Five things to accomplish in Development Process Innovation 9

(1) Platform and Module design ........................................................................... 9

(2) Robust engineering ............................................................................................. 9

(3) 3D design ................................................................................................................ 10

(4) Design resource optimization ...................................................................... 10

(5) Cultivating innovators ...................................................................................... 11

4. Changing the corporate culture in order to create new ways of

manufacturing ........................................................................................................... 11

4.1. Platform and Module design ........................................................................ 11

(1) P&M development ................................................................................................ 11

(2) Nurturing DNA of good products ................................................................. 13

4.2. Robust engineering ........................................................................................... 14

(1) Promoting front-loading design ................................................................... 14

(2) Scientific design using simulation technology .................................... 16

(3) Promoting parameter design based on quality engineering ......... 17

(4) Implementing promotion plans and accumulating known

information ..................................................................................................................... 17

4.3. 3D design ................................................................................................................ 19

(1) Virtual prototyping enabling concurrent designs in upper

processes ........................................................................................................................ 19

(2) Simulation going beyond the limitations of prototypes .................. 20

© 2014 Ricoh Company, Ltd.

4.4. Design resource optimization...................................................................... 22

(1) Determining the true cause of frequent design changes................ 22

(2) Design assisting system that prevents known issues from

recurring........................................................................................................................... 23

(3) 3D viewer for increasing DR efficiency .................................................... 24

4.5. Cultivating innovators ..................................................................................... 24

(1) Training for mid-level engineers .................................................................. 24

(2) Training for newcomers .................................................................................... 25

5. Increased customer values – what development process

innovation has yielded ......................................................................................... 25

5.1. Development process innovation is now commonplace .............. 25

(1) For customers to use our products over time without worry ....... 25

(2) Providing timely functions quickly at low cost .................................. 26

5.2. Delivering the achievements of development process innovation

to our customers ......................................................................................................... 27

(1) The center machine in the office, triggering work style

innovation ....................................................................................................................... 27

(2) Compact design for ease of installation ................................................. 28

6. Moving on to the next stage on two wheels: acceleration and

expansion ..................................................................................................................... 29

6.1. Launching a product successfully at one time and pursuing new

prototyping technology ........................................................................................... 29

6.2. Application to new product categories ................................................... 30

6.3. Aiming at collaboration based on development process

innovation ....................................................................................................................... 30

1 © 2014 Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Executive summary

Background

Technological innovation is ubiquitous today. Product life cycles are getting shorter

and shorter; multi-functional printers (MFPs) used to have an average cycle of five

years, but are often replaced by new models in three or even less than two years

nowadays. Many customers are calling for products that incorporate the latest

technologies but are still easy to use.

We have been innovating our development processes in our own ways in an

attempt to provide our customers, in a timely manner, with products and services

compatible with varied changes in the market. The central idea of our development

process innovation is to develop products without making prototypes. This

innovative method greatly shortens the product development period while ensuring

high quality and reliability.

Before development process innovation, developing one model required hundreds

of prototypes to be made, sometimes nearly a thousand. Making prototypes is

time-consuming and costly. It was a major factor keeping development periods

long and product costs high.

History

The Development Process Innovation Center was established in October 2002

with the awareness that development process innovation is a business operations

issue. This dedicated organization set forth the concept that innovation should be

addressed by all employees in development-related departments, defining three

goals: improving development efficiency, assessing technologies in upper

processes, and developing products without depending on prototypes. To achieve

these goals, Ricoh started its development process innovation supported by the

five pillars of activities described below, making sure that the idea was shared

among all the designers involved:


Figure 1: The five pillars of Development Process Innovation

(1) Platform & Module design

Products are seldom developed from scratch. Designing all components from

scratch is unlikely. In developing a multi-functional product (MFP), designs can be

derived from a previous model for many of the functional parts (modules) and

integrated units. Similarly, designs can be shared among models of different

printing speeds released concurrently. The term platform & module design

symbolizes the aggressive use of this derivative design approach.

(2) Robust engineering

New products cannot be produced by derivative design only. A mission of

manufacturers is to address the changes and trends in the market and provide

customers with useful products that feature new technologies. If you design a new

module or product, make it highly reliable and ensure quality so that customers can

use it over time without worry. We need to make our products highly robust—sturdy

and failure-free.

(3) 3D design

Computer simulation is an effective alternative to verification by prototype. When

we started innovating our development process at the beginning of 2000, the

market was incorporating high-performance, easy-to-handle 3D simulation

systems one after another. Leading-edge computing technologies enable us to test

products without actually making them, thus helping us accelerate our


development processes and survive cost competition.

(4) Design resource optimization

Design resources need to be readily accessible by everybody on the design staff.

Nobody should spend extra hours searching for information. And if the information

could not be found after all those efforts, the designs would have to be made from

scratch, again with wasted time. By building a system in which any designer can

acquire design resources immediately, we reduce time costs, aiming at speeding

up development.

(5) Cultivating innovators

Needless to say, human resource development is important. A company must

nurture designers who are able to take the initiative to exploit market changes and

technical innovations—this task is directly related to sustainability of the company.

We have introduced systematic human resource development and project

management for mid-level engineers; we also introduced a unique training

program for newcomers. The concept of development process innovation thus

permeates all the designers.

Achievements

The development process innovation built on the five pillars has begun to produce

tangible results. While many issues remain to be dealt with and some efforts are

slow, things have changed entirely from what they were in the era of “making and

correcting prototypes.” Today everybody explores virtual implementation before

deciding to make a prototype. Designers' awareness has changed greatly.

As we have progressed, the number of prototypes has been significantly reduced.

Thanks to the dissemination of design commonality among different models of a

series, we have longer intervals before new prototypes are made. The frequency of

prototyping and testing is now down to less than 40% of previous levels.

Prototyping costs per model have been greatly reduced. Thus, we have

established a system of quickly providing our clients with advanced, easy-to-use

products that meet changes and trends in the market.


Prospects

We will further enhance our virtual design efforts, which are the key factors of

product development without prototypes. Our final goal is to create high-quality

products from the beginning without any processes of verification using prototypes.

The method will be applied to the development of Ricoh products in other fields. To

maximize the effectiveness of product development without prototypes and

front-loading (upper process) design, we will continue our spontaneous efforts to

support other manufacturing companies including our primary suppliers. To further

enhance customer values, we will continue to accelerate our development process

innovation and strive to expand its range of applications.


1. For timely responding to customer needs

Progress in information and communications technologies (ICT) has brought about

significant changes to how people work in their offices (work styles). Dissemination

of the mobile/cloud environment in the past few years has removed the constraints

of time and space, enabling us to work in new ways that are free and cost-effective.

The Ricoh group has been providing image and information equipment for a long

time. In response to the changes in work styles, we have been developing a range

of products and services and delivering them to the customers. The color

multi-functional products (MFPs) that first went on sale in 2013 are among the

products that promote such changes in work styles: RICOH MP C6003/C5503/

C4503/C3503/C3003, RICOH MP C2503 and RICOH MP C2003. While they have

fundamental functions as MFPs, they feature many latest technologies that meet

the needs of the customers today – using information in a mobile/cloud

environment.

We examine what functions and performance an MFP should have several years

before its release. This is not an easy task because changes in the market are

aggressive. The examination process involves indefinite factors – nobody can be

sure whether customers will still need the functions and performance or whether

the technologies will have become obsolete when the product is released. A wrong

choice could result in a product nobody needs. Consequently, we would suffer

great damage as a company.

Meanwhile, product lifecycles are getting shorter and shorter today as

technological innovation is extraordinary. MFPs used to have an average cycle of

five years, but are often replaced by new models in three or even less than two

years nowadays. Many customers want the latest technologies without delay, and

they want the product to be easy to use. To meet needs, we are striving to

accelerate our product development to a higher level. We increase development

efficiency in all the processes of planning, design, and production to provide

customers with helpful products that feature latest technologies at their prime.

The question is how to make sure that the product quality is maintained or even

improved. Our products consist of technologies from many dissimilar fields – for


instance, MFPs involve chemistry, optics, physics, electricity and electronics,

mechatronics, and software. To maintain and improve the quality of such products,

technologies and functions need to be evaluated with precision in each step of

development. Such efforts are called “building quality into products” and constitute

a good proportion of MFP development. To accelerate development, efficiency in

the quality build-in process is the key.

We have been innovating on our development processes in our own ways in order

to provide our customers with products and services that meet varied changes in

the market in a timely manner. Our development process innovation greatly

shortens the product development period while ensuring products of high quality

and reliability.

2. Delivering quality products without delay

2.1. Why did we need to innovate our development process?

In 2000 we started to address development process innovation. The background

was the changes in customer needs for MFPs, our principal products. It was the

time of great change in the office environment resulting from the rapid progress of

digital and networking technologies. People had begun to do most tasks on a

personal computer. MFPs were no longer mere tools of copying and facsimile

transmission; people began to use them as a component of a networked system to

enhance the productivity of PC tasks.

Leading the changes, we had been converting all of our products into digital and

network forms since the second half of the 1990s. Our copiers were reborn as

MFPs, and the lineup of digital full-color models was enhanced. Those efforts,

however, meant that the development staff would have to go through strikingly high

levels of technical difficulty. No matter the effort was put into strengthening

development staff, we were not able to keep up with ever-increasing model

variations and development tasks.

Front-line development staff faced numerous problems: image quality was below

what it should be, latest implemented technologies did not work sufficiently, and


more. Consequently, the development schedule often fell behind. Development

costs continued to increase, and at one time we lost our market to a competitor

through price competition. A designer once summed up the situation saying

“Everyday it was just like playing Whack-A-Mole.”

How had we fallen into this situation? The problem was related to the technical

difficulties of electrophotography, the imaging process of MFPs and printers.

2.2. MFP development depended on making numerous prototypes

In the electrophotographic imaging process, static plays an important role. Static is

generated by the contact and separation of two charged objects of different

materials. Static is unstable, difficult to control, and susceptible to dryness and high

humidity. Beyond that, objects handled in the MFPs – toner and paper – are difficult

to control. Things often did not turn out as calculated, unexpected phenomena

were common, and development was often delayed.

If consequences are unforeseeable, the best way to be sure is to make a prototype

and test it. Thus, we made prototypes one after another. Prototyping was a

common practice in manufacturing, but it was particularly hard with MFPs;

developing MFPs required a huge number of prototypes. Many prototypes of the

same kind were needed because numerous items had to be tested and multiple

models were developed concurrently. A new prototype was required each time you

progressed to the next stage of development1 , because different stages of

development had different items to test.

Before the process innovation, developing one model required hundreds of

prototypes, sometimes nearly a thousand. Accordingly, the time and cost of

production increased. Prototyping was a bottleneck in shortening the development

period, and was a major factor pushing up the product cost.

1 The development process had four prototyping stages: 1) functional prototyping for testing

whether the implemented technologies function as specified, 2) design prototyping to test the modules and units in combination, 3) engineering prototyping for testing assemblies of parts which are to be actually employed in production, and 4) mass-production prototyping for testing the final products manufactured on an actual production line.


We made a prototype, had it run, corrected problems, and repeated the cycle. The

workload was too heavy for us to think about what caused the problems. We had to

fix the problems before doing anything else, or we would have more delays in

development. Yet such a makeshift approach caused new problems. Fixing one

problem resulted in a new problem in a part where everything had been good. We

then fixed that new problem, and another problem occurred. Playing

Whack-A-Mole went on as long as there were prototypes. This development

method was mainstream until the 1990s.

3. Planning a concept that motivates designers

3.1. A special organization and commitment of everyone

The Development Process Innovation Center was established in October 2002

with the awareness that development process innovation is an issue of business

operations. This dedicated organization set forth the concept that innovation

should be addressed by all employees2 in development-related departments,

defining three goals: improving development efficiency, assessing technologies in

upper processes, and developing products without depending on prototypes. To

achieve these goals, Ricoh started its development process innovation supported

by the five pillars of activities described below, making sure that the idea was

shared among all designers involved:

2 In the corporate culture of the Ricoh group, critical tasks that are directly related to business

operations are tackled by all employees of the related departments as they set their own goals spontaneously. Internally, that is called "participation by all employees." Past achievements of "participation by all employees" include the Deming Award for total quality management activities (TQM) in 1975, Ricoh Integrated Design & Manufacturing System (We call it “TSS” in Japanese), the Japan Quality Award in 1999, and the Environmental Management since the second half of the 1990s to enhance environmental preservation and increase profit concurrently.


3.2. Five things to accomplish in Development Process Innovation

(1) Platform and Module design

While product development was becoming increasingly difficult, the demand for

shorter development time was becoming increasingly strong. Field staff were

making desperate efforts to increase design efficiency. The first thing we conceived

to shorten the development period was to minimize new parts. In other words, we

started by increasing the number of parts that need not be made.

Products are seldom developed from scratch. Designing all components from

scratch is unlikely. In developing a multi-functional product (MFP), designs can be

derived from a previous model for many of the functional parts (modules) and

integrated units. Similarly, designs can be shared among models of different

printing speeds released concurrently. Derivative design is a common practice in

promoting efficient manufacturing. Increasing the parts that need not be made

means to aggressively promote this derivative design approach; the term platform

& module design symbolizes this approach.

(2) Robust engineering

Not everything can be designed derivatively. New models that meet changes and

trends in the market cannot be produced using the derivative design approach for

most of the parts. As manufacturers, our mission is to provide customers with

useful products featuring new functions. If you design a new module or product,

make it highly reliable and ensure quality so that customers can use it over time

without worry. We need to make our products highly robust—sturdy and

failure-free.

Creating highly robust products allows successor models to be designed

derivatively. It is important that a newly created module or part be used for a long

time for many models, rather than for a single model only. Using highly robust

components in the next models and ensuing models, we can increase the

components that need not be made. Yet technological innovation may take place

during the course of repeated design derivation. If that is the case, new robust

components will be developed for generational change, introducing new

technologies.


(3) 3D design

In introducing new technologies for generational change, a mindset, –things must

be verified without actually being made, is needed. As described earlier, quality

assurance is important in product development. Is the performance as designed?

Do the modules and units function properly? Is the product free from wobbles or

deformation during operation? How resistant is the product against external

conditions, including temperature and humidity? There are hundreds of test items

for quality assurance of MFPs – these items are used to be tested based on

prototypes.

Computer simulation is an alternative to such tests of prototypes. When we started

innovating our development process at the beginning of 2000, the market was

incorporating high-performance, multi-functional simulation systems one after

another. To accelerate our development processes and survive cost competition,

we needed to fully utilize leading-edge computing technologies. Thus our

challenge started — test by 3D simulation without actual prototypes, an innovative

approach for testing without actually making them.

(4) Design resource optimization

As discussed earlier, derivative designs can be used in many situations of product

development. To carry out derivative designs, all the design information must be

saved. Data, know-how, and information on tools – everything that has been

obtained through development is a design resource, and they can be used

effectively if stored in a database.

Design resources need to be readily accessible by everybody on the design staff.

Nobody should spend extra hours searching for information. And if the information

could not be found after all those efforts, the designs would have to be made from

scratch, again with wasted time. Such waste tends to occur with an increase in the

information to be stored and in the number of development staff members. That

waste will hinder development speed. It is essential that there be an established

system in which any designer can acquire design resources immediately.


(5) Cultivating innovators

Needless to say, human resource development is important. A company must

nurture designers who are able to take the initiative in exploiting market changes

and technical innovations—this task is directly related to sustainability of the

company. We have introduced systematic human resource development and

project management for mid-level engineers; we also introduced a unique training

program for newcomers. Thus new employees in the mechanical and processes

departments3 or information department now receive training sessions in quality

engineering and object-oriented development. The concept of development

process innovation thus permeates all designers.

The conceptual phrase, Development Process Innovation, has been transformed

into the clear five-pillar policy and has led to the steady dissemination of the

concept. The innovation has been, and will continue to be, carried out by the

designers in the field; the innovation can take place only when the designers

sympathize with it. Our development process innovation is unique in that the

concept clearly defines what is needed to solve issues in the design field and that

the concept has been regarded as an important managerial task and promoted in a

participation-by-all-employees approach. The next chapter describes how we have

promoted development process innovation – creating new values without making

new things.

4. Changing the corporate culture in order to

create new ways of manufacturing

4.1. Platform and Module design

(1) P&M development

The first thing we did with development process innovation was to examine "how to

3 The engineers responsible for the development of imaging processes (charging, image

development, transferring, fusing) based on electrophotographic technology are called process engineers.


increase the parts that need not be made newly." We had already achieved it,

though partially, by the fixation and fluctuation of Ricoh Integrated Design &

Manufacturing System (We call it “TSS” in Japanese) – that is, combining

derivative design and new design. In the field, our people had already shared the

concept of ensuring the commonality of modules and parts. However, that was

limited to models of a single lineup.

An MFP lineup is usually designed to cover different printing speeds – for instance,

25 PPM (pages per minute), 35 PPM, 50 PPM, and 60 PPM. The modules, parts,

and design can be shared among models, except for those relevant to printing

speed. The manufacturer, however, needs to continually enhance MFP functions

according to customer needs and technological advancements. Before the service

life of a lineup expires, a new lineup needs to be developed. New generations take

over, and the alteration cycle gets shorter every year. That is where the limitation of

the conventional TSS lies.

In TSS, derivative design portions decreased and new design portions increased

whenever the lineup was renewed. A large number of prototypes then had to be

made, resulting in an increase in technology elements that had not been

sufficiently verified. Our development process innovation is designed to extend the

intervals of these new designs. That is the concept we call platform and module

(P&M) development.

Figure 2 Platform and module (P&M) development


Our P&M development has a long derivative design cycle. Before P&M,

commonality was limited within a lineup (lineup commonality) and the derivative

design cycle was short. With P&M, there is commonality even between multiple

lineups within a series (series commonality). The series cycle of MFP products is

30 months on average, so the platform and modules need to be robust enough to

survive over the long term. Platform here means the technological foundation for

the series commonality, and it determines the concept, quality, performance, and

cost of the entire series.

The concept of series commonality totally changed the way things are made. We

now promote building new platforms looking forward approximately five years into

the future, the lapse of time between the conceptualization of a product and the

completion of a series cycle.

(2) Nurturing DNA of good products

Concurrently, we applied a strategic approach to module development, looking into

the future. The fundamental rule was to reuse proven modules – good items that

had been installed in a product – as much as possible. We eliminated redundant

portions of design to reduce the manufacturing workload, thus shortening the

development period. Reuse was not just recommended; all designers were obliged

to take it into account and implement it whenever possible. The paramount task

was to develop products quickly while making sure that users would not worry

about using them; this was achieved by using only modules of stable quality. "Let's

nurture the DNA of good products" – that was the motto of the design department.

Commonality was promoted in terms not only of modules but also of individual

parts. In the late 1990s, the number of new parts has been increasing by 5% to 9%

each year on average for image system products including MFPs. In 2001, the

year previous to the start of process innovation, one product had 5,000 to 9,000

parts (not including electronic components). In addition to the cost of the parts, the

cost of managing them was on the increase. So we addressed centralization of

part management, not only to reduce the number of parts but also to reduce part

management cost.


Just as with modules, the

fundamental rule was to use good

items. Further, parts that met

certain conditions – supply

stability, price, and low

environmental burden, for

instance – were selected and

registered in a part information

database. Designers were

obliged to choose parts from the

database.

Thorough implementation of centralized management purchasing enabled

designers to stably use parts of high quality at low price.

The aim was to achieve a state where designers are constantly supplied with the

best part information so they can use optimal parts that are centrally managed. For

that purpose, we started by putting together the information on the part types, and

went on to maintain freshness of the centrally managed parts and to build an

environment that allows the centrally managed parts to be used. This system for

the centralized management and use of parts is named ΣM (sigma em), and has

been functioning as a fundamental infrastructure across the design, production,

and materials departments.

4.2. Robust engineering

(1) Promoting front-loading design

When a product series is renewed, that is to say when the platform is altered, the

proportion of new designs increases significantly. In 2013, for instance, the RICOH

MP C6003 Series products were released with significant portions newly designed.

With the conventional method, a huge number of prototypes would have been

made. However, the prototypes made during development of the MP C6003 Series

products were down to approximately 20% of those during the conventional

development process. This was possible thanks to a new design scheme called

front-loading design. This scheme intensively applies workload and resources to

the initial stages (upper process) of the development and reduces the burden on

Figure 3 Optimization through centralized

management of parts


later stages (lower process). By discovering and solving issues early, this scheme

reduces the probability of redoes like design changes.

In the front-loading design scheme, prototypes are made only after functionality

has been evaluated by simulation (virtual evaluation). This step ensures the

making of highly robust items. Because design efforts can be concentrated on the

upper processes, a lot of time can be spent addressing the forecast issues and

taking measures fundamentally. Conventional methods leave lower processes to

take measures and have a lot of constraints in terms of time and cost4. Thus,

conventional methods tend to result in makeshift measures, leaving the problems

to be solved later in a time-consuming and costly manner. The front-loading design

scheme is a must for making highly robust items.

Figure 4 Introducing the front-loading design scheme

4 Manpower, material, and cost tend to increase towards the lower process of development.

Processes become complicated, and efficiency is lowered. For instance, many checks are required just to change one part.


(2) Scientific design using simulation technology

The core of the front-loading design scheme is a design using 3D simulation tools

(virtual design). Clearly, virtual design is effective in developing highly robust

products. Virtualization has immeasurable advantages, including a short time

required for complicated designs and the capability to evaluate behavior that is

difficult to produce on real machines. One example is described below – simulation

of airflow evaluation.

An MFP contains many sources of heat, including the fusing unit. Failing to take

thermal measures can result in residual heat during operation. The rising internal

temperature can cause operation failures and affect service life. Thus, ventilation is

an important part of MFP design; an air blower, for instance, is used to suppress

the rise of the internal temperature (heat dissipation) or send heat out of the

machine (heat exhaust). Such thermal measures are important to ensure high

robustness. Fans are used as thermal measures, but high-power fans are not

desirable because they are noisy. Thus, airflows need to be carefully designed to

maximize dissipation and exhaust performance while minimizing the use of fans.

This is where the heat and airflow simulation comes in.

Heat and airflow simulation is faster than the conventional evaluation methods

based on physical visualization (feeding smoke into a prototype, for instance). In a

short time, the simulation reproduces a range of conditions on a computer,

revealing behavior of the airflows and the state of heat propagation in detail.

Virtual design increases design precision

and results in high robustness as described

above and as seen with other examples

including verification of the validity of control

logic, which evaluates control of the entire

paper feeding system of an MFP unit.

Further, virtual design is being applied to

items that used to depend on tests on

prototypes: simulation for evaluating rigidity

and dropping shocks, simulation of image

formation processes, and simulation for

forecasting image quality.

Figure 5 Heat and airflow

simulation


(3) Promoting parameter design based on quality engineering

Parameter design, which suppresses variation in quality, plays a major role in

raising product robustness. This method derives the levels of design parameters

that minimize influences of the operating environment and conditions (error

factors). It is a pronoun for quality engineering5.

Product development used to repeat experiments to minimize the effects of the

error factors on the design parameters. Error factors, however, are uncontrollable

because they are numerous and rich in variety. It is almost impossible to assure

quality in the market by controlling error factors. Parameter design replaces the

conventional quality assurance concept. It focuses on functions rather than quality,

and brings the technology closer and closer to the subject so that the variation in

functions due to error factors is minimized6. This method had already been used by

some internal designers, and was employed on an organizational scale once the

Development Process Innovation Center was established. Since then, it has been

used to maximize product robustness.

(4) Implementing promotion plans and accumulating known information

Tools are meaningless unless they are used. So we strove to make sure that 3D

CAD (computer-assisted three-dimensional design) would be used for virtual

design. For instance, we designated items that should be addressed in a

simulation and linked them with a design progress management database.

Designers were obliged to check the simulation items, and they would not be able

to start the designing process until they had checked all the items (see Section

4.4.(4)).

5 It is also called the Taguchi method after the originator, the late Dr. Genichi Taguchi.

6 Influence of the operating environment and conditions (error factors) is regarded as functional

variation, which is indicated in a scale called S/N ratio (the greater the value, the less the influence of the error factors). The characteristic values of the modules and parts (control factors) are then set to maximize the S/N ratio. The greatest feature of parameter design is that the focus is on functions rather than quality. Dr. Taguchi once said "Do not measure quality if

you want to have quality."


All information needed for the simulation is viewable on the database. The system

even features an inquiry tool for asking questions. All of the information is stored in

the database as known information and is always available. The known information

in the database keeps evolving in accordance with the skills of the designers.

As another step forward, we organized our human resources to make virtual

design work the foundation of the product development processes. Staff members

of the manufacturing-related departments were encouraged to address virtual

design from the early stage of design processes. This effort is symbolized by the

Design Review (DR) Room at the Ricoh Technology Center, our design and

development foothold. Once the design plan is determined for a product to be

developed, staff members of related departments – design, production, product

planning, material purchasing, sales, service, and more – gather in the DR room

and evaluate the plan from a variety of viewpoints.

Figure 6 DR Room

The development environment thus established, including the database system

and the human relations, successfully made virtual design disseminate in the

design field. As a result, we finished converting from the old way to the new way

much earlier than our initial goal – from Whack-A-Mole type design where people

make and modify things to scientific design where people definitely solve issues

based on principles.


4.3. 3D design

(1) Virtual prototyping enabling concurrent designs in upper processes

The front-loading design scheme shortens the development period, but its

effectiveness is hindered if evaluation is done only after completion of a prototype.

To maximize effectiveness of the front-loading design scheme, verification

processes must be moved forward; the upper processes need to verify the items

that used to be verified based on prototypes, including ease of assembly,

workability, safety, ease of use, maintainability, and cost. As a pillar of development

process innovation, we promoted virtual prototyping – a prototyping process

without actual prototypes.

The objective of reducing prototypes in our development process innovation is to

eliminate prototypes that are made for verification purposes only. Although the total

number of prototypes decreases with dissemination of the virtual design scheme,

we cannot eliminate prototypes for the purpose of testing imagination and

originality or of ensuring safety. Virtual prototypes can only replace the prototypes

for verification purposes. Yet the prototypes that remain have modules and units

common within the series as long as they are developed in the P&M design

scheme. These portions continue to be used, and no prototype is totally

abandoned after the development of a single model.

Figure 7 Introducing the virtual prototyping process


Beyond designers, virtual prototyping involves other members from product

planning, production, material purchasing, part processing, production processing,

evaluation (QA), service, and more. The DR Room is connected with other sites via

teleconferencing system, and assembly prototypes are shown on a 3D CAD

screen. Members verify the virtual prototype on the spot, checking the ease of

assembly, assembly sequence, workability, die structure, safety, maintainability,

cost, and more.

If need for a change is found during the virtual prototyping process, the people

involved take quick action. While drawings have to be submitted (released) at each

stage of development as in the old way, virtual prototyping reduces the burden on

the drawers and thus drawing precision can be increased. An example of the

verification by virtual prototyping is paper feeding simulation.

(2) Simulation going beyond the limitations of prototypes

Paper feeding is an important technology on which the image quality of MFPs and

printers depends. Minor fluctuations in the feeding speed greatly affect formation of

the image. The system needs to cope with changes in the conditions: paper types

vary and the operating environment changes, particularly the temperature and

humidity. The paper feeding path extends across most of the machine interior, so

even past designers thought it would be best to verify the path in the upper

processes of development. That was not possible in the past, but paper feeding

simulation changed all that. Following is an example of the robust design using the

simulation, namely, an attempt to reduce paper jams in the paper feeding path.

Simulation of paper corner

folding around the curl removal

rollers

Figure 8 Example of paper feeding simulation


Paper jams in MFPs and printers are always among the top items on the list of

customer complaints sent to the service and support department. Preventing jams

requires tremendous effort; a huge number of combinations must be considered in

terms of paper types and temperature/humidity fluctuations alone, for instance.

Paper feeding simulation enables designers to handle data on a variety of types of

paper on the market, allowing them to quickly verify how paper feeding is affected

by different paper thickness, paper faces, paper strengths, and changes in paper

properties due to fluctuations in temperature/humidity. In the past, the verification

process required designers to be packed in the environmental evaluation room for

a long time. Simulation greatly reduced the burden and has superbly increased

evaluation precision. As a result, designers are now able to develop new transport

mechanisms capable of supporting many different paper types.

High printing speed, double-sided printing, downsizing, and more – the factors

causing jams are on the increase. Evaluation based on actual prototypes has

limitations in that all the events that can occur cannot be reproduced. With actual

prototypes, it is very difficult to cause a jam to occur in a certain state. Paper

feeding simulation, however, allows us to flexibly set jamming conditions, timing,

location, and seriousness. Further, we can reproduce them as many times as we

like.

Paper feeding simulation has enabled designers to design a transport mechanism

with excellent visibility and ease of paper removal in the event of a jam. In

combination with the human body simulation model, which simulates the

movement of human hands, paper feeding simulation is used in development of a

mechanism that allows users to remove jammed papers easily. Multiple simulation

models can be combined as necessary; this is also a unique advantage of virtual

prototyping.

The results of verification by virtual prototyping are recorded in a database and will

be available for a long time. The data can be applied to different design conditions,

and the evaluation data is accumulated as virtual prototyping is repeated. Time and

cost have been greatly reduced from the time when verification depended upon

actual prototypes.


Figure 9 Example of human body simulation

4.4. Design resource optimization

(1) Determining the true cause of frequent design changes

While adopting new methods and tools such as front-loading design and virtual

prototyping, we surveyed what caused frequent design changes. We collected and

analyzed samples under an actual design theme.

The survey revealed that staff members

were busy dealing with the recurrence of

known issues. They did not share

information on the technical issues that

had been solved, and designers had to

face the same issues and spend time on

them every time a new model was

developed.

The recurrence of known issues

occupied nearly 50% of the causes, far

more than approximately 30% of the

issues that can be solved by enhancing

the simulation. It was not possible to

reduce design changes without finding a

solution to the recurrence issue. So we

Figure 10 Results of survey on

design change causes


set three goals:

i. To make sure that designers know the known issues that have been

documented,

ii. To implement automatic checking of known issues that can be checked by

tools, and

iii. To allow staff members other than the designers to point out known issues

before a drawing is released.

Thus, we started working on preventing the recurrence of known issues.

(2) Design assisting system that prevents known issues from recurring

Reducing design changes requires the design procedure to be organized as rules.

So we established a navigation system that allows users to design without going

back as long as they follow the rules and proceed. The system, called Engineering

Assisting System (EAST), shows the necessary steps and information on a PC

screen according to the design procedure. Items to examine, simulation tools to

use, and links to reference information, for instance, are presented according to

respective users. EAST helps designers proceed with their tasks smoothly, and

prevents the results from varying.

Figure 11 Example of EAST screen


EAST contains known information of experienced designers in a systematic way,

and the user can refer to the information as design progresses. What are designed

with EAST (design results) are accumulated in a database, and other designers

refer to the information when they design similar parts or modules. The more EAST

is used, the more it will store known information that can be referred to by anybody.

EAST has greatly reduced the design changes caused by users not sharing helpful

known information.

(3) 3D viewer for increasing DR efficiency

To reduce design changes, design information must be shared with other

departments. Design Review (DR) is for that purpose, but the evaluation at the DR

does not require a full-spec 3D CAD system. Members other than the designers

need only check the necessary evaluation items quickly.

Thus, we decided to provide members of non-design departments with a 3D viewer

called Twister. Since the 3D viewer is equipped only with the functions needed for

the DR, workload on a computer is light. The 3D viewer allows efficient DR as it

provides the user with the capability to change the viewpoint flexibly, which is the

essential convenience of a 3D system. Precision of the released drawings can thus

be improved.

4.5. Cultivating innovators

(1) Training for mid-level engineers

Efforts to cultivate innovators started almost simultaneously with establishment of

the Development Process Innovation Center. The aim was to nurture the human

resources needed for development process innovation. The efforts are

characterized most by the introduction of the systematic human resource

development concept. Primarily for mid-level engineers, we defined a goal

management system and training courses for individual technological fields in an

effort to nurture engineers who will be the backbone of our growth strategy. Under

the training system, courses are held for quality engineering and simulation-related

tasks. We are committed to training core human resources who will promote our


development process innovation.

(2) Training for newcomers

The efforts of cultivating innovators cover newcomers, too. The goals are to gain

fundamental knowledge as an engineer and to learn the knowledge and skills

based on development process innovation. For newcomers in the mechanical and

process departments, for instance, we have established a training infrastructure

where they can systematically learn the skills of designing based on functions and

acquire an attitude of pursuing robustness. In light of the present situation where

software development greatly affects the quality and delivery time of manufacturing,

we put great effort into training information-related human resources.

5. Increased customer values – what development

process innovation has yielded

5.1. Development process innovation is now commonplace

(1) For customers to use our products over time without worry

It has been more than a decade since we started addressing development process

innovation. The five-pillar innovation has begun to produce tangible results.

Although many issues remain to be dealt with and some efforts are slow, things

have changed entirely from what they were in the era of “making and correcting

prototypes.” In the beginning, some were anxious, saying "Is it possible at all to

reduce the number of prototypes?" or "Is it possible to maintain quality based on

virtual design?" Today everybody explores virtual implementation before deciding

to make a prototype. Designer's awareness has changed greatly.

The dissemination of virtual design and virtual prototyping has made designs

scientific. The designers now examine every design task based on data. Past

schemes based on intuition and experience are mostly gone. Scientific design has

become the norm, further promoting virtual design and prototyping and steadily

improving design quality. The change has enabled us to develop products that our

customers can use over time without worry.


Our quality engineering approach – nurturing good DNA and promoting highly

robust products – has resulted in a low initial failure rate. We will maintain our

commitment to quality in the design processes, bringing the failure rate as close to

zero as possible.

(2) Providing timely functions quickly at low cost

A primary element of our concept is reduction in the number of prototypes, and

what we have achieved so far is remarkable: the number of prototypes has been

reduced to 1/5 that of 2002 on average. The dissemination of series commonality

has extended the intervals of prototype making, greatly reduced the frequency of

prototyping and evaluation, and dramatically reduced the prototyping cost per

model. We are now able to quickly provide our customers with products of the

latest technologies for reasonable prices.

Figure 12 Reduction in the number of prototypes and

prototyping/evaluation frequency

Beyond the decreasing number of prototypes, the number of problems occurring in

the development phase has also been decreasing steadily year by year.

Development periods are now shorter as design redoes have become fewer, and

the cost has been reduced as fewer dies need to be modified. This achievement

has resulted from the front-loading design scheme through the promotion of P&M

development.


The number of prototypes has been decreasing steadily, but some prototypes

cannot be eliminated. Prototypes for quality assurance purposes, for instance, are

intended for collecting safety data based on actual measurement and cannot be

replaced by virtual alternatives. When the mechanism of a phenomenon is unclear,

actual prototypes need to be used even for verification purposes. While being

aware of such limitations, we will continue to further expand the possibilities of

virtual prototyping, clarifying mechanisms and promoting the development of new

simulation technologies.

What we have achieved through the development process innovation described

above are being delivered to our customers in the form of products. The RICOH

MP C6003 Series MFPs, released in 2013, are among them. The next section

describes the most characteristic feature of the series: robustness improvement for

space-saving.

5.2. Delivering the achievements of development process

innovation to our customers

(1) The center machine in the office, triggering work style innovation

The RICOH MP C6003 Series was developed as the center machine in the office,

assisting users with innovating their work styles. Working with smart terminals and

cloud services and featuring an advanced user interface that allows intuitive

operation, the MP C6003 Series meets the needs of the work environment, which

is changing on a global scale. The series inherits the top-notch energy-saving

performance, one of the features of Ricoh MFPs, and furthermore, they are

compact, easy to install, and quiet.

With changes in the market environment accelerating, it is important for a

manufacturer to shorten the development period so that it can provide customers

with new value. The shorter the interval between the conceptualization and release

phases, the easier it is for the manufacturer to incorporate market trends and meet

customer needs. The MP C6003 Series was developed with the aim of minimizing

the interval between the conceptualization and release phases and providing the

customers with functions that timely meet market trends. These efforts have

crystallized as the affinity with cloud services and a user interface with the same


touch as smart terminals.

(2) Compact design for ease of installation

The RICOH MP C6003 Series is the first generation of the series to be run for

several years. This product is in the robust engineering category of the five pillars.

In developing the series, we thoroughly promoted centralized part management

and module commonality with an intensity unseen before. Concurrently, we were

careful to implement virtual design/prototyping to ensure quality in the design

process while new technologies were adopted.

The series is unique in that all models are the same size. From the 60-PPM MP

C6003 to the 20-PPM MP C2003, all seven models of different printing speed are

the same size. As a result of thoroughly implementing P&M development, the

uniform size has enabled us to reduce costs7 and shorten the development and

production periods.

Designing all models in one lineup to have the same size is not very difficult as

long as the smaller models are enlarged to the size of the largest model. The

approach was opposite with the RICOH MP C6003 Series – all models were

designed to have the same size as the smallest model, the 20-PPM MP C2003;

this approach enabled users of the medium- and high-speed models to save space.

Fitting the functions required for a 60-PPM model into the size of a 20-PPM model

could be thought absurd. High-speed models tend to have larger modules than

low-speed models, and their operation tends to produce more vibration, noise, and

heat. Our development process innovation effectively addressed this issue.

The first theme in downsizing to achieve size uniformity was how to ensure

robustness of the framework (structure). In the past, side panels were installed on

a base plate to produce sufficient torsional rigidity. With the MP C6003 Series, new

construction schemes were developed through virtual design; face plates and

corners were strengthened to increase firmness of the entire frame, for instance.

7 Size uniformity ensures commonality of materials and components, reduces purchase and

processing costs accordingly, and reduces costs through commonality of packages and improved transport efficiency.


Thus, we successfully built a lightweight8 structure of high strength and rigidity.

Moreover, impact strength simulation was used to evaluate torsional rigidity of the

structure, for instance. The know-how in the accumulated experience with the

develop process innovation was used well.

As part of the downsizing effort, we reviewed the paper reversal path inside the

double-side printing unit. We forecasted optimal layout of the transport rollers

through virtual design, and simultaneously implemented excellent paper transport

and the downsizing. Downsizing presented a challenge regarding the control of

internal heat and airflow, which was addressed in the upper design processes

using simulation. Thanks to the optimal heat dissipation design, the rise in

temperature was suppressed while the number of fans was reduced.

Development process innovation has been making what was once impossible

possible. We will continue this effort to meet the needs of customers in a timely

manner. The following final section describes prospects for the future.

6. Moving on to the next stage on two wheels:

acceleration and expansion

6.1. Launching a product successfully at one time and pursuing

new prototyping technology

Under the development process innovation concept, we will continue to promote

our five-pillar activities. We will further enhance our virtual design efforts, which are

the key factors of development process innovation, and manufacturing without

prototyping. Our final goal is to create high-quality products from the beginning

without any processes of verification using prototypes. We call it "one-time product

launch." We will thus shorten the development period greatly and release products

whose functions meet the market trends in a timely manner.

8 The mass of each model of the RICOH MP C6003 Series is up to 87kg. That is about 20%

down from the previous 50-PPM model (Aficio MP C5002) and equivalent to the previous 20-PPM model (Aficio MP C2201).


Meanwhile, some prototypes will continue to remain, particularly those for the

purpose of testing imagination and originality or of ensuring safety. For testing

imagination and originality, however, new prototyping technology such as a 3D

printer has emerged, allowing us to reduce workload and costs. Overall, the

one-time product launch is our final goal. In the areas of creating new product

values, sensory tests for instance, we will aggressively use leading-edge

prototyping technologies, regardless of virtual or real.

6.2. Application to new product categories

The development process innovation concept has been applied primarily to MFPs

and printers; it will also be applied to other categories of Ricoh products. Ricoh

group companies have been releasing products of new categories that activate

communication in an office: projectors, interactive whiteboards, and

teleconferencing/web conferencing systems. The concept is also effective, of

course, for the development of such products.

The concept has already been applied to some new categories: simulation of

radiation, heat, and airflow in the optical projection system of an ultra-short-throw

projector; and automation of operation tests in the development of software for

teleconferencing/web conferencing systems (Ricoh Unified Communication

System). We will use our ample experience and know-how nurtured through the

development of MFPs and printers, and will develop new virtual design

technologies to further expand the applications.

6.3. Aiming at collaboration based on development process

innovation

The findings and know-how of our development process innovation are applicable

to other manufacturers. Virtual design and quality engineering are mainstream in

the manufacturing industry, but are yet to be expanded to small- and medium-scale

companies. To further increase the value of production without prototyping and of

the front-loading design, the efforts of these small- and medium-scale companies

are important as they support the manufacturing of goods in Japan.


Ricoh group companies share a variety of design information, including CAD data,

with their major suppliers over an electronic data interchange (EDI) network. The IT

infrastructure, when used effectively, will enable Ricoh to establish win-win

relationships in collaboration with small- and medium-sized companies; when it is

difficult for them to introduce the development processes without prototyping on

their own, Ricoh will give assistance. To maximize effectiveness of the

development without prototyping and to further enhance customer values, we will

continue to accelerate our development process innovation and strive to expand its

range of applications.

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Development Process Innovation - ricoh. · PDF fileDevelopment Process Innovation ... Technological innovation is ubiquitous today. Product life cycles are getting shorter and shorter;