Implementing product design development methodology for assessing and improving the performance of products

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to assess and improve the performance of products. The main objectives are to assess the products flaws and their causes, analysis the most critical problems, suggest and choose the best solution. The main contribution of this paper is introducing a verified procedure that combines a variety of tools and methods from different disciplines used in a new context. The applicability of this procedure was tested in a real world case study. The study is conducted at a private company operating in UAE that produces diesel generators. By implementing the suggested product design and improvement methodology it was possible to identify the most critical problem areas, analyze their impact and root causes, suggest solutions and test the suggested solutions effect on the product performance. The main results of the study can be summarized as: decrease in the average noise level from 74 to 69 dBA; reduction in the average vibration level from 464 to 150 \(\upmu \)m; drop of average engine temperature from 96 to 87 \(^\circ \)C. Using product design and development methodology helps finding efficient and effective solutions that can improve the products performance, thus increasing the firm competitiveness. The novelty of this paper is its ability to suggest and validate multiple methods and tools that are synthesized into procedural steps for product design improvement that if followed can result in measurable improvement of product performance.