Category Archives: PCR

Project Continuation Review

TAD Section 5.1 — Design Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

1     Organization and Formatting

1.1    General (same as for other B-sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2    Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

This one should be straightforward.  Hopefully the DFMEA table can be legible at the scaling required to make it fit.  That is generally not a problem.  You can split it vertically (an upper and lower portion, though each with headings) across two pages if needed.

2     Content Presentation

Follow the same “Content Presentation” guidance as for the DPFMEA, but in this case the focus is on what (product or process) you are designing (DFMEA), not the design project (DPFMEA) as it was before.  Be sure you have given this work some serious thought (if you have not done so, review the associated work-product guidance and reduce the risk of losing your butt on otherwise avoidable failures and their effects).

3     Examples of Great Work

Do a great job and be the first!

© 2017, William J. Endres Updated September 21, 2022

TAD Section 4.3 — System Overview

1     Organization and Formatting

1.1    General (same as for other B-sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2    Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

It’s a blank page; use it however you wish.  Be sure to keep images and annotations large enough that they are easily read.

2     Content Presentation

  • There is no specific Page Input or Page Output textboxes/content to be addressed for this page(s).
  • Provide views of a graphical model that are appropriate for the type of design (physical, mechanical CAD, electrical CAD, etc.).
    • Include more than one view (different viewing perspectives and/or of different subsystems) to assist the reader.
    • The graphical modeling should fully describe your final system-level concept.
    • Include descriptions of detail-level conceptual features and their functionality and manufacturability.
  • Graphics should be annotated labeling key components, subsystems, features.
  • Explicitly note system-level concept design decisions related to safety and manufacturability, pointing them out where possible on the graphics by way of annotations.
  • Brief, bullet-point text should be provided to explain the function of each part, its material composition, and the way it will be made (and who will make it) or where it will be purchased.

3     Examples of Great Work

Do a great job and be the first!

© 2017, William J. Endres Updated September 09, 2022

TAD Section 4.2 — Supporting Engineering Summary

1     Organization and Formatting

1.1    General (same as for other B-sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2    Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

It’s a blank page; use it however you wish.  But, be sure to use it carefully to fit as much as you can while maintaining clarity and connectivity among the engineering results.  You can have a second sheet if needed.  Two pages is enough space, and one page is not significantly more space than needed (i.e., if you have a lot of excess space on a single page, you have likely fallen short, and the remedy is not just making the text and/or figures obnoxiously big to consume space).

2     Content Presentation

  • There is no specific Page Input or Page Output textboxes/content to be addressed for this page(s).
  • Summarize calculations and other technical/engineering work done to support your final system-level concept selection rationale/decisions (i.e., that the chosen final concept is indeed better than the others).
  • Put the details in Appendix C; only provide a thorough summary here (e.g., show here the methods used, the final results, and decisions made from each; all the inputs and intermediate steps and results between the inputs and final results are for Appendix C).

3     Examples of Great Work

Do a great job and be the first!

© 2017, William J. Endres Updated September 09, 2022

TAD Section 4.1 — Pugh Analysis

1     Organization and Formatting

1.1    General (same as for other B-sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2    Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

See the Page-Specific guidance for the System-Level Concept Evolution pages.

2     Content Presentation

  • Commence the page by populating the Page Input textbox.  List any information that has evolved during the earlier rounds leading to this highly narrowed field of final candidate concepts.
  • Insert graphical renderings from the DP Manager Excel Use the copy table buttons on the Excel worksheet (typically the “Copy Table with Heading” button for use in the TAD).  Include:
  • the round’s Pugh Analysis chart (below the Page Input textbox); and
  • the data table for the round’s best system-level concept.
  • In the pre-titled Notes textbox, provide conclusive reasoning for your concept assessment claims, referencing the supporting engineering summarized on the next page.
  • Complete the page by populating the Page Output textbox.  In this case, the page output simply includes where this information is next used and for what and/or how it is used (“where next”).

3     Examples of Great Work

Do a great job and be the first!

Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

© 2017, William J. Endres Updated September 09, 2022

TAD Section 3 — System-Level Concept Evolution

1     Organization and Formatting

1.1    General (same as for other B-sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2    Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

How you lay out the information on the sheet is up to you.  The example provided is simply an example, but given that the Pugh Analysis chart and best system-level concept data sheet are consistently sized/shaped as shown, this layout may serve you well.  Of course, as usual, the Page Input textbox should be at the top left and the Page Output textbox should be at the bottom right if at all possible.

2     Content Presentation

  • Commence the page by populating the Page Input textbox.  In this case, the page input depends on which round you are in:
    • If this is the first round, indicate highlights from the initial datum. Highlights include both favorable and unfavorable features.
    • Otherwise, list any trends or signs that have evolved in earlier round(s) in regard to certain function-level concepts or combinations of them that tend to produce favorable results.
  • Insert graphical renderings from the DP Manager Excel workbook.  Use the copy table buttons on the Excel worksheet (typically the “Copy Table with Heading” button for use in the TAD).  Include:
    • the round’s Pugh Analysis chart (below the Page Input textbox); and
    • the data table for the round’s best system-level concept.
  • In the pre-titled Notes textbox, provide all relevant notes summarizing relative rationale with a focus on engineering requirements where the best concept fared better or worse than other concepts considered in this round.
  • Complete the page by populating the Page Output textbox.  In this case, the page output includes two elements:
    • a brief narrative of your reasons for the best-concept decision, based on the Pugh Analysis by describing the numbers (scoring based on +, =, −) and anything deeper than the numbers alone the factored into the decision (this is important to build credibility in regard to your decision abilities); and
    • what was learned from this round that serves as guidance for the next round (this is really important as this is a thoughtful learning process, not a blind random process).

3     Examples of Great Work

Do a great job and be the first!

Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

© 2017, William J. Endres Updated September 09, 2022