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Hello John Few points to check 1. Have all process steps including material movement being covered in the chart? 2. Does this chart represent the actual mean time? (Any possibility of process changes where the mean time has increased and hence this chart is no longer valid)

The fourth industrial revolution concept emerged from a highly sophasticated computerized manufacturing project of German government and is accounted due to digital and technological advancements, that are pathbreaking innovations. The four main components that are hallmark of fourth industrial revolution are: Internet of things(IOT) Cloud Computing Cognitive computing Artificial intelligence. The smart factory has : Smart manufacturing system, smart factory and fully equipped to take decisions based on visual sensing. The business models are completely digital, catering to the high and changing demands of customers. The machines can sense the stock, start and cease the production automatically. Machines can also sense the breakdown and repair themselves automatically. Truly industry 4.0 has been a big revolution and many industries are turning more productive and finding more applications.

MEANING AND APPLICATIONS OF DFA INDEX FOR COMPONENT. Design for assembly is process by which products are designed with ease of assembly in mind. If a product contains fewer parts it will take less time to assemble, there by reducing assembly costs. In addition if parts are provided with feature it makes it easier to grasp, move and assemble. Design for assembly index indicates how easy it to assemble component. DFA can be expressed as DFA=100Nm* (Tm/Ta) DFA ----> Design for assembly index Nm ----> Theoretical minimum number of parts Tm -----> Minimum assembly time per part Ta -----> Estimated total assembly time Example : A component requires 400 seconds in total to assemble. There are 12 parts and minimum assembly time per part is 6 sec. DFA=100Nm*(Tm/Ta) DFA=100*12*（6/400） DFA= 18 In general DFA is a tool to assist design teams in design of products that will transition to production at minimum cost focusing on number of parts. APPLICATION OF DFA * Minimizes part count * Design parts with self fastening features * Minimize re-orientation of parts * Allows standardization of parts * Follows Top down count * Minimize the cost

Would like to give an overview of DFX and DFMA before we get into DFA-index. DFX is Design for Excellence; DFMA is Design for Assembly and Manufacturing. DFMA is predominantly used in Manufacturing industry to keep the product cost minimal through various improvement through design changes and process optimization. While Developing Product: We could use dFMEA, DFR (Reliability) While High level design: We could use DFT (Testability) During Physical design: DFA (Assembly), DFF (Fabrication) During Prototype: DFM (Manufacturing) With this high level overview, we shall narrow down to DFA versus DFM, which are commonly compared in Manufacturing terms DFA Index: This indicates level of easiness to assemble a component. It is used to Measure Assembly Efficiency DFA Index is an Integral metric in DFA Method. Formula: Where, Nm = Minimum number of slides (Theoretical) tm = Minimum Assembly time (per part) ts = Total Assembly time (Estimated) For Example: If Total time to assemble is 500s, with 9 parts and if Minimum assembly time is 50s. Then DFA Index = 90 Larger the Value of DFA Index, more efficient is the Process This is mainly used to Analyze the data, which could give clarity to take further actions, "Part Elimination", "Redesign of Specific Parts"... There are various software tools and applications available for performing DFA Analysis. DFMA, DFA10 are few software's. Applications of DFA Index: DFA indicator is a good indicator of Assembly efficiency and this index could be used to analyze the data. Decision based on data analysis could lead to Fewer Parts or Simplified Assembly which could have the following benefits. Explaining DFA from DMAIC methodology preceptive: Define: Collecting product information and identifying opportunities for improvement Measure: Measuring current Assembly time and cost. Calculating DFA Index (Assembly efficiency) Analyze: Analyzing results to determine various complexities of product assembly Improve: Improve efficiency of assembly by reducing number of parts or by reducing/changing part types Control: Continue with best practices and follow DFA process improvement Cycle