Accendo Reliability

Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site

  • Home
  • About
    • Contributors
  • Reliability.fm
    • Speaking Of Reliability
    • Rooted in Reliability: The Plant Performance Podcast
    • Quality during Design
    • Way of the Quality Warrior
    • Critical Talks
    • Dare to Know
    • Maintenance Disrupted
    • Metal Conversations
    • The Leadership Connection
    • Practical Reliability Podcast
    • Reliability Matters
    • Reliability it Matters
    • Maintenance Mavericks Podcast
    • Women in Maintenance
    • Accendo Reliability Webinar Series
  • Articles
    • CRE Preparation Notes
    • on Leadership & Career
      • Advanced Engineering Culture
      • Engineering Leadership
      • Managing in the 2000s
      • Product Development and Process Improvement
    • on Maintenance Reliability
      • Aasan Asset Management
      • AI & Predictive Maintenance
      • Asset Management in the Mining Industry
      • CMMS and Reliability
      • Conscious Asset
      • EAM & CMMS
      • Everyday RCM
      • History of Maintenance Management
      • Life Cycle Asset Management
      • Maintenance and Reliability
      • Maintenance Management
      • Plant Maintenance
      • Process Plant Reliability Engineering
      • ReliabilityXperience
      • RCM Blitz®
      • Rob’s Reliability Project
      • The Intelligent Transformer Blog
      • The People Side of Maintenance
      • The Reliability Mindset
    • on Product Reliability
      • Accelerated Reliability
      • Achieving the Benefits of Reliability
      • Apex Ridge
      • Metals Engineering and Product Reliability
      • Musings on Reliability and Maintenance Topics
      • Product Validation
      • Reliability Engineering Insights
      • Reliability in Emerging Technology
    • on Risk & Safety
      • CERM® Risk Insights
      • Equipment Risk and Reliability in Downhole Applications
      • Operational Risk Process Safety
    • on Systems Thinking
      • Communicating with FINESSE
      • The RCA
    • on Tools & Techniques
      • Big Data & Analytics
      • Experimental Design for NPD
      • Innovative Thinking in Reliability and Durability
      • Inside and Beyond HALT
      • Inside FMEA
      • Integral Concepts
      • Learning from Failures
      • Progress in Field Reliability?
      • R for Engineering
      • Reliability Engineering Using Python
      • Reliability Reflections
      • Testing 1 2 3
      • The Manufacturing Academy
  • eBooks
  • Resources
    • Accendo Authors
    • FMEA Resources
    • Feed Forward Publications
    • Openings
    • Books
    • Webinars
    • Journals
    • Higher Education
    • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • 14 Ways to Acquire Reliability Engineering Knowledge
    • Reliability Analysis Methods online course
    • Measurement System Assessment
    • SPC-Process Capability Course
    • Design of Experiments
    • Foundations of RCM online course
    • Quality during Design Journey
    • Reliability Engineering Statistics
    • Quality Engineering Statistics
    • An Introduction to Reliability Engineering
    • Reliability Engineering for Heavy Industry
    • An Introduction to Quality Engineering
    • Process Capability Analysis course
    • Root Cause Analysis and the 8D Corrective Action Process course
    • Return on Investment online course
    • CRE Preparation Online Course
    • Quondam Courses
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Live Events
  • Calendar
    • Call for Papers Listing
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Calendar
  • Login
    • Member Home

by Dianna Deeney Leave a Comment

QDD 053 Internal Customers vs. External Customers

Internal Customers vs. External Customers

We talk about customers of design information. It takes many people to realize a product design into something that can be sold and used. Those people need design information to ensure that they’re performing their tasks to produce a high-quality product, and to be able to use our product appropriately. We review who our customers are and what type of information they need from design engineers.

 

 

View the Episode Transcript

Product designers have many customers, both internal and external.

When determining design controls, requirements, specifications, and limits, think of all the customers of that information.

Take a different viewpoint of the design process. Instead of focusing on what’s happening and when, focus on who is doing what with the design information. That will help you think of the customers of your design, as you’re developing the requirements and specs.

 

 

Citations

Attributions for graphics used in the video:

Background vs. vector created by macrovector – www.freepik.com
Plastic recycling photo created by teksomolika – www.freepik.com

 

 

Episode Transcript

You’re listening to an installment of the Quality during Design “Versus Series”. In this series, we’re comparing concepts within quality and reliability to better understand them and how they can affect product design engineering. We have eight episodes in this series, which means we’ll be reviewing at least 16 topics. Let’s get started. Hello and welcome to Quality during Design, the place to use quality thinking to create products others love for less. My name is Diana Deeney. I’m a senior level quality professional and engineer with over 20 years of experience in manufacturing and design. Listen in, in, and then join the conversation. Visit qualityduringdesign.com and subscribe.

Hi, welcome to Quality during Design, for products, others love for less. I’m your host, Diana Deeney. We’re within a “Versus Series” where we’re comparing different quality and reliability ideas and topics, and seeing how they fit into new product development and design engineering. We started talking about controls, design engineers using controls to reduce or eliminate the risk failure or of a safety mechanism. Controls like design requirements, specs and tolerances. We also talked about how the controls and design decisions made by the design engineers early on in the project, have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the organization, including costs like material, labor, and overhead costs. Then we talked about measures of those controls and how they would be implemented. And considering the different data types and the precision that we’d need in the results of our data.

Today, we’re going to review who our customers are and what type of information they need from design engineers to ensure that they’re performing their tasks to produce a high quality product, and to be able to use our product appropriately. Really we’re talking about design for excellence or design for X. This is really all encompassing of all the DF “fill in the blank”s: design for manufacturing, design for assembly or disassembly, design for the environment…These are all initiatives that can be considered under the umbrella of design for excellence, and they have our internal and external customers in mind.

Let’s consider a very simplistic design process where we design something, then we make it, we sell it, then we use it. And then at the end of the product’s life cycle, it gets disposed or repurposed to make something else or recycled. We also have a feedback loop from the field operations and use of our device back into design. So we can iterate on our designs and make them better or develop new ones to fit a different need. Now, instead of thinking of this process as “these are the kinds of steps and information we generate for our design during its development”, we can reframe the process to think about “who is involved at each step of this process and what are the activities they’re doing to be able to ensure the quality of our product?” Let’s talk about who these people could be.

First, our internal customers are the people that we’re probably most likely to work with within our company. They are the quality control and quality assurance people or the test lab, people who are testing our products against requirements. They’re ensuring and monitoring the quality of product against the design specs and information that we set about the design. Other internal customers are the people actually making the product, the manufacturing floor people. They need to know what specifications they need to manufacture this design within. And it’s based off of the design spec. I also consider component suppliers as internal customers because they’re receiving the design information and specifications and making product per those specs. Other internal customers are later in the design life of our product.

Think of the complaints people: the people that are receiving the complaints and then determining root cause for those complaints. Those are also recipients and internal customers of design information.
External customers…well, we first and foremost think of the end user, because that’s who we’re ultimately designing for. But there are other external customers for our design information. There are shipping and handling people involved in making sure that our product gets from point A to B and that when it is received by our end user, it’s still functional and safe and usable. Within the shipping and handling think of the distributors and the stockroom people. And, also, the storefront people that are displaying the product for sale. Other external customers include people that repair or install our products. And also at the end of life of our product, again, we have external customers who are trying to dispose of our product in the correct waste stream or recycle it or repurpose the components of it.

All of these internal and external customers are customers of design information being created at the onset of design. Now, what kind of information do each of these groups use? Our internal customers use the most design information, to be able to produce and distribute the product to the field. Internal customers need to know the design features to monitor and how to measure them. This could include people that are testing the product, the manufacturing production people, and also people in the field. Do they need to be monitoring any special design features or characteristics to make sure that the quality product is being produced over time. Internal customers also need to know the definition of a failure for the design and its associated risk. For quality control, they might use this information to determine if something they’re inspecting is a minor, major or critical defect, and this would affect how many samples they look at and inspect, or how often they inspect it. This can also be used to determine confidence levels for tests. Internal customers also need to know the potential causes associated with failures. And this is really to identify root causes. If there’s a failure during test, what is the root cause of the failure? During quality control, they’re seeing something that is unusual; what could be causing that and how do they fix it? And also with field failures: this is happening in the field, and what is the potential of that happening? Knowing the potential causes associated with those failures would help them identify the root causes.

Internal customers also need to know how the product’s supposed to be built and if there’s any controls around the assembly process. They need to know the reliability expectations: how well and how long is this product going to be performing? And they need to know the controls to maintain for quality. Like, if there are any supplier management controls or any special process controls of either the supplier or of the in-house manufacturer.

Internal and external customers share some in information about the design, they both need to know the potential failures and or hazardous situations of the product or the procedure. They also need to know the operational and environmental conditions or limitations. Think of storage and shipping and handling, and maybe our product can’t be used in a certain environment. Internal and external customers also need to know how to repair a product – external customers, because they may repair it on their own if it is repairable, internal customers because the product might get sent back for repair. Both customers also need to know how to dispose, recycle, or reuse components and the design itself. Maybe they go into different waste streams, maybe things get recycled…both internal and external customers could benefit from this information.
External customers need to know the instructions and the training requirements for use of the product. They need to be able to install product. They need to be able to use it safely and they need to perform maintenance on it. All of this is information that needs to be communicated to external customers so they can use the product.
As you can see, there is a lot of design information from design engineers about the product that gets used all along the design process and the design development process. When not just for development, but also for the recurring manufacturing, maintenance and use of the product.

So what’s, today’s insight to action. Well, when determining design controls, requirements, specifications, and limits, think of all the customers of that information. Take a different viewpoint of the design process. And instead of focusing on what’s happening/when, focus on who is doing what with the design information. That will help you think of the customers of your design, as you’re developing the requirements and specs. Product designers have many customers, both internal and external.

If you like the content in this episode, visit qualityduringdesign.com, where you can subscribe to the weekly newsletter to keep in touch. This has been a production of Dean enterprises. Thanks for listening.

 

Filed Under: Quality during Design

About Dianna Deeney

Dianna is a senior-level Quality Professional and an experienced engineer. She has worked over 20 years in product manufacturing and design and is active in learning about the latest techniques in business.

Dianna promotes strategic use of quality tools and techniques throughout the design process.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Quality during Design podcast logo

Tips for using quality tools and methods to help you design products others love, for less.


by Dianna Deeney
Quality during Design,
Hosted on Buzzsprout.com
Subscribe and enjoy every episode
Google
Apple
Spotify

Recent Episodes

QDD 128 Leveraging Proven Frameworks or Concept Development

QDD 127 Understanding Cross-Functional Collaboration

QDD 126 Exploring the Problem Space: A Key Principle for Robust Product Design and Project Success

QDD 125 Exploring Product Development and AI Through Literature

QDD 124 Design for User Tasks using an Urgent/Important Matrix

QDD 123 Information Development in Design, with Scott Abel – Part 2 (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

QDD 122 Information Development in Design, with Scott Abel – Part 1 (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

QDD 121 Crafting Effective Technical Documents for the Engineering Field

QDD 120 How to use FMEA for Complaint Investigation

QDD 119 Results-Driven Decisions, Faster: Accelerated Stress Testing as a Reliability Life Test

QDD 118 Journey from Production to Consumption: Enhancing Product Reliability

QDD 117 QDD Redux: Choose Reliability Goals for Modules

QDD 116 Reliability Engineering during Design, with Adam Bahret (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

QDD 115 QDD Redux: 5 Options to Manage Risks during Product Engineering

QDD 114 The Instant Glory of Projects

QDD 113 What to do about Virtual Meetings

QDD 112 QDD Redux: How to self-advocate for more customer face time (and why it’s important)

QDD 111 Engineering with Receptivity, with Sol Rosenbaum (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

QDD 110 Don’t Wish for Cross-Functional Buy-in on Product Designs – Plan to Get It!

QDD 109 Before You Start Engineering Solutions, Do This

QDD 108 QDD Redux Ep. 4: Statistical vs. Practical Significance

QDD 107 QDD Redux Ep. 3: When it’s Not Normal: How to Choose from a Library of Distributions

QDD 106 QDD Redux Ep. 2: How to Handle Competing Failure Modes

QDD 105 QDD Redux Ep. 1: How Many Do We Need to Test?

QDD 104 The Fundamental Thing to Know from Statistics for Design Engineering

QDD 103 What to do for Effective and Efficient Working Meetings

QDD 102 Get Design Inputs with Flowcharts

QDD 101 Quality Tools are Legos of Development (and Their 7 Uses)

QDD 100 Lessons Learned from Coffee Pod Stories

QDD 099 Crucial Conversations in Engineering, with Shere Tuckey (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

QDD 098 Challenges Getting Team Input in Concept Development

QDD 097 Brainstorming within Design Sprints

QDD 096 After the ‘Storm: Compare and Prioritize Ideas

QDD 095 After the ‘Storm: Pareto Voting and Screening Methods

QDD 094 After the ‘Storm: Group and Explore Ideas

QDD 093 Product Design with Brainstorming, with Emily Haidemenos (A Chat with Cross Functional Experts)

QDD 092 Ways to Gather Ideas with a Team

QDD 091 The Spirits of Technical Writing Past, Present, and Future

QDD 090 The Gifts Others Bring

QDD 089 Next Steps after Surprising Test Results

QDD 088 Choose Reliability Goals for Modules

QDD 087 Start a System Architecture Diagram Early

QDD 086 Why Yield Quality in the Front-End of Product Development

QDD 085 Book Cast

QDD 084 Engineering in the Color Economy

QDD 083 Getting to Great Designs

QDD 082 Get Clarity on Goals with a Continuum

QDD 081 Variable Relationships: Correlation and Causation

QDD 080 Use Meetings to Add Productivity

QDD 079 Ways to Partner with Test Engineers

QDD 078 What do We do with FMEA Early in Design Concept?

QDD 077 A Severity Scale based on Quality Dimensions

QDD 076 Use Force Field Analysis to Understand Nuances

QDD 075 Getting Use Information without a Prototype

QDD 074 Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Supplements Test

QDD 073 2 Lessons about Remote Work for Design Engineers

QDD 072 Always Plot the Data

QDD 071 Supplier Control Plans and Design Specs

QDD 070 Use FMEA to Design for In-Process Testing

QDD 069 Use FMEA to Choose Critical Design Features

QDD 068 Get Unstuck: Expand and Contract Our Problem

QDD 067 Get Unstuck: Reframe our Problem

QDD 066 5 Options to Manage Risks during Product Engineering

QDD 065 Prioritizing Technical Requirements with a House of Quality

QDD 064 Gemba for Product Design Engineering

QDD 063 Product Design from a Data Professional Viewpoint, with Gabor Szabo (A Chat with Cross Functional Experts)

QDD 062 How Does Reliability Engineering Affect (Not Just Assess) Design?

QDD 061 How to use FMEA for Complaint Investigation

QDD 060 3 Tips for Planning Design Reviews

QDD 059 Product Design from a Marketing Viewpoint, with Laura Krick (A Chat with Cross Functional Experts)

QDD 058 UFMEA vs. DFMEA

QDD 057 Design Input & Specs vs. Test & Measure Capability

QDD 056 ALT vs. HALT

QDD 055 Quality as a Strategic Asset vs. Quality as a Control

QDD 054 Design Specs vs. Process Control, Capability, and SPC

QDD 053 Internal Customers vs. External Customers

QDD 052 Discrete Data vs. Continuous Data

QDD 051 Prevention Controls vs. Detection Controls

QDD 050 Try this Method to Help with Complex Decisions (DMRCS)

QDD 049 Overlapping Ideas: Quality, Reliability, and Safety

QDD 048 Using SIPOC to Get Started

QDD 047 Risk Barriers as Swiss Cheese?

QDD 046 Environmental Stress Testing for Robust Designs

QDD 045 Choosing a Confidence Level for Test using FMEA

QDD 044 Getting Started with FMEA – It All Begins with a Plan

QDD 043 How can 8D help Solve my Recurring Problem?

QDD 042 Mistake-Proofing – The Poka-Yoke of Usability

QDD 041 Getting Comfortable with using Reliability Results

QDD 040 How to Self-Advocate for More Customer Face Time (and why it’s important)

QDD 039 Choosing Quality Tools (Mind Map vs. Flowchart vs. Spaghetti Diagram)

QDD 038 The DFE Part of DFX (Design For Environment and eXcellence)

QDD 037 Results-Driven Decisions, Faster: Accelerated Stress Testing as a Reliability Life Test

QDD 036 When to use DOE (Design of Experiments)?

QDD 035 Design for User Tasks using an Urgent/Important Matrix

QDD 034 Statistical vs. Practical Significance

QDD 033 How Many Do We Need To Test?

QDD 032 Life Cycle Costing for Product Design Choices

QDD 031 5 Aspects of Good Reliability Goals and Requirements

QDD 030 Using Failure Rate Functions to Drive Early Design Decisions

QDD 029 Types of Design Analyses possible with User Process Flowcharts

QDD 028 Design Tolerances Based on Economics (Using the Taguchi Loss Function)

QDD 027 How Many Controls do we Need to Reduce Risk?

QDD 026 Solving Symptoms Instead of Causes?

QDD 025 Do you have SMART ACORN objectives?

QDD 024 Why Look to Standards

QDD 023 Getting the Voice of the Customer

QDD 022 The Way We Test Matters

QDD 021 Designing Specs for QA

QDD 020 Every Failure is a Gift

QDD 019 Understanding the Purposes behind Kaizen

QDD 018 Fishbone Diagram: A Supertool to Understand Problems, Potential Solutions, and Goals

QDD 017 What is ‘Production Equivalent’ and Why Does it Matter?

QDD 016 About Visual Quality Standards

QDD 015 Using the Pareto Principle and Avoiding Common Pitfalls

QDD 014 The Who’s Who of your Quality Team

QDD 013 When it’s Not Normal: How to Choose from a Library of Distributions

QDD 012 What are TQM, QFD, Six Sigma, and Lean?

QDD 011 The Designer’s Important Influence on Monitoring After Launch

QDD 010 How to Handle Competing Failure Modes

QDD 009 About Using Slide Decks for Technical Design Reviews

QDD 008 Remaking Risk-Based Decisions: Allowing Ourselves to Change our Minds.

QDD 007 Need to innovate? Stop brainstorming and try a systematic approach.

QDD 006 HALT! Watch out for that weakest link

QDD 005 The Designer’s Risk Analysis affects Business, Projects, and Suppliers

QDD 004 A big failure and too many causes? Try this analysis.

QDD 003 Why Your Design Inputs Need to Include Quality & Reliability

QDD 002 My product works. Why don’t they want it?

QDD 001 How to Choose the Right Improvement Model

Join Accendo

Receive information and updates about articles and many other resources offered by Accendo Reliability by becoming a member.

It’s free and only takes a minute.

Join Today

© 2025 FMS Reliability · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Cookies Policy