Packaging Design and Testing
DEFINITION
The process of designing and testing product packaging to reduce opportunity for product failure.
SITUATION
Product packaging is sometimes not considered in the product design phase. All products need to be shipped to customers without increasing product failure rates during transportation. Packaging design is a specialized field that requires specific design and material selections skills. Design teams usually do not have the needed packaging design skills to prevent product damage during shipping.
OBJECTIVE
To design packaging that will not reduce product reliability objectives at the lowest possible total cost.
VALUE TO YOUR ORGANIZATION
A good packaging design will reduce product damage during shipping.
RELIABILITY INTEGRATION
An example of Reliability Integration during the Field Failure Tracking System Setup is as follows:
We integrate our Packaging Design and Testing with our Reliability and Testing so that we can assure that the product not only survives the initial shipment, but for a long time afterwards.
METHODOLOGY
Starting with a review of the product design, we design and test a package to deliver the product to the customer without damage at a reasonable cost. The package design is tested to make sure that there is no product damage during shipment.
CASE STUDIES/OPTIONS
The following case studies and options provide example approaches. We shall tailor our approach to meet your specific situation.
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Designing a Package at the same time as the Product
For a medium size medical company, a package was designed at the same time as the product. The prototype product design was then tested in a packaging design, and we discovered a deficiency in the design of the package. The package design was then immediately modified to eliminate damage during shipment. This approach reduced packaging costs significantly because we caught it early in the design process.
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Proposing Alternative Package
For a telecom company, we started with a product that already had a package design. For them, we proposed alternative packaging concepts so that the customer could select the best packaging design.
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Making an Existing Package Better
On an existing product where shipping damage became a problem, our customer hired us to evaluate and improve the current packaging method. The improved design was then tested to make sure that packaging damage has been eliminated.
