Is It Time to Go Beyond Lean Manufacturing?

Design for Manufacture and Assembly Is More than Just a Trending Topic

By Sean Shields

FOR MANY COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS (CMs), Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) may sound like just a buzzword coming out of the broader construction and industrialized housing industry. But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that CMs have been practicing many of its principles for decades. In fact, DfMA closely mirrors the same continuous improvement mindset behind Lean Manufacturing, which helps identify inefficiencies, eliminate waste, simplify processes, and improve project flow.

Going Beyond Lean

“The difference is that DfMA encourages manufacturers to expand that thinking beyond the plant walls and look at the entire construction process, from the initial building design all the way through final installation on the jobsite,” says Chris Rausch, PhD, Director of the Enabling Technologies for Housing Innovation Center (ETHIC) at the University of Texas-Austin. Chis argues that DfMA is a shift that potentially creates tremendous opportunities for CMs willing to think strategically about how initial building designs impact the industry’s products, and how those products then integrate into the broader building system.

At its core, DfMA is about designing products around how they will be manufactured, transported, handled, and finally assembled. Instead of designing first and figuring out constructability later, DfMA encourages manufacturers, designers, and builders to address all these separate challenges collectively during the initial design process. The concept combines two ideas that date back to the 1970s and 80s: “Design for Manufacture” (DfM), which focuses on simplifying fabrication, and “Design for Assembly” (DfA), which focuses on simplifying installation and reducing unnecessary complexity.

If it sounds familiar, it should. Lean Manufacturing focuses on taking a critical look at every touchpoint in production: unnecessary movement, wasted material, redundant processes, rework, bottlenecks, and avoidable variability. DfMA applies that same philosophy to the entire construction process where components play a part. It asks CMs to not only evaluate how to efficiently manufacture a truss or wall panel, but also consider how efficiently that product integrates into the project. It asks manufacturers to evaluate whether it truly improves the process for the jobsite trades that touch the product from installation to project completion.

Going Upstream & Downstream

In many ways, CMs are already among the most advanced DfMA practitioners in construction today, in that they operate controlled manufacturing environments. Today’s manufacturer relies on automated saws, jigging systems, design software, production sequencing, and standardized connector systems, and already understands the value of moving labor from unpredictable jobsites to repeatable factory processes.

“DfMA becomes especially valuable when a CM begins looking upstream and downstream for additional efficiencies,” says Chris. Upstream, DfMA concepts encourage earlier collaboration with builders, developers, architects, and engineers during plan design. The earlier CMs are involved, the greater opportunity to influence spans, layouts, bearing conditions, connection details, panel dimensions, transportation logistics, and installation sequencing before inefficiencies become baked into the project.

Downstream, DfMA encourages CMs to think about what happens after a product leaves the plant. Are field crews forced to make unnecessary modifications? Are connection details either vague or overly complicated? Are tolerances coordinated properly among systems? Could standardization reduce installation errors or shorten framing cycle times further? These are the same types of waste-elimination questions Lean Manufacturing encourages manufacturers to ask on the production floor, but under DfMA they apply to the entire construction process.

Going Further for the Customer

The labor challenges facing construction jobsites today make this an even more valuable exercise. Skilled labor shortages continue to affect framers, installers, and other trades across the country. DfMA helps address those pressures by simplifying installation and reducing onsite labor requirements through smart prefabrication and better system coordination. Every field cut eliminated, every connection standardized, and every sequencing issue resolved in advance will create value for both the builder and the installer.

“I think this is an important long-term opportunity for component manufacturers: evolving from suppliers into system partners,” Chris continues. “Manufacturers who can provide coordinated interface details, standardized assemblies, documented tolerances, and integrated structural platforms will be able to position themselves differently in the marketplace.” This takes CMs in a positive direction, away from being put in a position to compete solely on price, towards becoming strategic contributors to project efficiency, schedule reduction, and construction reliability.

Most importantly, DfMA is not about sacrificing quality or creativity. Just like Lean Manufacturing, it’s about removing unnecessary complexity that adds cost, waste, confusion, or delays without adding value. It’s about designing more intelligently so projects move more predictably from design, through manufacturing, to installation.

As more builders and developers pursue offsite construction strategies, DfMA will only become more important. The good news for CMs is that the industry already has many of the tools, technologies, and operational mindsets necessary to lead this evolution. The opportunity now is to engage earlier in the design process, and apply the same Lean thinking that improved manufacturing plants to the entire building lifecycle. Future articles on this topic will explore ways in which CMs are implementing these concepts and identify potential best practices to explore and incorporate into operations.