THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Our goal is to find the most effective solution for your application and this often starts with the outline of a great idea. From this we develop a functional design that can be economically produced to a fixed timescale and then manufactured to your specifications.

Our structured Quality Management System, which meets both ISO 9001:2015 and AS 9100D standards, means we have a reliable and repeatable process for developing your solution, following a V-model.

Our

Process

Following an initial briefing, in which we discuss your objectives and establish your commercial needs, we will prepare a full proposal, categorizing the project into stages. This will highlight all available possibilities, identifying any technical challenges and analysing potential financial or personnel-related risks.

Our experienced product design engineers will work with you to help develop your concept. Using our broad knowledge of the latest technologies, manufacturing processes and recent market trends, we will identify the most viable option to produce a cost-efficient product, taking into consideration the scale of the project and delivery schedule.

Progressively more detailed specifications documents and safety management tools, including requirement tracing, ensure that your team and our team are aligned every step of the way. Our system architects will work with you to define the product requirements, starting at the system level, down to component level specifications.

Design quality is a key element for the reliability of an operating product and our process defines the reliability requirements of your product in the context of the expected environmental conditions. All products are proactively designed for longevity, so your solution is fully supported through its life cycle.

We will create a tangible prototype which enables our team to analyze design, performance and functional specifications. Ergonomic mock-ups allow us to economically test and evaluate designs. Prototypes enable you to give feedback so our team can refine the design prior to making it ready for production.

All products are then subject to rigorous testing by our expert team of engineers before your product moves to the next phase. At this point, we ensure your product meets any final compliance and regulatory approvals tests before delivery.

Safety Critical

Projects

Depending on the requirements of your application, the design may have to conform to specific standards to support certification and authority approval. We provide a framework that includes additional design assurance methods, environmental tests and timing analysis, and functional failure path analysis that comply with international standards, to ensure safety-critical devices remain safe. More information on our quality control processes.

We work to the following standards:

  • DO-160 & MIL-STD-810
  • ED80/DO-254
  • ED12/DO-178B
  • IEC61508 (industrial and railways)
  • EN50155 (railways)
PRODUCT REFINEMENT

MANAGING OBSOLESCENCE

Some of our customers are not looking for new products, but seek to improve or replace existing ones. We use our knowledge and manufacturing experience to build modified components and develop form-fit-function replacements for discontinued or obsolete products.

Our expert team can help you continue to get the most out of your current systems by reviving old products and designs, built for longevity. We are able to create exact copies of existing solutions, or find practical ways to improve them to keep up with changing demand and environments.

More information about our custom design services.