Engineering product design and manufacturing DFMA is used in
concurrent engineering to guide simplification of product structures, reduce manufacturing and assembly costs, and quantify improvements. The practice aims to identify, measure, and eliminate waste or inefficiency in a product design. DFMA is therefore often positioned as a component of
lean manufacturing. DFMA is also used as a benchmarking approach to study competitors' products, and as a “should-cost” input to supplier negotiations. Academic reviews survey DFMA methods across mechanical and electromechanical products. They discuss measurable effects such as part-count and assembly-time changes and the timing of design decisions.
DfMA in construction While modernist architect
Le Corbusier advocated industrialisation of construction in 1923, proposing "A house is a machine to live in", DfMA as a concept in construction began to emerge in the 1990s, as construction industry critics applied cross-sectoral learning that looked at production theory, integration of design. manufacture and assembly. and lean concepts and tools. In the early 21st century, DfMA began to be advocated by government and industry organisations, and the
Infrastructure and Projects Authority (2018). In Singapore, the
Building and Construction Authority advocated DfMA. In Hong Kong, the
SAR Development Bureau provided guidance. the
Construction Playbook (2020, 2022), and the IPA's 2021
TIP Roadmap to 2030. In the 2020s, procurement of construction projects based on product platforms. sometimes called "Platform Design for Manufacture and Assembly" (PDfMA), has been encouraged. and to delivery of a
Landsec commercial office building, The Forge in central London, constructed by
Mace and
Sir Robert McAlpine, ==Documented results and case studies==