The History of DFM Consulting

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DFM Consulting was founded in 1996 to disseminate and introduce into practice a set of concepts developed in the early 1990's at Stanford University's School of Engineering. These basic tenets of Design for the Marketplace are:

  1. The value of a product (the demand for a commercial product) is driven by properties determined by its design
  2. The manufacturing cost of a complex product is almost entirely determined by its design
  3. Good design balances value and manufacturing cost in a way that is rigorously defined
  4. Products such as automobiles, aircraft and weapon systems are so complex that they must be designed by organizations
  5. Design by organizations is necessarily different in fundamental ways than design by an individual
  6. Partitioning the design and establishing information channels for communication and control are fundamental issues that impact complex product design
  7. Individuals, groups, and businesses can produce good designs only if they are motivated and can immediately see the impact of their work on product value and cost
  8. Development cost and schedule are mostly determined by technical risk, which can be quantified and managed
  9. Research and technology development activities can be evaluated as investments and ranked based on their expected impact on the value and cost of future products
STRIPE

In 1996, DFM Consulting developed its first value model, JetPricer, which estimates the price of commercial aircraft and engines based on their engineering specifications. That fall, the first DFM paper on distributed optimal design was presented at the International Powered Lift Conference. The value model family was extended in 1997 to include helicopters, over-the-road trucks, engine monitoring systems and multirole fighter aircraft. Also, Surplus Value Design Theory was introduced at the AIAA/SAE/ASME Joint Propulsion Conference. Coster was introduced in 1998, the first manufacturing cost model to estimate cost directly from the information content of engineering drawings. The theory behind Coster is documented in a 2001 paper.

In 1999, Design for the Marketplace distributed optimal design technology was applied to a production aircraft engine, and found design opportunities to reduce the cost 20%. Also, DFM technology for contract incentives on government products was introduced at the Acquisition Research Symposium. Design for the Marketplace technology was featured in a study on product development technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

By 2000, two new clean sheet of paper aerospace products fully employed Design for the Marketplace techniques. In April 2000, the DFM seminar The Economics of Product Design was first presented. Since then, over 70 design engineers and project managers have taken the course, which is now offered through SAE. In late 2000, DFM technology evaluation methods were applied to advanced military engines on the US Air Force VAATE (Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine) program. A paper describing the method was subsequently presented at the 2002 Joint Propulsion Conference.

In 2001, applications were extended to include power generation systems under the Dept. of Energy's New Generation Turbine program. DFM Consulting became the exclusive supplier of economic modeling technology to Concepts NREC, the world's leading supplier of turbomachinery and pump design software. Also, DFM relocated from Hanover, New Hampshire, to Urbana, Illinois, and incorporated under the state of Illinois. During the year, DFM Consulting also developed value models for launch systems and long range strike aircraft.

2002 led to several projects under subcontract to Synthesis Partners, a leading business intelligence firm, including a DOE study on technology opportunities for railroads. During the next four years, technology evaluation value models were developed for

  • Defense against terrorist bombers
  • Electronic weapons
  • Wide area maritime surveillance
  • Defense against chemical and biological weapons
  • National missile defense
  • Global positioning system

    In 2006, we supported a study on economic impacts of the US system of export controls, focusing on the machine tool industry.

    The year 2007 was devoted to supporting the Next Generation Air Traffic Management System (NextGen), the multi-agency effort to replace the US air traffic control system. DFM has supported NextGen with technology value models for the FAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

    Also, in 2006 and 2007, DFM Consulting supported the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Program Committee on Value-Driven Design.

    DFM Consulting was founded by Pam and Paul Collopy, who continue to manage the company and perform a majority of the services.

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