Learn what Product Engineering is and how a well-qualified team can define the future of your associations.
What is Product Engineering According to The Experts?
Experts prepared in Item Building are responsible for conducting market and competitor investigations to recognize whether there’s a need to make new products.
Have you ever stopped to think about how the device you’re reading this article on was developed?
Well, it was designed by a Product Engineering team.
These professionals work extensively throughout the product life cycle and interact with several other areas of the associations, such as manufacturing, sales and marketing .
Below, we have separated some topics to help you better understand what product engineering is and why it is so important:
- What is the Product Engineering area?
- What is studied in the Product Engineering course?
- Current scenario of Product Engineering;
- How much does a Product Engineer make?
- Product development process (PDP);
- How important is Product Engineering?
- What is the role of Product Engineering in associations?
What is the Product Engineering area?
Product engineering is a field of activity that works in the design and development processes of new products, which can be an assembly device or a saleable item that will be produced through manufacturing processes.
Product Engineering generally performs several activities in the product life cycle , which are related to issues of product costs , productivity, quality, reliability, performance, maintenance, useful life and user experience .
All these features belongs to meticulously in order to make the product attractive to the market on the trust basis.
The design of the product, its development, the transition to mass manufacturing of the product and also the discontinuation of this product are taken into account, always seeking good quality at an attractive price.
The term “Product Engineering” is very broad and can refer to different types of products, such as: mechanical components, electronic components, apps, software , equipment for the health sector, food products, etc.
It is worth mentioning that the professional’s area of training will define in part what type of product development he will work in, I say in part, because nothing prevents a Computer Engineer from working in the development of a food product, for example.
What is studied in Product Engineering?
The Product Engineering course has the following subjects in its curriculum:
- Trends and Innovations;
- Reverse Engineering and Prototyping;
- BI: Business Intelligence.
Remembering that the schedule may change depending on the educational institution.
Current scenario of Product Engineering
Due to the changes that technology has been making in the job market, competition has been increasing and forcing a reduction in the product life cycle, causing companies to update their products and diversify their portfolio.
A great example of this is the smartphone market , a device purchased today becomes obsolete next year, due to high competition and also the addition of new technologies in the design and manufacturing of the product.
In other words, new professionals will always be welcome in a booming market like this one.
And speaking of products…
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Product Development Process (PDP)
The Product Development Process seeks to act on the product specifications (through a technical drawing, for example), on the manufacturing process, on the launch of the product on the market, on possible improvements, on technology and also on the association’s strategies.
It is normal for there to be major risks during the Product Development Process due to the high level of uncertainty, as most decision-making takes place at the beginning of the PDP.
Following the listed steps that often used in the Product Development Process. Check out each phase:
- Planning stage: this is where strategic planning , feasibility analysis, investment analysis, portfolio study, business model, risk management, product vision and project planning are carried out ;
- Development stage: the product is detailed and information is collected. The result is technical drawings, prototypes, computer simulations, real simulations, manufacturing, supply chain , packaging, pilot batch and approval;
- New product launch stage: Includes marketing strategies , training of personnel involved in manufacturing, product marketing and adjustments. To manufacturing processes together with manufacturing engineering ;
- Monitoring stage: seeks to reduce costs, optimize the manufacturing process and monitor indicators;
- Discontinuity stage: the after-sales process carried out and the product removed from the manufacturing line.
Understand that for the Product Development process it is necessary to contact other teams. Such as: marketing , sales , manufacturing and manufacturing teams. Therefore, project management must be done in a very well structured and organized manner.
How important is Product Engineering?
As the market increasingly demands competitive advantages and innovative products at an appropriate price. It is vital to have a good, qualified product development team to help the company stand out in the market.
Product Engineering is important because it helps companies create innovative products that seek to meet the needs of their target audience, becoming a reference for the market and growing more and more.
Product professionals are the people responsible for carrying out this development, always seeking to add value and functionalities. Functionalities that reduce costs, innovate, and offer greater quality and productivity for the company.
Therefore, it is very important that the team is highly qualified and has the tech consulting knowledge to do this.
What is the role of Product Engineering in Associations?
The role of product engineering is essential for the associations, because without it, there is no updating and creation of new products. To leading the company to stagnate and lose its space in the market over time.
In addition, some knowledge and skills that we use for the product engineer in order for him to perform a good job in the area, such as:
- Knowledge of statistical methods and tools;
- Manufacturing processes;
- Implementation of software , hardware and also systems;
- Product quality;
- Testing methods for the product;
- Drawing software ;
- Computer simulation software (Structural, electronic, fluid dynamics, etc.);
- Very strong knowledge about product development.
- Problem-solving skills;
- Good communication;
- Knowledge in continuous improvement .
Some important tools for Product Engineering
The Product Engineer must use several different tools to perform his/her role, such as: AutoCad, CATIA, Solid works, Inventor, Unigraphics, Ansys, Labview, JMP and Data Conductor.
It is also important to have knowledge of programming logic and master some language.
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