Design for manufacture and assembly (often abbreviatedDFMA orDfMA) is a product‑development approach that combinesdesign for manufacture (DFM) anddesign for assembly (DFA) to simplify product structures, reduce manufacturing and assembly costs, and address production considerations early in design.[1] The methodology developed through academic and industrial research in the late 1970s and 1980s and was subsequently commercialized in software tools and training.[2][3] In 1991, Geoffrey Boothroyd and Peter Dewhurst received the U.S.National Medal of Technology and Innovation for the concept, development, and commercialization of DFMA.[4] The term is also used in thearchitecture,engineering, andconstruction sectors, where DfMA emphasizes off‑site manufacture, standardization, and platform approaches.
Early research into assembly‑friendly product design and quantitative evaluation methods focused on estimating manual and automatic assembly times and on reducing part counts to cut assembly effort.[5] In the early 1980s, Geoffrey Boothroyd and Peter Dewhurst introduced design‑for‑assembly methods and software; interest from large manufacturers helped spread industrial adoption and led to commercial offerings.[6] A design‑for‑manufacture module followed in the mid‑1980s, and the combined methodology—DFMA—was popularized through textbooks, training, and analysis tools.[7] In 1991, Boothroyd and Dewhurst were jointly awarded the U.S.National Medal of Technology and Innovation recognizing their DFMA work and its industrial impact.[8]
DFMA is used as the basis forconcurrent engineering studies to provide guidance to the design team in simplifying the product structure, to reduce manufacturing and assembly costs, and to quantify improvements. The practice of applying DFMA is to identify, quantify and eliminate waste or inefficiency in a product design. DFMA is therefore a component oflean manufacturing. DFMA is also used as a benchmarking tool to study competitors' products, and as a 'should cost' tool to assist in supplier negotiations.[9]
While modernist architectLe 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, looking at production theory, integration of design, manufacture and assembly, and lean concepts and tools.[10] In the early 21st century, DfMA began to be advocated by government and industry organisations[10] including, in the UK, theRoyal Institute of British Architects (2016,[11] updated in 2021)[12] and theInfrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA, 2018),[13] in Singapore, theBuilding and Construction Authority (2016), and, in Hong Kong, theSARDevelopment Bureau (2018).[10]
UK government construction industry policy continued to advocate DfMA approaches; it was included in the 2019Construction Sector Deal,[14] theConstruction Playbook (2020, 2022),[15] and the IPA's 2021TIP Roadmap to 2030,[16] and in 2018 the IPA andHM Treasury consulted about an expansion of the approach.[17] The 2022Playbook andTIP Roadmap subsequently encouraged procurement of construction projects based on product 'platforms' ("Platform Design for Manufacture and Assembly, PDfMA") comprising kits of parts, production processes, knowledge, people and relationships required to deliver all or part of construction projects.[15][16]
The PDfMA approach has been applied to prison projects constructed byKier Group for theMinistry of Justice,[18][19] and to delivery of a commercial office building forLandsec, The Forge in central London,[20] constructed by manufacturing and assembly managersMace andSir Robert McAlpine,[20] and designed by architects Bryden Wood,[21] long-time proponents of DfMA.[22]
DFMA methods are implemented in analysis tools. One implementation is the DFMA software suite from Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc., which provides product simplification (DFA) and should‑cost modeling (DFM).[23] “DFMA” is also a registered trademark of Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc.[24]
