measure twice - cut once
QUALITY & COMPLIANCE
REACH, RoHS, Prop 65, AIC, CIQ, SVHCs, RSLs. If these acronyms and their implications make your head spin, I'm not entirely surprised. But maddeningly, they can't be ignored or dealt with when you decide you're ready.
For two decades I helped luxury brands design products that were aesthetically stunning, on budget, and met shifting compliance regulations across the world. My approach is to embrace and understand things, then get on with applying them.
And I did it the hard way.
With jewelry and accessories that not only combined a complex mix of raw materials and used advanced surface finishes, but exceeded even more stringent regulations precisely because they touched discerning consumers in more ways than one.
Here’s how I did it - and how I can do it for you.
Inspection of cufflinks with machine-cut MOP on sterling silver base.
A compliance-first strategy
A compliance-first strategy puts overcoming any and every conceivable compliance hurdle at the heart of any and every step in the product’s lifecycle.
It ensures policies and procedures are geared up to help the business quickly adapt to the challenges and opportunities of an ever-changing regulatory landscape.
It reduces the risk of product recalls; stock left rotting in a warehouse when it should be flying off the shelf; and any loss to brand reputation.
But don’t think that adopting a compliance-first strategy is just the safe option.
Inspection of diamond pattern, precision made, all metal writing instruments.
Innovation through compliance
I’m an industrial designer. I know how designers think, that all-encompassing aesthetic mindset solely focused on delivering a product that elicits delight.
But unlike a lot of designers, I’ve been lucky enough to have travelled the world ensuring every product I designed was reassuringly fit for purpose.
Here’s how I can help your design team:
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Accelerating the adoption of 3D printing technologies to ensure every product is designed to be as safe – and innovative – as possible
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Educating them on potentially non-compliant materials and introducing them to surprisingly cost-effective and appealing alternatives
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Helping them create design specifications for suppliers and manufacturers that are designed for both compliance and innovation
A compliant partnership
A key reason why products fail is a supplier somewhere along the supply chain is trying to solve a problem that shouldn’t exist.
A problem you can often trace back to the design, but which can also be amplified by the frequent, over-reliance brands put on their suppliers.
Here’s how I can help your procurement team:
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Helping them work with designers to understand the technical factors influencing what they need from their suppliers.
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Introducing them to cutting-edge manufactures who I know from the design specification will do the job you need.
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Auditing existing manufacturers and upgrading your own specifications.
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Acting as the liaison with suppliers to iron-out any unforeseen problems and tidy the communication channel.
This is where the opportunity for real innovation arises. Working on a partnership model, suppliers can be brought in to enrich the design process, not dictate it, leading to new and often cost-saving ideas flowing both ways along the supply chain.
All of which can not only lessen the risk of product failures, but also reduce the costs of quality control, inspection and testing programmes by removing the surprises.
Which in turn gives you more time and money to devote to compliance-first innovation.
Inspection of belt buckles.
Poor manufacture has left its mark for all to see...
This time-lapse video is typical of an inspection (jewellery in this case) of which I have done many hundreds over the years. Such inspections are not meant to replace the manufacturer's own internal quality checks. Instead, it is assurance the agreed standards are being met and to confirm the little changes that are often needed during production have not produced any unwanted surprises. It is also essential to know exactly what is being shipped to stores.
Fashionably compliant
If you want to be fashionably compliant, please get in touch.
I’ll assess your strategy, help designers create products that are compliant anywhere around the world, and aid procurement to build supplier relationships that are a real source of innovation.