Service Must Be Designed Into the Product

Good service cannot be tacked on at the end; it must be an integral part of the product's design from the very beginning. This concept, often called "design for serviceability," extends beyond just making a product easy to repair.

Dimensions of Designing for Service:

1. Product Quality: The first step is designing for reliability and "fitness for use." High quality is the most fundamental aspect of service design.
2. Physical Serviceability: The product must be physically designed for easy maintenance. Components that are likely to fail, like power supplies, should be easily accessible. This avoids situations where an entire engine must be removed to change a spark plug.
3. Software Maintainability: Software must be designed and documented in a way that makes it possible to fix bugs, add features, and train support staff effectively over its entire lifecycle.
4. Manufacturing Flexibility: The manufacturing process itself must be designed for service. Short cycle times and the ability to ramp capacity up or down quickly are crucial for responding to the changing needs of customers, which is a key form of service.

A company that fails to design serviceability into its products from the start will be unable to deliver good service, no matter how good its intentions or its field support team.