Form Design
creating an interdepartmental form for a custom jewelry manufacturer
A true story of workplace miscommunication and frustration - solved!
Before I knew what UX design was, I saw a large gap in communication between two departments at the company where I worked and felt the need to bridge that gap. In order for a piece of custom jewelry to be created, the 3D printed model had to pass through a quality check to make sure the following manufacturing process could be successfully carried through. The department that created the 3D printed models of the custom jewelry had very little to no knowledge of the manufacturing process, and the department that manufactured the custom jewelry pieces had little to no knowledge of the 3D modeling process. I worked in both departments and was excited to find a way two departments who spoke different “languages” could communicate effectively resulting in less frustration, less errors, and less wasted company time and resources.
Stone setters need to check the 3D modeled printings of the jewelry (made by the CAD designers) to make sure all the stones can be properly set.
The Original Process
A stone setter checks the 3D modeled printings to see if the stones will fit properly.
The setter verbally explains the issues to the department head.
The the department head relays the information to the CAD designers.
A game of broken telephone ensued!
Jobs failed multiple times, wasting time and money.
Everyone involved in the process was frustrated.
I set stones and make CADs - I knew a solution had to be created!
Use as few technical terms as possible, only the terms that both parties are familiar with.
Provide sections to talk about specific parts of the jewelry for clarity.
Important to cut out the middle man for direct communication.
CAD designers need something to refer to to make sure all corrections are addressed.
The Stone Check Form was created!
What It All Means…
Results
At first, the number of stone check fails didn’t decrease, but the number of jobs failing multiple times did decrease.
Over time the head of the CAD department was able to change the guidelines in the Tolerance Book based on the information collected on the forms.
CAD designers started to come to the setters directly to talk about their failed jobs.
CAD designers also started to go to the setters directly for advice on the more complicated jobs they were assigned before they started building them in the CAD program.
The Form proved to be helpful, and is still in use today!