New Product Development Course

WMC Management Skills Training Program – What you’ll Learn

This page lists the workplace skills that you will gain by successfully participating in this course module.

New Product Development Training for the Woodworking Industry

New Product Development

This course module will be of interest to any business owners who want to encourage and manage innovation within their organizations, or who wish to engage external creative specialists such as industrial designers to improve existing products, extend product lines or create completely new ones. It will be of use to company owners, managers and management track employees involved in fields such as design, sales and marketing, production, and strategic planning.

  • Explain the process required to develop new products and make modifications to existing products
  • Outline product and design concepts, communicate with product designers and engineers and work in design teams to develop new wood products with specific functional criteria and performance specifications
  • Summarize the theories and practice of developing new wood products from the conceptual planning and design phases, through to the manufacturing phase, and finally to the commercialization and product launch phases
  • Explain the fundamentals of design, how design can be incorporated into production, how to hire and work with a designer and how software and other tools can help facilitate the design process
  • Describe the principles of ‘design for manufacturability’ and ‘lean development’ and how they can be used to reduce product costs and the cost of developing new products respectively
  • Explain the importance of true product improvements and how an innovative culture, customer input, ergonomics and mass customization can help to do this
  • Define the concept of sustainability with regard to product design, and list ways to start ‘greening’ products and processes
  • Access information and assistance from governments and associations for new product development initiatives