OEM Process: From Specification Review to Production

From a requirement to a shipping product

A thermostat program fails in predictable ways: the specification was never written down, the industrial design was approved before the electronics were understood, or the first production run discovered a test fixture that could not catch a swapped connector. The process below exists to close those gaps before they become expensive.

Stage 1 — Inquiry and confidentiality

Send the equipment type, voltage, load, market, and target volume. If the program involves an existing product or drawings, we sign a mutual confidentiality agreement before those documents move. We will also tell you early if the requirement is outside our process, which saves both sides a month.

Stage 2 — Specification

We turn the request into a written requirements document: functions, I/O list, sensor set, display and enclosure, protocol, environmental range, regulatory markets, packaging, and the acceptance criteria for each. Ambiguities get resolved here, in text, with your engineering team. A requirement that only exists in a meeting is a requirement that will be argued about later.

Stage 3 — Feasibility and platform proposal

We compare the requirement against platforms we already build and against a new design. The reply states which level of customization applies, what can be reused, what must change, and which risks need prototyping. If a lower level of change meets the need, we propose it even though it is less revenue for us; a program that starts over-scoped rarely ends well.

Stage 4 — Quote and program plan

The quote separates engineering, tooling, certification support, and piece price, so the customer can see what is a one-time cost and what scales with volume. The program plan lists deliverables, customer decision points, and dependencies such as artwork, app requirements, or a cloud environment. Dates in the plan are commitments we can hold, not a sales estimate.

Stage 5 — Design and design review

Schematic, layout, mechanical design, firmware architecture, and test strategy develop together. Formal reviews cover design for manufacturing, design for test, component lifecycle, and derating. The customer reviews the specification and the industrial design at defined points; changes after those points follow the change process rather than arriving as email requests.

Stage 6 — Prototype and engineering validation

Functional prototypes are built with production-intent parts where possible. We test the sequence of operation against the requirements document, measure the things the specification names, and report what failed. A prototype that works on a bench but has never seen a miswired terminal or a low line voltage is not validated.

Stage 7 — Compliance and customer validation

The compliance route agreed in stage 2 is executed here: pre-scan, technical file, and testing with the nominated laboratory. In parallel, the customer runs its own validation, including installation on the actual equipment. Findings are logged, dispositioned, and closed before tooling is released.

Stage 8 — Pilot production and ramp

A pilot lot runs on production tooling, fixtures, and work instructions. First articles are measured and tested against the drawing and the acceptance criteria, and the results go to the customer with the lot. Production releases only after the first article is approved.

Stage 9 — Production and change control

Every unit is serialized and traceable to its lot, firmware version, and test record. Changes to components, firmware, or process trigger a notification to the customer with an assessment of form, fit, function, and regulatory impact. No silent substitutions.

Ownership and handover

Tooling ownership, firmware licensing, and drawing rights are stated in the program agreement rather than assumed. At handover the customer receives the documentation package defined in the contract: drawings, BOM, approved vendor list where applicable, test specifications, and the manuals used for the product.

What we need from you

A named technical contact, the sequence of operation, the market and compliance scope, expected annual volume, and a decision-maker for design approvals. Programs stall most often when those four things are spread across people who do not talk to each other.

The capabilities page covers the technical side; quality and compliance covers the evidence; contact starts the conversation.