FORD Forward Industries Inc

Intelligent Product Solutions (IPS), a subsidiary of Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FORD) and award-winning product design and development firm, today launched a full service Risk Management Consulting practice focused on incorporating product safety into product design.

“In product design, design teams take great care to produce products that not only perform well, but are safe to use, yet the formal application of risk management practice is often overlooked,” said Ed Lanzilotta, Principal Systems Engineer, Intelligent Product Solutions. “The IPS Risk Management Consulting team is uniquely qualified to assist product design teams with incorporating risk management into their design and development processes, leveraging our broad technical background and extensive experience in product development and risk management.”

The new IPS Risk Management practice provides companies with a range of services including:

*Risk Management Planning:  The risk management plan defines which risks are being managed and the process by which they are being managed. Planning usually occurs in advance of product design, concurrent with development of product requirements. The IPS team has expertise to guide selection of the elements of the risk management plan, such as assessment methods and cadence, acceptance criteria, and milestones, and will assist in packaging that plan into a formal document.

*Risk Assessment:  This includes employing various methods for risk assessment, including failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA), hazard analysis, fault tree analysis, event tree analysis, and root cause analysis. Data compiled during the risk assessment process is stored in a dedicated database, ensuring traceability and completeness. The culmination of each risk assessment cycle is a summary report, identifying the most critical risks.

*Risk Mitigation and Monitoring: At each iteration of risk assessment, value is gained by applying mitigation strategies to the most significant risks. The IPS team has extensive experience in risk mitigation strategies for a wide variety of risk classes and will guide the product development team toward the most effective strategies for the application. Crucial to the risk management process is documentation of risk assessment and resultant mitigation strategy, captured as formal risk management reports.

*Standards: The risk management approach used by the IPS team is rooted in ISO 14971, Application of Risk Management to Medical Devices. In addition, the ISO 31000 family of standards is utilized as guidance for application of risk assessment techniques.

Lanzilotta added, “Early and consistent integration of risk management greatly improves the product development process, enabling a product manufacturer to reduce the product development timeline with a higher-quality product.”

About IPS

IPS, a subsidiary of Forward Industries (NASDAQ: FORD), is an award-winning global product design and development company with headquarters in New York. IPS offers expert product design and engineering services, including Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable technology solutions. Its clients are among the leading brands in consumer electronics, medical devices, enterprise and security solution providers, and IoT-connected solutions, including AdhereTech, Google, Stryker, Zebra Technologies, and charity: water. To learn more about IPS, visit http://www.intelligentproduct.solutions or contact info@ips-yes.com or @IPSdesigners.

About Forward Industries

Incorporated in 1962, and headquartered in Long Island, New York, Forward Industries is a global design, manufacturing, sourcing and distribution group. The company has a 30-year plus track record of Far Eastern sourcing capability. Forward’s products can be viewed online at www.forwardindustries.com.

For more media information, contact:

Lisa Hendrickson/LCH Communications for IPS

(516) 643-1642 or lisa@lchcommunications.com