CONCURRENT ENGINEERING IN
MANUFACTURING
Don Anderson
Masters of Science Graduate Student
Submitted in Partial Completion of the Requirements of
INDEN 5303
Advanced Manufacturing Systems Design
Fall 1999
This paper was developed to assist students in partial fulfillment of course requirements. No warranty of
any kind is expressed or implied. Readers of this document bear sole responsibility for verification of its
contents and assume any/all liability for any/all damage or loss resulting from its use.
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ 1
Keywords ................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 2
SERIAL ENGINEERING VERSUS CONCURRENT ENGINEERING ....................... 3
The Serial Engineering Process ............................................................................................... 3
The Concurrent Engineering Process ..................................................................................... 4
The Serial and Concurrent Enginering Environments ......................................................... 5
Serial and Concurrent Engineering Information Flows ........................................................ 7
Why Choose Concurrent Engineering .................................................................................... 8
ELEMENTS OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING ....................................................... 8
Design for Performance ............................................................................................................ 9
Design for Manufacturability................................................................................................... 9
Design for Testability ................................................................................................................ 9
Design for Quality ................................................................................................................... 10
Design for Serviceability ......................................................................................................... 10
Design for Compliance............................................................................................................ 10
QFD IN CONCURRENT ENGINEERING ................................................................... 10
BENEFITS OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING IN CIM ........................................ 12
Computer-Aided Engineering Analysis ................................................................................ 14
Computer-Aided Process Planning ....................................................................................... 14
Manufacturing Planning and Control ................................................................................... 14
Simulation ................................................................................................................................ 14
SUCCESS STORY - HONDA.......................................................................................... 15
ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................... 17
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CONCURRENT ENGINEERING BENEFITS AND SUCCESS ................................. 18
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................. 20
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................. 21
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: .......................................................................................................................... 3
Figure 1.2: .......................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 1.3: .......................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 1.4: .......................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 1.5: .......................................................................................................................... 7
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ABSTRACT
Concurrent Engineering as the name suggests, is concerned with making better products
in less time. Concurrent engineering teams enable organizations to produce new product
ideas faster than the conventional serial engineering approach. The basic principle of the
approach is that all aspects of the product life cycle should be considered as early as
possible in the design to manufacturing process. This paper briefly discusses the scope of
Concurrent Engineering in manufacturing, cites some practical examples where
Concurrent Engineering is used, and discusses some of the benefits of Concurrent
Engineering in Computer-Integrated Manufacturing. Recognizing that traditional serial
engineering product development takes too long and costs too much, many companies
have turned to Concurrent Engineering. Quality Function Deployment is the technology
that provides the means to make Concurrent Engineering happen. Quality Function
Deployment is a method that systematically focuses all organizations in the business
towards satisfying the requirements of the product, which are most important to the
customer.
KEYWORDS
Concurrent Engineering (CE), Serial Engineering, Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
(CIM), Design For Performance (DFP), Design For Manufacturability (DFM), Design
For Testability (DFT), Design For Serviceability (DFS), Design For Compliance (DFC),
Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Computer-Aided-Design (CAD), Computer-AidedManufacturing (CAM), Information Technology (IT), Computer-Aided Engineering
Analysis (CAEA), Computer-Aided Process Planning (CAPP), Manufacturing Planning
and Control (MPC), Simulation.
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INTRODUCTION
Market share and profit are major indicators of organizational success. Increases in
market share and profit come from competitive advantages that organizations have over
their competitors. There is increased pressure to get products of increasing higher quality
to customers in shorter time. Factors that influence and improve the competitive
advantage of an organization are product costs, quality, and lead-time. Concurrent
engineering (CE), has emerged as a process to help achieve the objectives of reduced
cost, better quality, and improved delivery. [4, 13]
The philosophy of CE is not new and the terms “systems engineering”, “rapid
engineering”, “integrated cross-functional engineering”, “computer integrated
manufacturing”, “flexible manufacturing”, “design for manufacturing”, “producibility
engineering”, and others have been used to define and describe approaches that are
similar to CE [1]. One difference is that CE emphasizes management as well as
engineering. CE is characterized by gaining an understanding of the customer’s
requirements and a strong belief that quality is the result of process improvements. The
product is defined by customers in their own language. That description is then turned
into an engineering specification. The entire focus of CE is on doing it right the first
time, rather than on reengineering until it is right. The approach is intended to cause
product designers to consider all phases of the product life cycle. Tradeoffs regarding
manufacturability, testability, and serviceability are made in parallel. Additionally, CE
involves the parallel design of both products and processes. The elimination of design
iterations reduces product development costs and reduces the time to market for new
products. [1, 6, 10]
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A definition of CE that is suggestive of what is actually involved in practicing CE is as
follows: “CE is a systematic approach to integrated product development that
emphasizes response to the customer expectations. Embodies team values of
cooperation, trust and sharing in such a manner that decision making proceeds with
large intervals of parallel working by all life-cycle perspectives early in the process,
synchronized by comparatively brief exchanges to produce consensus”. [7]
SERIAL ENGINEERING VERSUS CONCURRENT ENGINEERING
THE SERIAL ENGINEERING PROCESS
The traditional serial engineering approach to product design and development (see
Figure 1.1) currently used by many companies prevents them from competing effectively.
Manufacturing,
test, quality,
service
Design Engineering
Design
Verify
Prototype
Review
Redesign
Reverify
Produce
Test
For manufacturability
For test
For quality
For service
Figure 1.1 – The serial engineering process [13, 15]
-3-
In a serial engineering environment, design is done in a vacuum. It is characterized by
departments supplying information to design only after a product has been designed,
verified, and prototyped. Manufacturing, test, quality, and service organizations may not
see the design until it is complete. If they raise points during design reviews regarding
the difficulty, time, and expense involved in producing the design that is presented, they
may cause the product to be redesigned. This redesign activity adds cost and overall time
to market for the product. If a redesign is too expensive or too time consuming, no action
will be taken to improve the manufacturability, testability, quality, or serviceability
aspects of the product, and it will be more expensive to produce, verify, and support for
its entire life. All of these factors hamper competitiveness. [10, 13, 15]
THE CONCURRENT ENGINEERING PROCESS
One solution to improving competitiveness is to change from a serial engineering and
development process to a concurrent engineering process (see Figure 1.2).
Performance
Lowest Overall Life
Cycle Costs
Testability
Manufacturability
Design
Verify
Review
Produce
Test
Service
Cost
Quality
Problem Prevention
Instead of Problem
Solving and Redesigns
Figure 1.2 – The concurrent engineering process [13, 15]
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What distinguishes CE from serial engineering is that in CE all of the functional areas,
within the organization, are integrated with the design process. During the design
process, CE draws on various disciplines to evaluate the tradeoffs between
manufacturability, testability, serviceability, and customer performance specifications.
Understanding the customer performance specifications is very important because an
accurate and complete description eliminates confusion and misunderstanding. The
decision making process in the CE environment differs from the serial engineering in that
decisions are made considering the constraints of all the stages of the product life cycle at
every stage. The integration of other functional areas with the design process help
discover hard to solve problems at the design stage. Instead of allowing design groups to
develop products, that must be forced into existing manufacturing, test, and service
processes, with no forethought to such product attributes as design for manufacturability,
design for testability, or design for serviceability. [9, 12, 15]
THE SERIAL AND CONCURRENT ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENTS
Another way to look at the CE concept is to contrast it with the traditional serial
engineering environment (see Figures 1.3 and 1.4).
Designs Tossed Over The Wall
Manufacturing
Design
Activities
Quality
Test
Service
Figure 1.3 – The traditional serial engineering environment [15]
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Corporate Management
Purchasing
Customer
needs
Cost
accounting
Data &
communications
Quality
planning
Design
Marketing
& sales
Suppliers
Material
handling
Material
control
Manufacturing
processes
Corporate Management
Figure 1.4 – The concurrent engineering design environment [13]
The CE environment, in contrast to the serial engineering environment, makes use of
cross-functional product development teams. Figure 1.4 does not list all of the possible
disciplines that may be required for specific project. The successful CE team is
multifunctional and multidisciplinary. Specifically, the customers and suppliers are
included in the makeup of the team. Close customer contact during product design is
essential if the product is to meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. Suppliers are
also included since they can offer new components or technologies that may help to
lower costs, improve product performance, or reduce design time. The CE process treats
design, manufacturability, testability, quality, serviceability, and compliance attributes
equally and in parallel with product design for performance attributes. It also provides
early visibility for changes to manufacturing, test, or support processes that may be
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required to handle new product design, fabrication, packaging, or test features that will
make the product more competitive. Therefore, when the final design is verified, it is
already manufacturable, testable, serviceable, and of high quality. [9, 13]
SERIAL AND CONCURRENT ENGINEERING INFORMATION FLOWS
Another contrast between CE and serial engineering is the information flow. The
information flow in CE is interlinked with various stages. There is a multidirectional
exchange of information between all functional areas. CE requires multidirectional
information flow where serial engineering uses primarily unidirectional information flow
(see Figure 1.5).
Design
(Functionability)
Production
Service
Operate
(Manufacturability)
Retirement
(Supportability)
(Disposability)
Information Flow in Serial Engineering
Design
Operate
(Functionability)
Retirement
Service
(Disposability)
(Supportability)
Production
(Manufacturability)
Information Flow in Concurrent Engineering
Figure 1.5 – Information flow in serial engineering and concurrent engineering [1]
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Figure 1.5 illustrates the stages in a typical product life cycle and the differences between
information flow for serial engineering and CE approaches. The need for CE is to shift
focus from the specific departmental task over to the overall product.
WHY CHOOSE CONCURRENT ENGINEERING
The design stage has a significant impact on the cost of producing, testing, and servicing
the product. In serial engineering, design is done in a vacuum without regard to the
processes where the design would be manufactured, tested, and supported. CE moves all
of these activities to the front of the design process. Since design sets the stage for the
product throughout its life cycle, it is a survival necessity that all internal and external
groups are involved in design. CE provides an excellent alternative strategy to the serial
engineering process because it encourages communication and identification of needs
early in the product development process. The needs of manufacturing and assembly are
expressed and considered when the needs of the customer are determined. Therefore,
less iteration will occur, and the development cycle time will be shortened. The
conceptual design stage is lengthened, because detailed consideration must be taken in all
functional aspects, but this time is made up later in the cycle because fewer engineering
changes are required.
ELEMENTS OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING
There are five stages in a product life cycle in a CIM environment and they are design,
produce, operate, support, and dispose. Among these stages, the design stage is the most
critical since it sets the stage for product success or failure in the market place. The
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reason is that product design has a direct impact on product cost, quality, and reliability.
Typically, 70% of the cost of a product is fixed at the design stage. [5, 16]
Concurrent engineering plays a crucial role in design, which is made up of five specific
design activities that go on in parallel. The activities are design for performance, design
for manufacturability, design for testability, design for serviceability, and design for
compliance. Design for performance issues include making sure that all customer
required functions be implemented, that the product operates at the required
specifications. A product that does not perform a useful function is a useless product that
will not sell. Close relationships with customers are critical in identifying the functions
that are required in the product. Adding functions just for the sake of adding them can
make the product more difficult to produce, verify, deliver, operate, and service. The
customer may perceive it not as superior but as more complex. Design for
manufacturability issues include using the minimum number of parts in the product,
facilitating error free assembly, using standard components whenever possible, and fitting
the product design into the process that will be used to product it. Even where flexible
manufacturing systems exist, minimizing the number of design variations will reduce
setup times, cycle times, and inventory levels. The basic design for manufacturability
principles can be basically described as keep it simple. CE means being aware of
manufacturing constraints and making allowances for them so that high yields can be
achieved. Design for testability issues include testing the product to insure that the
product meets the customer’s requirements. This is a measure of how easy a
comprehensive test program can be created and executed, and how easy the product can
be tested and diagnosed in the shortest amount of time while using the lowest cost testing
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methods. Additionally, designing for testability reduces test program complexity, cuts
test time, facilitates troubleshooting, and increases equipment availability. Design for
quality includes the basics of meeting customer quality expectations. It includes things
like selecting high quality components in the first place, using proper derating
calculations to insure reliability, and making sure that the product has an attractive look
and feel. CE is actually just an extension of design for quality where one looks not only
at the external customer, or end user of the product being designed, but also at internal
customers. The people and organizations to which designers provide their design
product. What good is a design that never sees the light of successful implementation or
use. Design for serviceability includes things like making replaceable items accessible.
Also, it is a measure of how easy, and how much time is required, for the product to be
returned to full operational status in case of a failure. Additionally, in some cases
environmental laws are requiring manufacturers to take back worn-out products for
proper dismantling and disposal. Therefore, serviceability is best describes as designing
products so they are easy to fix, maintain, and dispose of. Design for compliance is
another area to be considered. Expertise with standards like the FCC and Underwriters
Laboratory may also be required as part of the CE team effort. Failing to meet regulatory
requirements after the design is complete may add substantial costs and time to a
reengineering effort. This kind of reengineering can drastically affect the time to market.
[3, 5, 15]
QFD IN CONCURRENT ENGINEERING
Concurrent engineering creates an environment where all major functions such as
marketing, purchasing, finance, suppliers, product engineering, customers, and
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manufacturing engineering are involved from product concept initiation through product
launch. In CE projects, the voice of both the internal and external customer is captured
and converted into specific product characteristics. A key technology of CE is Quality
Function Deployment (QFD). QFD provides a means of translating customer
requirements into appropriate technical requirements for each stage of product
development and production. QFD in the CE process is structured to address both the
needs of the internal and external customers. The approach to QFD consists of four
phases, which transform the customer voice. In the first phase, the customer voice is
transformed into product characteristics. The second phase converts the critical product
characteristics into subsystem characteristics. Phase three converts the subsystem
characteristics into manufacturing process characteristics. Finally, phase four converts
process characteristics into production controls. This is great because it allows those
working on the manufacturing floor to understand the impact of what they are doing and
how it will impact the customer in terms of satisfaction. The needs of the internal and
external customers are different; so separate matrices are required for each. After all
requirements have been converted into measurable product characteristics, the CE project
team can select an appropriate product/process concept. [2, 6]
Quality Function Deployment is considered one of the best techniques available. QFD
ensures that the product meets the customer’s requirements when it goes into production.
It also results in the design being specified fully early therefore allowing changes to be
made earlier. Professor Yoji Akao, one of the originators of QFD, defined it as the
deployment of quality, technology, cost, and reliability. There are two aspects to this: 1)
“Quality deployment, which converts customers requirements into substitute
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characteristics, and which establishes design quality of a final product. The relationships
are developed systematically, starting with the quality of each functional component, and
taking these through to the quality of each component and process. 2) Quality function,
defined as the area of responsibility in manufacturing companies through which fitness
for use – quality – is achieved”. The whole point of QFD is that it makes the customers
voice top priority. It is an excellent way of turning the vague voice of the customer into
an engineering specification.
Quality Function Deployment is a very powerful tool when applied by a cross-functional
team in a CE environment. It will ensure that the needs of the customers are considered,
that the communication between the different disciplines is maximized, that the
maximum amount of work proceeds concurrently, and that as many of the potential
downstream development problems as possible are identified and resolved. There is no
effective way to implement CE principles without using QFD technology.
Jose A. Lugo, Engineering Manager Corporate Engineering Productivity Group Harris
Corporation states the following: “Corporate survival in the 90’s depends on the ability
to fully satisfy key customer requirements. Concurrent Engineering, a philosophy, and
Quality Function Deployment, a methodology to implement concurrent engineering, are
the first steps towards that goal”.
BENEFITS OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING IN CIM
The goal of Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is the integration of all enterprise
operations and activities around a common organizational database. CIM is defined as,
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“the integration of the total manufacturing enterprise through the use of integrated
systems and data communications coupled with new managerial philosophies that
improve organizational and personal efficiency”. [13]
The benefits of CE in CIM are that CE exploits the information technology aspect of
CIM. CE utilizes computers to integrate the operations of manufacturing into a single,
smooth operating, manufacturing system which results in reduced total manufacturing
costs, reduced time-to-market, and improved quality. Additionally, in the CE
environment, computers are used to control the integration and flow of information
between design, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, distribution,
customers, suppliers, sales and marketing, financial management and the overall control
of the organization or enterprise. One example of the benefits of CE in CIM is the use of
CAD and CAM. CAD applies the computer to the creation, modification, and evaluation
of product design, and CAM applies the computer to planning, control, and operation of a
facility. Because of using CAD and CAM, the CE team is able to define product
alternatives, model the alternatives, and have their performance simulated against the
customer derived product characteristics. Additionally, alternative manufacturing and
assembly strategies are defined, modeled, and their performance is simulated against
manufacturing characteristics derived from the internal customer. The benefit of CE in
CIM is that the best product and process concept is selected with the help of computer
modeling. CE can play a crucial role in design and prototyping processes. Building a
physical prototype is time consuming and is expensive. Developing a virtual prototype
will cost only a fraction of a physical prototype and will provide excellent feedback to the
CE project team. With the help of computer modeling, the CE project team can make
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necessary modifications to the design and study their behavior by simulation. Design
problems can be easily changed, through modeling iterations, to meets the needs of both
internal and external customers before the product is taken to manufacturing. Eventually,
a product/process concept is selected because it will satisfy all of the customer
requirements better than any of the other product/process concepts will. [8]
Other available CIM technologies, which all have been successfully implemented to
some extent and can be better leveraged by CE include the following. Computer-Aided
Engineering Analysis (CAEA) – Computer based engineering analysis are conducted
during the initial design stage to investigate and predict mechanical, thermal, and fatigue
stress. Computer-Aided Process Planning (CAPP) – Is concerned with the preparation
of a route sheet for the engineering drawing of the work part which must be interpreted in
terms of manufacturing process to be used. The route sheet is a listing of the sequence of
operations. Manufacturing Planning and Control (MPC) – This includes the
preparation of schedules, requirement/shortage lists, inventory lists, and similar
documents. The principal functions in manufacturing are demand forecasting, and
capacity requirements planning, production line balancing, statistical process and quality
control, and inventory management. Simulation - It can be useful in evaluating the
effectiveness of any one of the productions planning functions. Robotics – Robots can be
programmed to manipulate materials, parts, or tools through variable programmed
motions to evaluate the performance of a variety of tasks. [11]
Concurrent engineering when combined with simulation tools can reduce design and
production costs, ensure product quality, and reduce the time from product conception to
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production, while being responsive to continually changing market conditions.
Communication is an important aspect in CIM systems. One of the greatest benefits of
CE is that it fosters the communications that are required to improve organizational and
personal efficiency. Information technology, and the seemingly unlimited source of
computing power, are what drive this virtual world of manufacturing. Here at the
concurrent engineering, information technology, and enterprise interface, is where the
changing enterprise turns its attention to improve it processes.
SUCCESS STORY - HONDA
Among the Japanese carmakers, Honda, Mazda, and Nissan have adopted CE. Honda
was one of the first to adopt CE anywhere, with its SED (Sales, Engineering,
Development) system of product development. Honda does not call its system
concurrent engineering; when the then president Kiyoshi Kawashima introduced the SED
system into Honda in the late 1970’s, concurrent engineering was not even recognized as
a methodology. That is just what SED is. A product development team combining sales,
engineering, and development division members.
Kawashima wanted Honda to be able to respond more quickly to customers’
requirements and to competitors’ moves, and looked to improved quality. It was decided
that a multidisciplinary team approach was needed. At that time Honda was a relatively
small Japanese carmaker, building the Civic, Prelude, and Accord car ranges and some
lightweight trucks. In 1980 it produced 956,900 vehicles, including 107,000 light trucks,
all in Japan. It was also having difficulty breaking into the market for automobiles with
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engines bigger than 1.3 liters in Japan, because the general public saw Honda as a maker
of motorcycles, so durability and reliability were not considered important.
Ten years later, Honda’s reputation as a manufacturer of high quality automobiles is
secure, and output has more than doubled to two million units a year, one-third of which
are build outside Japan. Its market share in Japan has increased sharply and sales in the
United States has grown to an amazing 855,000 units, which is equal to its total
passenger car production in 1980 and just 6,000 units below Chrysler’s sales. The
Accord was the best selling car in the United States in 1989 and 1990, while Honda’s
U.S. output was over 400,000 units. Additionally, Honda sold about 80,000 more cars in
the United States in 1990 than Toyota, despite Toyota’s worldwide production of around
four million vehicles a year.
As a result of it use of SED, Honda has been able to expand the range of cars
significantly. Honda SED, which has been the key to the corporation’s success in the
past, symbolizes the three main divisions within Honda. 1) Sales, including service, 2)
Engineering, for Honda Engineering, the company that makes manufacturing machinery
and tools, 3) Development, for Honda Research and Development, which is responsible
for all new product development. Each division provides design team members that have
functional expertise and are responsible for the engine, transmission, body, electrical
systems, and chassis. Additionally, other team members represent manufacturing, sales ,
and business finance. The Research Division of Honda provides input on new materials
and technical developments that may improve product performance or help in decreasing
the time from new car conception to distributing the new car to dealerships. [6]
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ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
For concurrent engineering to be successful, senior management must be completely
dedicated to making it work. Additionally, making CE work requires management skills
and leadership. It also requires commitment on the part of both management and the
team members. Management’s responsibility in the CE environment is to provide the
right resources, empower them to act as owners of the project, and to provide them with
the right information at the right time to maximize team performance. At all costs,
managers must avoid trying to control the project team. The team needs to be able to
make their own decisions based on the ground rules laid down by management. The CE
team is cross functional and multidisciplinary. However, for the CE process to work,
team members must agree with the goals and must agree with the schedule. Each team
member contributes their expertise to the overall product design and each team member
is responsible to the other team members for timely and cost effective delivery of the
product to the customer. Additionally, the facts and data brought forward by team
members must not only be timely, but accurate and presented in the proper format.
Essential team members such as those from design, manufacturing, and marketing must
be represented full time from the beginning. Customers and suppliers are identified as
external team participants and may not be dedicated full time team members. However,
they should be look upon as full time members and treated as such. Customers and
suppliers are included in the makeup of the team. Close customer contact during product
design is essential if the product is to meet, or exceed, the needs of the customer.
Suppliers are also included since they can offer new components or technologies that
many times can help to lower product costs, improve performance and quality, and
reduce time to market. [ 6, 15]
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Everyone in the organization must be fully trained in CE, speaking the same language
and pursuing a common set of goals that have been agreed to. Training in the process of
interaction is crucial so that team members will share ideas frankly without raising the
fear of being challenged or criticized [7]. As Deming states in point thirteen of his
Fourteen Points, “Institute a vigorous program of education and retraining”. It is not
enough to have good people on cross function teams. They must continually acquire the
new knowledge and the new skills that are required to new processes and methods of
production. Winning teams have well trained and enthusiastic members who are capable
in handling both people and technical issues.
CONCURRENT ENGINEERING BENEFITS AND SUCCESSES
Concurrent engineering is a preferred best practice among engineering managers who are
working to improve their new product design and development process. According to a
1997 Engineering Department Management & Administration Report (EDMAR), 28.5%
of the respondents indicated that they have implemented CE during the past 12 months.
Some of the respondents discussed their experiences with CE as follows. Design project
time has been reduced by 30% since concurrent engineering was adopted.
“Concurrent engineering has enabled us to do more in less time with limited resources.
This has significantly reduced the time it now takes our product development teams to
complete projects”, proclaims a product engineering manager of a midsize producer of air
distribution equipment. Cross-functional team efforts slash product redesign by more
than one-half. “We implemented concurrent engineering processes for a new product
we wanted to develop and had a truly cross-functional team from engineering,
manufacturing engineering, purchasing, and production. The specific project was very
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successful and went through the manufacturing process very well. Redesign was sliced
by 60%”, reports the engineering manager of a small facility manufacturing ground
support systems for the airline industry. Too many changes, too many cost overruns
led one director to consider concurrent engineering. “We’re in a market-driven
industry. Once the company adopted concurrent engineering, the number of changes fell
and the resultant cost overruns also withered”, explains a director of engineering based in
Pennsylvania. [14]
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CONCLUSION
Concurrent engineering is, in basic nature, the simultaneous design of both products and
the processes where the products will be manufactured, tested, and supported.
Concurrent engineering requires that trade-offs be made during the design stage of the
product, with respect to design performance, design manufacturability, design testability,
design serviceability, and design compliance. The later in the design or manufacturing
process that a defect is discovered, or the need for change is uncovered, the more
expensive that change will be. When concurrent engineering is in place, small
incremental investments are made during the design stage in an effort to realize larger
savings due to fewer recurring costs over the life cycle of the product.
In this paper, the scope of concurrent engineering in manufacturing, and CIM, were
briefly discussed. Concurrent engineering is enhanced in CIM by using technology to
help the concurrent engineering team make critical product trade-off decisions. The best
product and process concept is selected with the help of computer modeling. The project
team can make necessary modifications to the design and study their behavior by
simulation. Design problems can be easily changed, through modeling iterations, to meet
the needs of both internal and external customers before the product is taken to
manufacturing. Eventually, a product/ process concept is selected because it will satisfy
all of the customer requirements better than any other product/process concepts will.
Concurrent engineering provides the vehicle for increasing market share in an
increasingly competitive global marketplace, while simultaneously increasing profit
margins for new product design.
- 20 -
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