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CONVENTIONAL PROCESSES / LINEAR DESIGN PROCESSES

There are many different linear design process models. Rembold, Nnaji & Storr advocate a process which includes: recognition of need, problem identification, generation or synthesis, analysis and optimization, evaluation, production and marketing, and presentation .Earles model includes the action stages of identify, ideate, refine, analyze, decide, and implement. These models reflect traditional engineering design moving from one stage to the next. Each stage has typically represented a department or area within a company.

STAGES IN THE PROCESS: Stage 1: Problem Identification This involves identification of the problem for which solution is to be derived.

Stage 2: Ideation (Brainstorming) Make engineering/technical sketches of at least (6) possible designs that may meet the design parameters defined in the Problem Identification stage. Stage 3: Refine/Analyze Analyze and critique all of the ideas generated during the Ideation step. Following this analysis, select the three ideas that, in your opinion, best meet the design parameters defined in Stage 1. For this stage, add more detail to the sketches of each design solution. Stage 4: Decision Create a decision matrix and assign a rating for how well each of the three designs meets the design parameters defined in Stage 1. Add other design parameters that you think are appropriate. After the ratings have been assigned for each design, the highest rated design will be carried forward to Stage 5. For this stage, students can use a spreadsheet program to generate the decision matrix or instructors can have them sketch them. Table 1 illustrates a decision matrix with some suggested design parameters.

Stage 5: Documentation Create engineering/technical sketches of both the assembly and details of your furniture design. The assembly sketch should include an exploded pictorial of the table and a bill of materials. The bill of materials should detail the cost of each item and the total cost of the project. These sketches should be of the sort that a technician could use to create finished engineering/technical drawings of the product . Visit builders' supply store or use online resources.

Stage 6: Implementation Create solid models (using the CAD software) of all parts and create an assembly of the final piece of furniture. Render your assembly as close to the final object as possible.

CONCURRENT ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESSES / PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT


As constraint-based modeling programs became more prevalent, many companies switched from linear to concurrent engineering design. Concurrent engineering design puts the 3D database at the center of the design process. This type of design model allows most employees earlier access to the 3D database than with linear design. Figures 6 & 7 illustrate two common models for concurrent engineering design . Most companies using constraintbased CAD and concurrent engineering design also implement some type of product data management (PLM) system to manage access to files .

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT


In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal.PLM integrates people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprise. 'Product lifecycle management' (PLM) should be distinguished from 'Product life cycle management (marketing)' (PLCM). PLM describes the engineering aspect of a product, from managing descriptions and properties of a product through its development and useful life; whereas, PLCM refers to the commercial management of life of a product in the business market with respect to costs and sales measures. Product lifecycle management is one of the four cornerstones of a corporation's information technology structure.All companies need to manage communications and information with their customers (CRM-Customer Relationship Management), their suppliers (SCM-Supply Chain Management), their resources within the enterprise (ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning) and their planning (SDLC-Systems Development Life Cycle). In addition, manufacturing engineering companies must also develop, describe, manage and communicate information about their products. One form of PLM is called people-centric PLM. While traditional PLM tools have been deployed only on release or during the release phase, people-centric PLM targets the design phase.

ADVANTAGES OF PLM OVER THE CONVENTIONAL DESIGN PROCESS:


Increase Revenues:

Innovation Increase reuse, focus on real innovation, do not reinvent the wheel Pursue different product alternatives before actually launching production Successful new products Align market/customer requirements with delivered product Increase quality Reduce product price

Speed Eliminate human errors Increase productivity Reduce scrap and rework Provide quick accurate answers to clients Meet deadlines Track and manage unexpected circumstances instead of enduring them

Reduce Costs:

Efficiency Ensure everyone is working on the correct information Reduce the volume of Part Numbers managed Reduce product cost Lean Processes Simplify and make new product development repeatable Automate routine tasks Remove lags between the end of an activity and the start of the following one Manage and control parallel tasks

Operational Benefits:
PLM has significant impact on internal, supplier-facing and customer-facing operational efficiency. AMR/Gartner provides some helpful research that highlights specific examples of the operational efficiency payback. PLM systematically enables better communication and decision making in product development and engineering aspects of the product lifecycle, resulting in improved efficiency in these operating areas by:

Internally Improving use of cost-center resources like core R&D, engineering, prototypes, and samples. Supplier-facing Enhancing the ability to purchase materials, parts, and customer services. Customer-facing Increasing knowledge of what style, configuration, or custom design to deliver or how to modify product characteristics in future versions. Although most companies have existing metrics for these areas, measurable improvement will show within the first six months of live usage of a PLM system. More importantly, these existing operating metrics are also linked to higher-level strategic imperatives, such as speed, innovation, quality, and cost efficiency. Therefore, improvements in operational efficiency are most critical, giving top management the ability to monitor process against the project milestones (such as loading data, or going live) and against performance goals of accelerating product innovation.

Internal Efficiency The first set of operating benefits targeted with PLM initiatives is internal effectiveness. Paybacks in this area are among the easiest to prove with existing user best practices using ROI analysis. Research done by AMR/Gartner displayed below shows specific examples of improvements in internal process efficiency. Internal Operational Efficiencies:

ECO cycle time reduced by 50%; ECO admin expense reduced by 60% (Personal Computers) Cut box assembly from 3 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes; ECO cycle time improved 40% (Storage) TTM improved 40% (Farm Equipment)

Supplier-Facing The second targeted area for operational improvement is supplier-facing activities in product development and lifecycle management. This area offers the clearest cost reduction and the most promise for immediate ROI because it focuses on design for lower total cost, resulting in reduction in redundant parts and material specifications. See examples provided by AMR/Gartner below: Supplier-Facing Efficiencies:

Reuse improved from less than 2% to 59%. Total savings: $500M over 3 years on direct materials (Computers)

Internal supply chain organization found 2% savings on direct materials purchase; $640M in materials acquisition savings potential across all groups (Industrial Products) 10%-20% reduction in costs for packaging; reduction of 5%-10% on direct materials spend (Consumer Goods)

Customer-Facing The third area of operating improvement is customer-facing performance. Most business cases fail to isolate and concentrate on this area of payback, resulting in an often forgotten cost-reduction opportunity. Benefits that result from taking advantage of this area include higher customer satisfaction, higher win rates for custom designed products and components, and a positive impact on selling and service costs. See some examples of these benefits below: Customer-Facing Efficiencies:

Order to manufacture cycle time reduced from 4 weeks to one day; errors essentially eliminated (Wireless Transmissions) "Significant" savings on allowances for warranty and returns (Farm Equipment) Order errors reduced by 50% (Elevators) RFQ response time reduction from 2 weeks to 24 hours (Electronic Manufacturing Services)

Other Benefits :

Reduced time to market Improved product quality Reduced prototyping costs More accurate and timely Request For Quote generation Ability to quickly identify potential sales opportunities and revenue contributions Savings through the re-use of original data A framework for product optimization Reduced waste Savings through the complete integration of engineering workflows Documentation that can assist in proving Compliance for RoHS or Title 21 CFR Part 11 Ability to provide Contract Manufacturers with access to a centralized product record

REFERENCES: http://www.citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.110.7242... http://solairplm.com/index.php/advantages-of-plm http://www.product-lifecycle-management.info/what-is-plm/operational-benefits.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_lifecycle_management

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