Practitioner requirements for integrated Knowledge-Based Engineering in Product Lifecycle Management.

The effective management of knowledge as capital is considered essential to the success of engineering product/service systems. As Knowledge Management (KM) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) practice gain industrial adoption, the question of functional overlaps between both the approaches becomes evident. This article explores the interoperability between PLM and Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) as a strategy for engineering KM. The opinion of key KBE/PLM practitioners are systematically captured and analysed. A set of ranked business functionalities to be fulfiled by the KBE/PLM systems integration is elicited. The article provides insights for the researchers and the practitioners playing both the user and development roles on the future needs for knowledge systems based on PLM

Principles for aerospace manufacturing engineering in integrated new product introduction

This article investigates the value-adding practices of Manufacturing Engineering for integrated New Product Introduction. A model representing how current practices align to support lean integration in Manufacturing Engineering has been defined. The results are used to identify a novel set of guiding principles for integrated Manufacturing Engineering. These are as follows: (1) use a data-driven process, (2) build from core capabilities, (3) develop the standard, (4) deliver through responsive processes and (5) align cross-functional and customer requirements. The investigation used a mixed-method approach. This comprises case studies to identify current practice and a survey to understand implementation in a sample of component development projects within a major aerospace manufacturer. The research contribution is an illustration of aerospace Manufacturing Engineering practices for New Product Introduction. The conclusions will be used to indicate new priorities for New Product Introduction and the cross-functional interactions to support flawless and innovative New Product Introduction. The final principles have been validated through a series of consultations with experts in the sponsoring company to ensure that correct and relevant content has been defined

Past, present and future of information and knowledge sharing in the construction industry: Towards semantic service-based e-construction

The paper reviews product data technology initiatives in the construction sector and provides a synthesis of related ICT industry needs. A comparison between (a) the data centric characteristics of Product Data Technology (PDT) and (b) ontology with a focus on semantics, is given, highlighting the pros and cons of each approach. The paper advocates the migration from data-centric application integration to ontology-based business process support, and proposes inter-enterprise collaboration architectures and frameworks based on semantic services, underpinned by ontology-based knowledge structures. The paper discusses the main reasons behind the low industry take up of product data technology, and proposes a preliminary roadmap for the wide industry diffusion of the proposed approach. In this respect, the paper stresses the value of adopting alliance-based modes of operation

DFM synthesis approach based on product-process interface modelling. Application to the peen forming process.

Engineering design approach are curently CAD-centred design process. Manufacturing information is selected and assessed very late in the design process and above all as a reactive task instead of being proactive to lead the design choices. DFM appraoches are therefore assesment methods that compare several design alternatives and not real design approaches at all. Main added value of this research work concerns the use of a product-process interface model to jointly manage both the product and the manufacturing data in a proactive DFM way. The DFM synthesis approach and the interface model are presented via the description of the DFM software platform

Industry-driven innovative system development for the construction industry: The DIVERCITY project

Collaborative working has become possible using the innovative integrated systems in construction as many activities are performed globally with stakeholders situated in various locations. The Integrated VR based information systems can bind the fragmentation and provide communication and collaboration between the distributed stakeholders n various locations. The development of these technologies is vital for the uptake of these systems by the construction industry. This paper starts by emphasising the importance of construction IT research and reviews some future research directions in this area. In particular, the paper explores how virtual prototyping can improve the productivity and effectiveness of construction projects, and presents DIVERCITY, which is th as a case study of the research in virtual prototyping. Besides, the paper explores the requirements engineering of the DIVERCITY project. DIVERCITY has large and evolving requirements, which considered the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, such as clients, architects and contractors. However, practitioners are often unsure of the detail of how virtual environments would support the construction process, and how to overcome some barriers to the introduction of new technologies. This complicates the requirements engineering process

Sustainable development strategies for product provision and manufacturing approaches

Manufacturing firms are under many pressures both financially and competitive which focus attention on the performance of their manufacturing processes. In this paper the opportunities for improving the environmental impact of products within the constraints of existing manufacturing infrastructure are examined. Approaches which support sustainability in two aspects are proposed, firstly, the provision of products to the users in ways which extend the product life and secondly, manufacturing approaches which reduce resource usage. The provision and manufacture of products in ways that are truly sustainable are inhibited by three issues: firstly, decisions are predominantly made solely from the perspective of the “vendor” (and do not consider the wider perspective); secondly, that generally the scope of business planning is still rooted in production/manufacturing costs (and not consumption costs) and thirdly, the current performance measures (e.g. KPIs) mainly focus on profitability. The rationale for this conference paper is the argument that there is a need to raise the awareness during the earliest stages of business planning that there may be alternative approaches which are more sustainable. The concepts presented here will underpin further research into performance measures which encompass sustainability and resulting business planning implications

Decision Management Process Improvement Project

A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Project ManagementIt has become all too common that questions are raised during the execution of a project pertaining to the decisions that were made early on. Without having maintained a concise, accessible record of project decisions, the project manager and team members would find it difficult to provide hard evidence as to how they got to this point and what impacts specific decisions had on the project’s trajectory. This paper introduces the Decision Management Process Improvement Project (DMPIP), which focuses on improving decision management process throughout the lifecycle of a project with the aim of adding value to project performance and helping obtain project success. This new tool was inspired due to a lack of appropriate methods involving complex projects at a local consulting firm. The process along with the tool is being added to the toolset of a local Consulting Firm. This Firm plans to introduce the tools and techniques to clients that will benefit from an increased Project Management maturity level with improvements to its decision-tracking processes and demonstration of downstream effects of important decisions. The final product is a contribution to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) in the form of creating a Project Decision Management knowledge area in the PMBOK format. A decision log that follows a decision throughout the whole process from problem identification and analysis to the eventual outcome is at the core of the created knowledge area.Title Page / Table of Contents / List of Exhibits / Abstract / Keywords / Introduction / Project Purpose / Project Benefits / Research Methodology / Research Results Analysis / Project Management Approach / Final Products / Conclusion and Recommendations / Opportunities for Future Development / Reference

PLM and early stages collaboration in interactive design, a case study in the glass industry

Product design activity is traditionally presented as a succession of four to six stages. In the early stages of design, during the search for concepts, multi-disciplinary teams are working together, sometimes on the fringe of the digital design chain. But it is during these stages, that most of the product development cost is committed. Therefore, collaboration should be emphasized, and PLM software should contribute to it strongly. This paper first defines the boundaries of the early stages of design. Then, we analyze designer collaboration in this stage and describe the knowledge necessary for efficient collaboration. Finally, we propose and test a concept for a tool to assist the early stages of design, to be integrated in a continuum with other existing digital design tools. A case study is presented in Verallia, specialized in the design and manufacturing of glassware