An Investigation into the Interrelationship between Aircraft Systems and Final Assembly Process Design

Modern aircraft are more integrated with advanced systems functionalities, which result in ever-increasing aircraft complexity, further development difficulties and development delays. These system complexities are mostly in the form of system interactions that make it difficult to understand the overall system characteristics. At the early stages of final assembly line (FAL) design, one of the most important objectives is to arrange the installation and test tasks from components to sub-systems and systems in the proper sequence to meet the designed functions and prevent hazards from the integration process. Improper sequencing of the final assembly process will cause rework, time delays, cost and potential safety risk in development. In the field of final assembly line design, previous research has mostly focused on assembly line balancing or supply chain design based on structural parts assembly. However, these approaches do not consider the early final assembly line definition or test allocation for system functions. In this paper, the research proposes a method based on a systems engineering view and integrated computer aided design (CAD) to help better understand system interactions and generate viable final assembly process sequencing. This research aims to develop a concept of unified master data for final assembly design, which contains 3D geometrical CAD, system functions and interaction characteristics. The paper will present the methodology framework, key concepts and associated industrial software packages for implementation. The paper concludes with further discussion of an initial case study

Contribution of offset to defence industrialisation in Indonesia

Offset is compensation given to a buyer country for an arms sale. Initially perceived as ‘necessary evil’ in an imperfect defence market, it now serves dual purposes: a marketing strategy for defence industry and a procurement policy for buyer country to generate add on benefits from arms import. Offsets proliferate, and so are stricter mandatory government policies. Still evaluation of offset has been difficult, mostly done in a country-based setting using anecdotal evidence that result in mixed findings. Following the issuance of mandatory offset policy in Indonesia through Law on Defence Industry in 2012, evaluation of past and current offset practice have become not only relevant but also critical to provide policy feedback. This dissertation provides an empirical examination on how offset has been understood and practised in Indonesia, and its contribution to defence industrialisation. The timeframe chosen is 1988-2014, when countertrade has been used to support the lifecycle of strategic industries: development (1988-1998), survival (1999-2009), and revitalisation (2010-2014). This study derives its validity and reliability from triangulation, comprising secondary data, survey, and case study. Three variables are analysed: technology development through ‘strategic industries’, defence offset, and defence industrialisation. Technology development focuses on how technology policy centred on a strategic industries paradigm and ladder of production to initiate industrialisation push. Defence offset discusses the conceptual and practical aspects of offset in Indonesia, including strategic objectives, regulation and institution frameworksin the defence procurement context, and offset life cycle and financing. Defence industrialisation discusses the impact of offset through employment, skill enhancement, transfer of technology, export promotion, domestic supply chain creation, and R&D. Field works were conducted in three firms representing different industrial sectors: PT DI (aerospace), PT Pal (shipbuilding), and PT Pindad (landsystem). Research findings indicate that, first, offset practice has mostly taken place on an ad hoc basis, with no clear reference to strategic objectives, as well as long-term management and financing- that mirror deficiencies in defence procurement. Second, as result of the deficiencies, offset results have been varied from one firm to another, across the different industrial sectors of aerospace, maritime, as well as ammunition and land system. While offset has a positive impact on skill enhancement and technology transfer, it seldom translates into new employment, supply chain creation, export, or R&D. This study generates the following recommendations. First, Indonesia needs to strengthen the management of offset through pre-offset planning and preparing practical guidelines for offset stakeholders in parallel with human resources to support the programme. This means identification of offset potential in procurement (convergence of long term technology policy and long term defence procurement plan), estimation of offset premium cost, allowing participation of industry in the early stage of the offset cycle, as well as devising methods of evaluating offset. Second, Indonesia needs to formulate strategic objectives for offset that relate closely to the dual purposes of defence modernisation and industry revitalisation. Third, Indonesia must strengthen the technology absorptive capability in industry in order to sustain the benefit of offset

Modelling for data management & exchange in Concurrent Engineering - A case study of civil aircraft assembly line

This research aims to improve the dataflow performance of the Concurrent Engineering (CE) practice in the detail design stage of the aircraft Assembly Line (AL) in the C919 aircraft project. As the final integrator of the aircraft, Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company Ltd. (SAMC) is responsible for developing the AL with global suppliers. Although CE has been implemented in AL projects to shorten lead time, reduce development cost and improve design quality, the lack of experience and insufficient infrastructure may lead to many challenges in cooperation with distributed suppliers, especially regarding data management/exchange and workflow control. In this research, the particular CE environment and activities in SAMC AL projects were investigated. By assessing the CE performance and benchmarking, the improvement opportunities are identified, and then an activity-oriented workflow and dataflow model is established by decomposing the work process to detail levels. Based on this model, a Product Data Management (PDM) based support platform is proposed to facilitate data management/exchange in dynamic workflow to improve work efficiency and interoperability. This solution is mocked-up on the Siemens Teamcenter 8.1 PLM(Product Lifecycle Management) software and its feasibility is checked. The mock-up is evaluated by SAMC experts and suppliers. The feedback shows the acceptance of the model by experts and the urgency of improving data/work flow design before PLM implementing. The result of this research is useful for enterprises in similar environments transiting from pre-PLM to implementing PLM and who wanting to strengthen CE in the new product development

The evolution of systems-integration capability in latecomer contexts: the case ofIran’s thermal and hydro power generation systems

This study concerns building capabilities within the electricity sector of Iran, a developing country. It focuses on two areas of high-technology development,• hydro electricity generation plants and thermal electricity generation plants, and investigates the accumulation of local capabilities to undertake large and complex development projects in these two areas. The empirical aim of the thesis is to analyse how far the local capabilities have advanced and what can be done to enhance them. The business of engineering and developing complex electricity generation systems, such as hydro and thermal power plants, is an example of high-value high-technology capital goods industries (sometimes referred to as CoPS in the innovation studies literature). This literature suggests that systems integration is a core capability of leading suppliers in CoPS industries. Most studies of capability building at the firm level in latecomer contexts, however, have focused on mass-manufacturing firms rather than on project-based ones. The CoPS literature, on the other hand, has investigated the concept of systems integration capability within the context of developed economies. Therefore, this research aims to examine latecomer systems integration capability (LSIC) in these two CoPS areas in Iran to develop our understanding of the nature and evolution of LSIC. This research is carried out as an exploratory case study, combining some elements of latecomer theory, systems integration and capability theory to develop the analytical framework for the study. The framework is then applied to evidence gathered from two major Iranian systems integrators that lead engineering and development activities involved in the construction of power plants. Evidence is gathered on the evolution of micro-level attributes, including people, knowledge, processes and structures, underlying LSIC, along with changes in products and outcomes of systems integration activities. These categories of evidence are combined with the evidence on the internal context of the firms and their external environment to reveal their achievements in the accumulation of LSIC, and to understand the dynamics behind the evolution of LSIC. The analysis of this thesis shows how the two Iranian firms entered into the business of systems integration of power plant systems, and have gradually built higher levels of LSIC, allowing them to succeed in competitive local and overseas markets, and to diversify into local markets for other complex projects. Nevertheless, there have been imbalances, spurts of rapid capability growth, periods of falling behind in specific areas of LSIC, close connections and relationships (amounting to a co-evolution among LSIC areas), and major investments and strategies to remedy imbalances, and to sustain the firms' progress. This thesis also attempts to explain these complex variations in the evolutionary paths of LSIC. In addition to contributing to the latecomer capability literature, this research suggests some policy and business strategy implications.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

An illustrated glossary of ambiguous PLM terms used in discrete manufacturing

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is a strategic product-centric, lifecycle-oriented and information-driven business approach that strives to integrate people and their inherent practices, processes, and technologies, both within and across functional areas of the extended enterprise from inception to disposal. The integration of people relies on the harmonisation of domain-specific glossaries by standardising a universal PLM vocabulary. So far, unfortunately, there is no PLM standard vocabulary. Therefore, the tremendous amount of knowledge that is continually brought forward by academic research studies, industrial practices and computer-aided applications causes semantic ambiguities. This paper consists of an illustrated glossary and a conceptual map. The glossary identifies, discusses, clarifies and illustrates ambiguous terms used in discrete manufacturing. The conceptual map finally underlines the logical flow of refereed definition

An illustrated glossary of ambiguous PLM terms used in discrete manufacturing

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is a strategic product-centric, lifecycle-oriented and information-driven business approach that strives to integrate people and their inherent practices, processes, and technologies, both within and across functional areas of the extended enterprise from inception to disposal. The integration of people relies on the harmonisation of domain-specific glossaries by standardising a universal PLM vocabulary. So far, unfortunately, there is no PLM standard vocabulary. Therefore, the tremendous amount of knowledge that is continually brought forward by academic research studies, industrial practices and computer-aided applications causes semantic ambiguities. This paper consists of an illustrated glossary and a conceptual map. The glossary identifies, discusses, clarifies and illustrates ambiguous terms used in discrete manufacturing. The conceptual map finally underlines the logical flow of refereed definitions

China's search for indigenous industrial development : a case study of the aviation industry

The one common feature amongst all underdeveloped nations is their intent to develop. The question is how to achieve this goal in the most efficient and effective manner. China’s recent premier, Deng Xiaoping, captured this challenge in what has become a celebrated metaphor …“It does not matter whether the cat is black or white; as long as it catches the mouse, it is a good cat.” For China, the choice of development strategy has not been Communism or Capitalism, but rather a mixture of both with central direction and decentralized profit incentives combined. This unique model was launched at the time of the 1978 ‘Open-Door’ policy and heralded a period of unparalleled growth and development. Access to technology to support the creation of modern industries came through foreign investment, and China’s central planners were in a strong position to direct inward technology transfer to what were held to be the ‘back-bone’ industries essential for high technology industrialization. The purpose of this dissertation, then, is to analyse China’s development process, with particular reference to the development of the high technology aviation industry. Aviation (commercial aircraft production) is part of the broader industrial sector, aerospace. This represents one of the highest technology sectors, embracing knowledge-intensive activity, innovation, high skills and high value-added. Aviation is regarded as a strategic industry, and as such, China has viewed foreign technology not only from a development perspective, but also as a vehicle for achieving sovereignty and sustainability. In other words, China’s long-term aim has been to develop an ‘indigenous’ aviation industry. However, such aviation ambitions are shared by several other Asian nations, including Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia. This thus makes the task of gaining technology from the major aviation giants, such as Boeing and Airbus, very competitive. Moreover, the drive to build commercial aircraft has both an economic and a nationalistic dimension, and so ‘success’ carries not profit but political rewards, also. ii In evaluating the challenge Asia faces in developing an indigenous aviation industry, secondary and primary data were gathered, providing a sense of country strategy and performance. Japan is the technology leader, with countries playing the role of technology followers. China, however, is at the back of the pack, with limited local capacity and constrained indigenous capability. However, notwithstanding the country’s ‘chaotic’ industrial development history over the last 50 years, the present powerful combination of high economic growth, massive demand for commercial air travel - and thus airliners, unlimited central government resources, command planning and an absolute commitment to succeed, suggests that China is strongly positioned to replace Japan as the aviation technology leader in the years to come.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A Helping Hand for Europe: The Competitive Outlook for the EU Robotics Industry

This report is one of a series resulting from a project entitled ¿Competitiveness by Leveraging Emerging Technologies Economically¿ (COMPLETE), carried out by JRC-IPTS. Each of the COMPLETE studies illustrates in its own right that European companies are active on many fronts of emerging and disruptive ICT technologies and are supplying the market with relevant products and services. Nevertheless, the studies also show that the creation and growth of high tech companies is still very complex and difficult in Europe, and too many economic opportunities seem to escape European initiatives and ownership. COMPLETE helps to illustrate some of the difficulties experienced in different segments of the ICT industry and by growing potential global players. Hopefully, COMPLETE will contribute to a better understanding of the opportunities and help shape better market conditions (financial, labour and product markets) to sustain European competitiveness and economic growth. This report deals with robotics applications in general, and in two specific areas selected because of potential market and EU capability in these areas: robotics applications in SMEs, and robotics safety. It starts by introducing the state of the art in robotics, their applications, market size, value chains and disruptive potential of emerging robotics technologies. For each of the two specific areas, the report describes the EU landscape, potential market, benefits, difficulties, and how these might be overcome. The last chapter draws together the findings of the study, to consider EU competitiveness in robotics, opportunities and policy implications. The work is based on desk research and targeted interviews with industry experts in Europe and beyond. The results were reviewed by experts and in a dedicated workshop.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ