Development of an Extended Product Lifecycle Management through Service Oriented Architecture.

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityThe aim of this work is to define new business opportunities through the concept of Extended Product Lifecycle Management (ExtPLM), analysing its potential implementation within a Service Oriented Architecture. ExtPLM merges the concepts of Extended Product, Avatar and PLM. It aims at allowing a closer interaction between enterprises and their customers, who are integrated in all phases of the life cycle, creating new technical functionalities and services, improving both the practical (e.g. improving usage, improving safety, allowing predictive maintenance) and the emotional side (e.g. extreme customization) of the product.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Company; BAE Systems; S4T – Support Service Solutions: Strategy and Transitio

Re-reengineering the dream: agility as competitive adaptability

Organizational adaptation and transformative change management in technology-based organizations is explored in the context of collaborative alliances. A Re-reengineering approach is outlined in which a new Competitive Adaptability Five-Influences Analysis approach under conditions of collaborative alliance, is described as an alternative to Porter’s Five-Forces Competitive Rivalry Analysis model. Whilst continuous change in technology and the associated effects of technology shock (Dedola & Neri, 2006; Christiano, Eichenbaum & Vigfusson, 2003) are not new constructs, the reality of the industrial age was and is a continuing reduction in timeline for relevance and lifetime for a specific technology and the related skills and expertise base required for its effective implementation. This, combined with increasing pressures for innovation (Tidd & Bessant, 2013) and at times severe impacts from both local and global economic environments (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2011) raises serious challenges for contemporary management teams seeking to strategically position a company and its technology base advantageously, relative to its suppliers, competitors and customers, as well as in predictive readiness for future technological change and opportunistic adaptation. In effect, the life-cycle of a technology has become typically one of disruptive change and rapid adjustment, followed by a plateau as a particular technology or process captures and holds its position against minor challenges, eventually to be displaced by yet another alternative (Bower & Christensen, 1995)

Breaking free from the unsustainable now

This paper challenges the traditional concept of 'the product' in our contemporary addictive consumer society and embarks on an interdisciplinary journey to design a way to break free from what we argue is the unsustainable now. This may be achieved by taking the product's perspective and placing it in a wider sustainable context where deeper aspects of value, meaning and use can be explored. By utilising ecological system dynamics including; adaptability, interconnectedness, rhythm and flexibility we seek to move beyond mechanistic design approaches and embrace a deeper and more ecological view of sustainable design. We provide initial research findings from an experimental sustainable product design project in which these concepts are embedded and explored and we conclude by speculating on forward strategies aimed at furthering change and action for designers and educators moving towards a truly sustainable society

Beyond sustainable buildings: eco-efficiency to eco-effectiveness through cradle-to-cradle design

Sustainable building development focuses on achieving buildings that meet performance and functionality requirements with minimum adverse impact on the environment. Such eco-efficiency strategies are however not feasible for achieving long-term economic and environmental objectives as they only result in damage reduction without addressing design flaws of contemporary industry. The cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design philosophy which has been described as a paradigm changing innovative platform for achieving ecologically intelligent and environmentally restorative buildings appears to offer an alternative vision which, if embraced, could lead to eco-effectiveness and the achievement of long-term environmental objectives. Adoption of C2C principles in the built environment has however been hindered by several factors especially in a sector where change has always been a very slow process. From a review of extant literature, it is argued that the promotion of current sustainable and/or gree n building strategies - which in themselves are not coherent enough due to their pluralistic meanings and sometimes differing solutions - are a major barrier to the promotion of C2C principles in the built environment. To overcome this barrier to C2C implementation, it is recommended that research should focus on developing clearly defined and measurable C2C targets that can be incorporated into project briefs from the inception of development projects. These targets could enable control, monitoring and comparison of C2C design outcomes with eco-efficient measures as well as serve as a guide for project stakeholders to achieve eco-effective “nutrient” management from the project conceptualization phase to the end of life of the building

KnowledgePro windows: The order of merit?

The producers of KnowledgePro look set with their latest release of KPWIN (KnowledgePro Windows) to fulfil Richard Hale‐Shaw's prophecy that it will become ‘one of the most powerful visual development environments’ (Hale‐Shaw 1992). Comparisons are drawn in this paper between the KPWIN family of products and other authoring tools. The conclusion is that KPWIN is worthy of being included in any courseware developer's tool set. Reasons for preferring a tool from the KnowledgePro family of products for courseware development over three main competitors ‐ Authorware, Toolbook and Visual Basic ‐ are explained, and the merits of KPWIN and KPWIN++ (a version that generates C++ code) are examined

Universal Design: Planning and Design for All

[Excerpt] This report attempts to develop and illustrate the concept of universal design. The aim of universal design is to develop theory, principles and solutions to enable everybody to use the same physical solutions to the greatest extent possible, whether it be buildings, outdoor-areas, means of communication or household goods. Universal design opposes, ideologically and politically, all unnecessary and stigmatizing specialized solutions, whether they are intended for people with disabilities or other groups of the population. Equal status, equal treatment and equal merit are key concepts. The discussion in this report covers extensive spheres such as planning, architecture and product design. One may object that we try to cover too large an area within a relatively brief report. It is therefore important to emphasise that our main intention is to include more professionals and politicians in the further discussion of universal design or design for all