A Knowledge-Based Approach for PLM Implementation Using Modular Benefits Dependency Networks

Part 10: Maturity Implementation and AdoptionInternational audienceIndustrial companies face significant challenges when they engage in the implementation of Product Lifecycle Management. Research has shown that organizations have difficulties in defining concrete and measurable goals and relating enabling technology to business benefits. Moreover, implementation service providers rely heavily on tacit knowledge when it comes to operational details. This paper proposes a conceptual framework as a methodology for implementation teams. It allows teams to reuse implementation knowledge on a detailed level, related to contribution to benefits and business goals. The methodology is derived from emerging, set-based product and process development methodologies and also from benefit management strategies for information systems. The goal of this methodology is to increase the probability that Product Lifecycle Management implementation contributes to the business benefits of organizations and therefore lower the economic risks. The paper describes the method and the result of two explorative case studies

Assessment of Sustainable Practices in New Product Design

Product development is one of the most critical aspects for companies in reaching their sustainability objectives. Decisions during NPD process have impact on 80-90% of a product‟s life cycle sustainability performance. Hence, to understand how and what companies are doing currently to integrate sustainability into their products and product design processes with a specific focus on environmental aspects is the main objective of this paper. The investigation has been conducted by means of a questionnaire developed based on a framework in order to assess manufacturing companies operating in Italy in mechanical, electrical and automotive sectors. The analysis was carried out on 10 companies with high innovation cycles, which are subject to many product based EU legislations. The results revealed that sustainability is not well integrated into product design yet as companies just try to tackle legislations still considering sustainability as a constraint rather than exploiting the opportunities for eco-innovation. Thus, eco-design improvement options only stand a chance, if they are supported by some stimuli related to economical aspects apart from just environmental benefits. Keywords: Sustainability, Eco-design, New Product Development (NPD), Eco-design tool

Integration of Sustainability in Product Development Process: Supporting Tools

Product design and development is paramount for companies in reaching their sustainability objectives. In this study several sustainability tools and in particular ecodesign tools have been on the focus, which differ in their natures, approaches and views. Introduction of these methods/tools, identifying the different approaches used, as well as their advantages and limitations are discussed. Albeit, there is no panacea tool or method under all conditions, the selection of ecodesign tools depends on the quality and accuracy of the output required in different phases of product development process, that in turn depend on the product type and company characteristics and objectives towards sustainability. The output of this paper will help those who want to pursue a research in the area, to include sustainability dimension in product development course, and for those companies who are interested to understand and adopt tools and methods that is suitable for their company. Keywords: Ecodesign, Environment analysis, Ecodesign tools, Sustainable product development

Serious Games in Manufacturing Education: Evaluation of Learners’ Engagement

Presently industries need new generation of knowledge workers who are adept with the dynamics of manufacturing systems. Consequently, application of serious games as a promising learning method has emerged in manufacturing education. Serious game is aimed at learning rather than pure entertainment. Thus, evaluating the effectiveness of a serious game in improving the learning outcome is a paramount issue. In this paper, after reviewing efforts which have been made in serious games’ evaluation, the level of learners’ engagement that played the Set Based Concurrent Engineering (SBCE) game is examined. The game is designed at Politecnico di Milano, Italy to bring a hand-on experience on lean product development for practitioners and academia. The study is based on one company case in Italy. The results show that a high level of engagement among learners is exhibited based on the evaluation framework adopted

Assessment of Sustainable Practices in New Product Development

Decisions during NPD process have impact on 80-90% of a product’s life cycle sustainability performance. The objective of this study is to investigate the integration of sustainability into product design, mainly focusingon the environmental aspects. The investigation has been carried out by means of a questionnaire developed based on a 3-pillar framework outlining the essential elements for successful integration of sustainability and Life Cycle thinking in NPD process. 10 manufacturing companies with high innovation cycles, operating in Italy in mechanical, electrical and automotive sectors was assessed, supporting the questionnaire with 2 complementary case studies. The results revealed that companies fail to implement sustainability in product development process and gap exists in all the enablers since companies just try to tackle the legislations, considering sustainability as a constraint rather than exploiting the opportunities for eco-innovation. Keywords: Sustainability, Eco-efficiency, New Product Development (NPD), Eco-design tools

Lean Product Development: Fact Finding Research in Italy

Companies have to constantly innovate and introduce new products to the market to win the current pressure they are facing in the globalization era. New Product Development (NPD) Process is becoming crucial, and its performances determine the success of the whole enterprise. Most efforts have been dedicated to improve the phase using different tools and methodologies. Particularly some are trying to apply lean product development to foster the efficiency and effectiveness of their NPD. Though literatures show its success, its implementation is complex and ask for relevant efforts to get benefits out of it. The contribution of this work is to understand if the application of Lean in NPD is currently diffused in Italy. In order to do this we analyzed the development phases of eleven SME and large Italian companies working in mechanical and electronics sector. As a methodology a direct interview has been conducted using semi-structured questioner consists of 39 questions divided into 5 sections. The first section was about lean product development process, the second section was about lean product design, the third section was about knowledge based engineering, and fourth was about cost estimation and the last part consists of additional question about the challenges to implement lean in product development. The interview personnel were project managers, product designers and technical directors. From the study it is found out that most of the companies seldom integrate lean thinking in their product development. Moreover, the early involvement of suppliers in NPD is low, rather the traditional concurrent engineering practice is seen to be adopted by many of the companies interviewed by integrating for example manufacturing starting from concept phase to launch phase. However, the study is a fact finding research, and it is neither intended to be exhaustive nor to be accurate to draw complete conclusions about lean adoption in Italian manufacturing industries

Analysis of Logistics Performances of a VMI Programme in an FMCG Supply Chain

This paper investigates the cost advantages of a VMI (vendor-managed inventory) programme for different adoption rate levels in a given supply chain (SC). Further, it investigates classes of items that should be included in a VMI programme. A real SC has been considered in the study involving one manufacturer that distributes 80 items to 36 distribution centres (DCs) across Europe. Moreover, an ARENA 12.0 simulation modelling package has been used to simulate the SC model over a one-year period. The results of the study show that the cost advantage of a VMI programme, while evident for DCs, even those characterized by lower adoption rates, is not so for the manufacturer. For the manufacturer, the cost leverage of adopting VMI depends on the geographical vicinity of its DCs, the inclusion of items with low sales volumes, and the adoption rate levels. The shorter the distance between the DCs served in the VMI solution, the greater the reduction of the transportation cost for the manufacturer; otherwise, the manufacturer cannot utilize multi-dropping. The reduction in lost sales for the manufacturer significantly depends on the items included in VMI; those items with high order batching bring a greater cost advantage if included in VMI. Finally, the inventory reduction for the manufacturer can be significant only with higher adoption rates or critical mass

Set Based Concurrent Engineering: Serious Gaming and Implications for Practice.

This paper presents a Serious Game (SG) about SBCE (Set-Based Concurrent Engineering) which is one element of Lean practice in Product Development (PD). The game is structured in two stages that simulate the traditional approach to product concept development called PBCE (Pont Based Concurrent Engineering) and SBCE processes. Although SBCE is becoming popular in academia, its understanding and level of adoption in practice are low. Thus, the game is designed to bring a hand on experience to practionaires to understand and reflect on the benefits and applicability of SBCE in a particular company’s context. This paper presents some of the learning outcomes gained through running the game in a company which designs and manufactures products for HVAC/R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration) markets. Moreover, some practical and theoretical insights gained throughout the game play are discussed

Integration of Sustainability in New Product Development Process: Italian Experiences

Decisions that are made during NPD process lock-in around 80-90% of a product‟s life cycle sustainability performances. Therefore, investigating how companies are integrating sustainability in their NPD process is the main target of this paper. From literature, a three pillar framework (Strategy-Tool-Process) has been developed that outlines “a must to have” elements to successfully integrate sustainability and life cycle thinking in NPD process. Based on the framework a questionnaire has been developed to assess manufacturing companies operating in Italy in Electrical, Mechanical, and Automotive sectors. The empirical study was conducted on 10 companies which have high innovation cycles and are the target of many product based EU legislations (e.g. WEEE, ELV, EuP, REACH, RoHS, and others). The results show that companies still consider sustainability as a constraint rather than opportunity for eco-innovation. Moreover, companies are trying to meet the minimum requirements asked by legislations, despite the efforts made by academia to drive strategic push, effective tools, and suitable NPD process paradigms to foster sustainable product innovations. Keywords: Sustainability, Lifecycle Thinking, NPD (New Product Development), Eco-design