Modeling the Structure and Complexity of Engineering Routine Design Problems

This paper proposes a model to structure routine design problems as well as a model of its design complexity. The idea is that having a proper model of the structure of such problems enables understanding its complexity, and likewise, a proper understanding of its complexity enables the development of systematic approaches to solve them. The end goal is to develop computer systems capable of taking over routine design tasks based on generic and systematic solving approaches. It is proposed to structure routine design in three main states: problem class, problem instance, and problem solution. Design complexity is related to the degree of uncertainty in knowing how to move a design problem from one state to another. Axiomatic Design Theory is used as reference for understanding complexity in routine design

An Information Model for Product Development: A Case Study at PHILIPS Shavers

This paper presents an investigation into the development of an information model to support the Product Development Process (PDP) of shaving devices at PHILIPS. Firstly, challenges of the PDP were identified by carrying out interviews with several systems engineers and product architects. It was found that an increase in product functions combined with a shorter time to market has resulted in higher information densities and larger information flows during the PDP. As a result, managing uncertainty, communication and documentation has become increasingly difficult. Secondly, the information flow in the organization was formalized at the hand of interviews with the development staff in all involved departments and by investigating the available documentation of former projects. Thirdly, the information flow was translated into an information model to support the future development of new shaving devices. The resulting model consists of two paper based design support tools, namely, the MetroChart and the Design Parameter Matrices. The former is a paper-based design support tool that provides a compact overview of the processes that different development teams have to undergo during the PDP of a new shaver. The latter provides a detailed description of the relations between design parameters, process steps, and components. Current efforts are made to determine how to implement the model from an organizational point of view, as the number of developers, disciplines and departments involved in the design of this product is rather large and small errors can lead to large losse

Work in progress: developing tools that support the design of easily maintainable rolling stock

Maintenance activities strongly influence the operational availability and life cycle costs of rolling stock. To achieve an effective and efficient maintenance process, it is essential that the design of the trains and its maintenance service are well-aligned. We conduct research on how the design of industrial equipment, such as rolling stock, and the design of its maintenance service influence the maintenance process. We use our findings for the development of methods and tools that support the use of maintenance knowledge in the equipment design process. An example of a past train development project shows that re- designing the mounting construction of a compressor has led to lower maintenance costs and a higher availability of both the trains and the maintenance resources. Based on such examples from industry and from findings in the literature, we expect that our research can contribute to better design decisions, which ultimately results in production systems that are cost-effective over their whole life tim

Towards structured integration of maintenance knowledge in industrial equipment design

Industrial equipment requires maintenance to remain operational. The level of maintenance that is required, and how easily it can be executed, is affected by the characteristics of the equipment. Therefore, design decisions have a strong influence on the effectiveness and efficiency of the maintenance process. Ideally, the design of the equipment should be aligned with the design of the maintenance service. Relevant knowledge about the relationships between them is available in both the literature and in practice. It is essential to bring this knowledge into the equipment design process, but suitable design support for this remains lacking. Therefore, we propose to conduct research on how this knowledge can be systematically integrated into the design process. The final goal of the research is to develop design support that leads to an improved quality of design decisions, so that production systems with an increased life cycle performance will be achieved

Finding robust investments for the Dutch gas distribution infrastructure in 2050 by a scenario study

In the changing Dutch energy market, the ageing gas distribution grid needs investments. There is, however, a large uncertainty regarding certain aspects that affect the future role of this gas distribution grid, such as the eventual share of biomethane in the gas mix, whether power-to-gas will take-off and the expected lifetime of the grid. Hence, it is currently unclear what investments need to be made for the gas distribution infrastructure in order to cope with future changes. To find out how the future may unfold for the Dutch gas distribution infrastructure in 2050, four scenarios have been developed. Two key forces – a key force is a factor that has a large impact on the gas distribution grid but great uncertainty exists regarding its outcome – were chosen, namely “perceived energy resource scarcity” and “willingness and ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”. Each scenario sketches the future Dutch gas infrastructure by defining, among others, the extent to which biomass will be used to produce biomethane, whether fossil fuel is allowed to be burned locally, and what types of gas will flow through the gas grid. With these scenarios at our disposal, in the next research step, we will establish the impact of the scenarios on the gas distribution grid – i.e. what the layout will be and the corresponding costs – and the accompanying biomethane infrastructure. For this, 3 typical locations were chosen: a rural region, an urban region, and an intermediate region. Through a multi-objective optimization – with maximizing net present value, maximizing biomethane production, and maximizing CO2 emission reduction as objectives – the possible layout of the gas distribution grid and the biomethane infrastructure will be determined for each region. The study’s aim is to find similarities in investments among the different layouts, to come to robust investments for the gas distribution infrastructure

Supporting industrial equipment development through a set of design-for-maintenance guidelines

This paper presents a leaflet with design-for-maintenance guidelines. It aims at supporting developers of industrial equipment in their design-for-maintenance practices. The use of this leaflet should lead to increased attention for design-for-maintenance aspects and to improve idea generation. The way of presenting the guidelines to the user should ensure that the support will be adopted in practice. The feedback that we have received from industrial partners indicates that the support is useful in practice. A thorough evaluation study has been planned in order to confirm this

Method to explore technology innovation fully exploitin in-house capabilities

This paper proposes a design method to seek potential product innovation fully exploiting in-house capabilities. The method triggers scientists, designers and engineers in discovering both new instantiations of physical principles and new physical phenomena that may appear by modifying the embodiment of existing technologies. The embodiment modifications are constrained by the in-house manufacturing techniques to seek innovative solutions without the burden of heavy capital investments. The newly discovered principles and phenomena are tested for possible affordances leading to new product functions. The design method is applied in an industrial technology exploration and led to the discovery of two new technologie

Structure and models of artifactual routine design problems for computational synthesis

Computational synthesis (CS) researches the automatic generation of solutions to design problems. The aim is to shorten design times and present the user with multiple design solutions. However, initializing a new CS process has not received much attention in literature. With this motivation, this paper presents a framework to structure and model routine design to assist the development of new CS processes. First, concepts are presented and used to propose a structure for artifactual routine design problems. Latter, base models (building blocks) for creating new designs are described. Finally, a classification of design families according to its structure and models is presented together with its relation to know CS methods