Data-driven through-life costing to support product lifecycle management solutions in innovative product development

Innovative product usually refers to product that comprises of creativity and new ideas. In the development of such a new product, there is often a lack of historical knowledge and data available to be used to perform cost estimation accurately. This is due to the fact that traditional cost estimation methods are used to predict costs only after a product model has been built, and not at an early design stage when there is little data and information available. In light of this, original equipment manufacturers are also facing critical challenges of becoming globally competitive and increasing demands from customer for continuous innovation. To alleviate these situations this research has identified a new approach to cost modelling with the inclusion of product lifecycle management solutions to address innovative product development.The aim of this paper, therefore, is to discuss methods of developing an extended-enterprise data-driven through-life cost estimating method for innovative product development

Through life costing in defence electronic systems: an integrated data-driven multi-level approach

Cost estimating is a business process that is critical to the defence sector, where many products have low volumes and long life cycles. The nature of a defence system is often unique (for example, a naval platform) which consists of a number of sub-systems and components. For the design of such a system cost estimating is a critical task, in particular the requirement to predict the cost throughout the systems lifetime. The aim of this paper therefore is to discuss an integrated approach that provides a general framework for through life costing in defence systems via the development of: (1) a generic data library to support designers and cost estimators, (2) data searching and transfer mechanisms to support a top-down and bottom-up hybrid cost modelling approach, (3) capturing reliability data to support product services. The paper is divided into several sections, first, a review of relevant research projects concerning integration and data capture for cost modelling. This is followed by a section, which highlights problems of performing cost estimates for low volume products, and subsequently the proposed solution, methods of cost estimation and example applications. Perhaps most importantly, the methods created in this research are able to enhance decision-making and accelerate the responsiveness of the business bidding process

Data Modelling and Optimization in Cost Estimation for Innovative Low Volume Product Development

This paper reports on the progress of the research and development of a data modelling and optimization method to support cost estimation in the product development process. This paper forms part of an investigation into Through-Life Costing of innovative low volume long life defence electronic systems. The paper briefly covers the literature review in the area of cost estimation in product development, in particularly the data sets needed to perform cost estimation and the method of modelling the data and the optimization techniques. The propose approach will be used to support cost estimation in product development decisions of innovative low volume product development

Estimating cost at the conceptual design stage to optimize design in terms of performance and cost

In the highly competitive business environment, cost estimation is a strategic tool, which can be used to assist decision making with regard to products throughout their life cycle. 70 to 80 percent of the life-cycle costs of a product are determined by decision taken by designers during the early design stages. Therefore it is important to estimate and optimise cost as early and as accurately as possible. The main aim of this research is to use typically available information at the conceptual stage of design and estimate cost in order to optimise design in terms of performance and cost. The main objective is to employ Design of Experiments (Taguchi method) to use the sparse information more effectively in order to estimate the cost of a product at the early design stage. This paper presents the current status of the research activity. A case study is introduced which illustrates the initial applications of the optimization process. Conclusions are then discussed and the future research described

Uncertainty in through-life costing-review and perspectives

Estimating through-life cost (TLC) is an area that is critical to many industrial sectors, and in particular, within the defense and aerospace where products are complex and have extended life cycles. One of the key problems in modeling the cost of these products is the limited life-cycle information at the early stage. This leads to epistemic and aleatory uncertainty within the estimation process in terms of data, estimation techniques, and scenarios analysis. This paper presents a review of the uncertainty classification in engineering literature and the nature of uncertainty in TLC estimation. Based on the review, the paper then presents a critique of the current uncertaintymodeling approaches in cost estimation and concludes with suggestion for the requirement of a different approach to handling uncertainty in TLC. The potential value of imprecise probability should be explored within the domain of TLC to assist cost estimators and decision makers in understanding and assessing the uncertainty. The implication of such a representation in terms of decision making under risk and decision making under uncertainty is also discussed

A Cad Modelling System Automation for Reverse Engineering Applications

Detail, west end of the building and steel supports; Located on a sloping (60 degree slope) urban hillside on the UCSF Parnassus campus, the continuous structure navigates the uneven site, responding with a serpentine form that is supported by a system of steel space trusses. Designed to accommodate 125 individual biology laboratories for scientists studying stem-cell treatment, the building has one laboratory floor split into four levels, which step down half a storey at a time as they descend the hill. Each level is topped by an office cluster and a grass roof with wildflowers and plants. The $123 million building, paid for with state and private funds (but no federal funds), is an outgrowth of California’s effort to advance stem cell research in the face of more than a decade of restrictive federal funding policies. Source: Rafael Viñoly Architects [website]; http://www.rvapc.com/ (accessed 9/4/2015