Concurrent Engineering and Product design

Concurrent engineering involves the formation of cross-functional teams. This allows engineers & managers of different discipline to work together simultaneously in developing product & process design. In concurrent engineering the primary focus is on the integration of teams of people having a stake in the product, design tools, and techniques and information about the product and the processes used to develop and manufacture it. Tools and techniques connect the teams with the information. Although many of the tools are computer-based, much design work is still done with pencil and paper. In fact, concurrent engineering is 80% company culture and 20% computer support. Definition Concurrent engineering is a business strategy which replaces the traditional product development process with one in which tasks are done in parallel and there is an early consideration for every aspect of a product's development process. This strategy focuses on the optimization and distribution of a firm's resources in t he design and development process to ensure effective and efficient product development process. In the Concurrent Engineering approach to development, input is obtained from as many functional areas as possible before the specifications are finalized. This results in the product development team clearly understanding what the product requires in terms of mission performance, environmental conditions during operation, budget, and scheduling. Concurrent Engineering brings together multidisciplinary teams, in which product developers from different functions work together and in parallel from the start of a project with the intention of getting things right as quickly as possible, and as early as possible. IMPLEMENTATION The implementation of Concurrent Engineering addresses three main areas: people, process, and technology. It involves major organizational changes because it requires the integration of people, business methods, and technology and is dependent on cross-functional working and teamwork rather than the traditional hierarchical organization. One of the primary people issues is the formation of teams. Collaboration rather than individual effort is standard, and shared information is the key to success. Team members must commit to working cross-functionally, be collaborative, and constantly

think and learn. The role of the leader is to supply the basic foundation and support for change, rather than to tell the other team members what to do. Training addressed at getting people to work together in teams plays an important role in the successful implementation of Concurrent Engineering. BENEFITS Concurrent Engineering aims to reduce the number of redesigns, especially those resulting from postdesign input from support groups. By involving these groups in the initial design, fewer iterations will be needed. The major iterations that do occur will occur before the design becomes final. The overall time taken to design and manufacture a new product can be substantially reduced if the two activities are carried out together rather than in series. The reductions in design cycle time that result from Concurrent Engineering invariably reduce total product cost. Concurrent Engineering provides benefits such as reduced product development time, reduced design rework, reduced product development cost and improved communications. Examples from companies using Concurrent Engineering techniques show significant increases in overall quality, 30-40% reduction in project times and costs, and 60-80% reductions in design changes after release. There are several benefits that concurrent engineering can bring, although it is difficult to quantify many of these benefits by using spreadsheets and numbers. These are not only benefits which the participating company will experience, but ultimately the end users or customers also will reap these benefits by having a quality product which fits their needs and in many case, costs them less to purchase. Therefore, concurrent engineering produces a unified profitable corporation and a satisfied consumer. Regardless of the type of application, there are significant benefits to the firms or organizations that use cross functional teams. Potential Advantage of Using Concurrent Engineering
y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Faster time to market which results in increased market share. Lower manufacturing and production costs. Improved quality of resulting end products. Increased positioning in a highly competitive world market. Increased accuracy in predicting and meeting project plans, schedules, timelines, and budgets. Increased efficiency and performance. Higher reliability in the product development process. Reduced defect rates. Increased effectiveness in transferring technology. Increased customer satisfaction. Ability to execute high level and complex projects while minimizing the difficulties. Shorter design and development process with accelerated project execution. Higher return on investments. Reduction or elimination of the number of design changes and re-engineering efforts at later phases i n the development process. Reduced labor and resource requirements.

y y y y y y y y y y

Ability to recognize necessary design changes early in the development process. Increased innovation by having all players participate in the concept development phase. Ability to design right the first time out / First time capabilities. Overlapping capabilities and the ability to work in parallel. Increased cohesiveness within the firm. Improved communication between individuals and departments within the firm. Lower implementation risks. Faster reaction time in responding to the rapidly changing market. Lower product and process design and development costs. Improved inventory control, scheduling and customer relations.

SOME EXAMPLES An example of the use of Concurrent Engineering can be found in General Electric's Aircraft Engines Division's approach for the development of the engine for the new F/A-18E/F. It used several collocated, multi-functional design and development teams to merge the design and manufacturing process. The teams achieved 20% to 60% reductions in design and procurement cycle times during the full-scale component tests which preceded full engine testing. Problems surfaced earlier and were dealt with more efficiently than they would have been with the traditional development process. Cycle times in the design and fabrication of some components have dropped from an estimated 22 weeks to 3 weeks. Another example concerns Boeing's Ballistic Systems Division where Concurrent Engineering was used in 1988 to develop a mobile launcher for the MX missile and was able to reduce design time by 40% and cost by 10% in building the prototype. Polaroid Corp.'s Captiva instant camera is also the result of a Concurrent Engineering approach, as a result of which Polaroid was able to make literally hundreds of working prototypes. Throughout the process, development was handled by cross-functional teams. Need for Concurrent Engineering In today's business world, corporations must be able to react to the changing market needs rapidly, effectively, and responsively. They must be able to reduce their time to market and adapt to the changing environments. Decisions must be made quickly and they must be done right the first time out. Corporations can no longer waits time repeating tasks, thereby prolonging the time it takes to bring new products to market. Therefore, concurrent engineering has emerged as way of bringing rapid solutions to product design and development process. Concurrent engineering is indisputably the wave of the future for new product development for all companies regardless of their size, sophistication, or product portfolio. In order to be compet itive, corporations must alter their product and process development cycle to be able to complete div erse tasks concurrently. This new process will benefit the company, although it will require a large amount of refinement in its implementation. This is because, concurrent engineering is a process th at must be reviewed and adjusted for continuous improvements of engineering and business operations.

The Concurrent Engineering Approach Concurrent engineering is a business strategy which replaces the traditional product development process with one in which tasks are done in parallel and there is an early consideration for ever y aspect of a product's development process. This strategy focuses on the optimization and distribution of a firm's resources in the design and development process to ensure an effective and efficient product development process. It mandates major changes within the organizations and firms that use i t, due to the people and process integration requirements. Collaboration is a must for individuals, groups, departments, and separate organizations within the firm. Therefore, it cannot be applied at leisure. A firm must be dedicated to the long term implementation, appraisal, and continuous revision of a concurrent engineering process. Strategic Plan of Concurrent Engineering Concurrent engineering is recognized as a strategic weapon that businesses must use for effective and efficient product development. It is not a trivial task, but a complex strategic plan that demands full corporate commitment, therefore strong leadership and teamwork go hand and hand with successful concurrent engineering programs.

HOW TO APPLY CONCURRENT ENGINEERING? Commitment, Planning, and Leadership Concurrent engineering is not a trivial process to apply. If firms are going to commit to concurrent engineering then they must first devise a plan. This plan must create organizational change throughout the entire company or firm. There must be a strong commitment from the firm's leadership in order to mandate the required organizational changes from the top down. Concurrent engineering without leadership will have no clear direction or goal. On the other hand, concurrent engineering with leadership, management support, and proper planning will bring success in today's challenging mark et place. Continuous Improvement Process Concurrent engineering is not a one size fits all solution to a firm's development processes. There are many different aspects of concurrent engineering which may or may not fit in a corporation's development process. Concurrent engineering is only a set of process objectives and goals that have a variety of implementation strategies. Therefore, concurrent engineering is an evolving process that requires continuous improvement and refinement. This continuous improvement cycle consist of planning, implementing, reviewing, and revising. The process must be updated and revised on a regular basis to optimize the effectiveness and benefits in the concurrent engineering development process. Communication and Collaboration The implementation of concurrent engineering begins by creating a corporate environment that facilitates communication and collaboration not just between individuals, but also between separate organizations and departments within the firm. This may entail major structural changes, reeducation of the existing work-force, and/or restructuring of the development process.

PRINCIPLES OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Get a strong commitment to from senior management. Establish unified project goals and a clear business mission. Develop a detailed plan early in the process. Continually review your progress and revise your plan. Develop project leaders that have an overall vision of the project and goals. Analyze your market and know your customers. Suppress individualism and foster a team concept. Establish and cultivate cross-functional integration and collaboration. Transfer technology between individuals and departments. Break project into its natural phases. Develop metrics. Set milestones throughout the development process. Collectively work on all parts of project. Reduce costs and time to market. Complete tasks in parallel.

WHEN IS CONCURRENT ENGINEERING USED? The majority of a product's costs are committed very early in the design and development process. Therefore, companies must apply concurrent engineering at the onset of a project. This makes concurrent engineering a powerful development tool that can be implemented early in the conceptual design phase where the majority of the a products costs are committed. There are several application in which concurrent engineering may be used. Some primary applications include product research, design, development, re-engineering, manufacturing, and redesigning of existing and new products. In these applications, concurrent engineering is applied throughout the design and development process to enable the firm to reap the full benefits of this process.

WHY DO COMPANIES USE CONCURRENT ENGINEERING Competitive Advantage The reasons that companies choose to use concurrent engineering is for the clear cut benefits and competitive advantage that concurrent engineering can give them. Concurrent engineering can benefit companies of any size, large or small. While there are several obstacles to initially implementing concurrent engineering, these obstacles are minimal when compared to the long term benefits that concurrent engineering offers. Increased Performance Companies recognize that concurrent engineering is a key factor in improving the quality, development cycle, production cost, and delivery time of their products. It enables the early discovery of design problems, thereby enabling them to be addressed up front rather than later in the development process. Concurrent engineering can eliminate multiple design revisions, prototypes, and reengineering efforts and create an environment for designing right the first time. Reduced Design and Development Times Companies that use concurrent engineering are able to transfer technology to their markets and customers more effectively, rapidly and predictably. They will be able to respond to customer needs

and desires, to produce quality products that meet or exceeds the consumer's expectations. They w ill also be able to introduce more products and bring quicker upgrades to their existing products through concurrent engineering practices. Therefore companies use concurrent engineering to produce better quality products, developed in less time, at lower cost, that meets the customer's needs.

To make Concurrent Engineering a real success, all the necessary information concerning products, parts and processes, has to be available at the right time. A lot of partially-released information has to be exchanged under tightly controlled conditions. EDM/PDM enables Concurrent Engineering by allowing users, whether in small teams or enterprise-wide groups, to access, distribute, store, and retrieve information from a variety of sources. EDM/PDM systems give engineers and project managers access and release control over projects and drawings, as well the ability to track them. Making Concurrent Engineering a success is really a management issue. If management doesn't get it right then it's not going to matter much whether EDM/PDM is used or not. On the other hand, EDM/PDM can provide valuable support to a successful implementation of Concurrent Engineering.

Product Development Process It consists of 4 stages y y y y Concept generation Design Development Production

1. Concept generation Understanding customer needs, how exactly the existing portfolio of products and services fulfill this and the areas that need greater application and attention are the major concerns at this stage. Several methods of fulfilling identified need can be checked for feasibility and novelty of each approach. 2. Design Once product feasibility is established, it is likely that the choice among several promising ideas in narrowed down to few potential ones. One considered as a potential idea is analyzed from the perspective of size, shape, material and soon moreover cost, manufacturing processes and specification are other aspects.

Concept generation

Design

Idea generation

Feasibility study

Preliminary design

No

Yes Product feasible? Process planning Design ok ?

No

Cost planning

Yes

Production Prototype developing & testing

Final design & manfg specifications

Yes

Prototype ok ?

No Commercial production developmennnnnt

Development

3. Development This process deals with physical development of the product. During this stage the details arrived on the drawing board are translated in to reality. Detailed manufacturing specifications, specific methods of manufacture, assembly and testing are established during this phase. 4. Production This phase deals with efficiency, effectiveness of the manufacturing process. Moreover, dedicated equipment and assured sources of supply are established. During initial stages

of production number of creative ideas is generated but these alternative choices need to be narrowed at this stage. Concurrent engineering in product design

Tools for Efficient Product Development Several tools are available for efficient new product development. a. Understanding Customer Needs First step of product development process is to know what exactly the new product is going to be. Concept generation phase addresses these issues and there are alternative methods by which firms can arrive at an appropriate concept for the new product to be developed. b. Market Research In this a target group is identified and appropriate sampling is done within the target group. An alternative method is to use focus groups. Unlikely the earlier method, in a focus group several individuals are met and interviewed. The advantage is reinforcement of certain ideas and needs through collective reasoning and group behavior norms are generated. c. Competitor analysis Understanding what the existing offerings are and how the gaps and problems identified could be eliminated can sometimes offer valuable insights to concept generation. One method of competitor analysis is to reverse engineer the product. The competitors products are dismantled down to individual components level and some detailed studies are conducted on them. Another method is to develop perceptual maps. These are graphical representations of competitor offerings and that of proposed product/service.

Case Study of LAND ROVER