Knowledge Base Repository

In addition to research papers, the Design Society is developing several valuable resources for those interested in the study of design. These include a repository of PhD theses, a library of case studies and transcripts of design activities, and an archive of our newsletters. Please note that these resources are accessible exclusively to Design Society members.

Assessment and Development of Engineering Design Processes

Ulrikkeholm, Jeppe Bjerrum


Type:
Year:
2014
Author:
Supervisor:
Hvam, Lars; Oxvang Mortensen, Hans; Mortensen, Niels Henrik
Institution:
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Page(s):
215
Website:
Front matter:
Abstract:
Many engineering companies are currently facing a significant challenge as they are experiencing increasing demands from their customers for delivery of customised products that have almost the same delivery time, price and quality as mass-produced products. In order to comply with this development, the engineering companies need to have efficient engineering design processes in place, so they can design customised product variants faster and more efficiently. It is however not an easy task to model and develop such processes. To conduct engineering design is often a highly iterative, illdefined and complex process, which is not simply understood. A main proposition in this research project is that understanding an engineering design process fully requires understanding of the product being engineered. Only by understanding what product features are used and produced in every engineering design task the process can be fully understood and eventually improved. Taking its starting point in this proposition, the outcome of the research is an operational 5-phased procedure for assessing and developing engineering design processes through integrated modelling of product and process, designated IPPM – Integrated Modelling of Product and Process. By merging the areas of product and process modelling, additional insight into the engineering design processes is acquired. It becomes evident what product features and specifications are crucial for every step in the process. Utilising this insight enables configuring the process to specifically suit the product being engineered, thereby creating an optimal process flow for specific product in question. This optimisation is positively influencing the performance of the engineering design processes and supports the companies in complying with the increasing customer demands for customised products. The thesis at hand is based on six scientific articles. Three of the articles are written and presented at scientific conferences whereas the remaining three are submitted to scientific journals. The results of the six papers constitute the main contribution of the research, and the main conclusions will be presented throughout this thesis. In addition to this, the results are placed in a more holistic context as the theoretical and empirical backgrounds of the project are elaborated. Furthermore the research design and scientific approaches are described in details, and eventually the results are discussed, overall conclusions are made and future research is proposed. The results produced throughout the research project are developed in close collaboration with the Marine Low Speed business unit within the company MAN Diesel & Turbo. The business unit is the world market leader in developing and designing customer specific two-stroke marine diesel engines.

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