Integrating Product and Manufacturing System Platforms - Exploring A Configurable System Approach
Integrating Product and Manufacturing System Platforms - Exploring A Configurable System Approach
Integrating Product and Manufacturing System Platforms - Exploring A Configurable System Approach
1. Introduction
Platform strategies are a common approach to increasing companies’ competitiveness in the
manufacturing industry. They depend on proper descriptions, especially when the platform is technical
and complex. This paper explores an integrated platform description of the product and the
manufacturing system. It adopts a systems view of those two artifacts. Both systems are intended to be
configurable to cover the variability of the systems concerned, therewith constituting a platform
description. The integrated description then facilitates defining a platform strategy for the product and
manufacturing system. The theoretical approach is based on the so-called Configurable Component
(CC) concept, which allows for the representation of the two artifacts, product and manufacturing
system, on multiple layers of abstraction and granularity [Johannesson and Claesson 2005, Gedell
2009].
Empirical data for purposes of exploring the approach is supplied by a qualitative study conducted at
two second-tier suppliers in the manufacturing industry. It is postulated that the platform description
may facilitate the work of engineers from different disciplines involved in concurrent development
projects. More specifically, the study aims at identifying issues and challenges in the collaboration
between engineering design and the branch of manufacturing concerned with the designing and
planning of the manufacturing system. In order to account for the theoretical approach and the
qualitative nature of the study, the following research questions were formulated:
How do engineering design and manufacturing collaborate in concurrent development
projects?
How are platform questions managed in concurrent development projects?
What unresolved issues and desired improvements exist in the collaboration between
engineering design and manufacturing?
How can the Configurable Component concept help solving the identified issues?
The first two questions aim at gaining an understanding of the mode of collaboration and platform
questions, respetively. Questions three and four allow for a discussion and interpretation of the
empirical data in the context of the chosen systems approach.
Following a delineation of the industrial and scientific context of this paper, the study, the CC concept
and the theoretical approach are described. The findings, both empirical and connected to the theory,
are then presented and discussed in the following two chapters. Finally, this results in a conlusion.
Increasing level
of abstraction
Product concepts and functions Manufacturing system concepts and functions
3. Research approach
The overall research approach was first to conduct an explorative study with the intermediate goal of
identifying issues in the interface between engineering design and manufacturing. The results from
this study were then contrasted with the capability of the CC concept to manage or solve the issues
identified.
Composition
One CC can represent an entire system. Each subsystem in the system can also be represented by a
CC. Further, each subsystem on the next lower level of the hierarchy can be represented by a CC as
well, and so on, until the required level of granularity is reached.
CCA CCB
Control Design
CCA Interface Rationale
CCAa CCAb CCBa CCBb
C1 , C2 , ..., Cn
FR
Variant manufacturing data
DS
Interface Additional FR FR
Set Element Sets
DS DS
Composition
Set
Design rationale
The reasoning behind selected design solutions, the so-called design rationale, is incorporated in the
configurable component. Thus, it is directly connected to the relevant system and the level of
abstraction.
3.3 Adopting a CC approach to include manufacturing systems and the related processes
The CC concept is a means of representing configurable, technical systems. It was originally defined
to represent products. As the manufacturing system, used to produce the product, is a technical system
as well, it is to be explored whether the CC concept can be used to describe it, too. The first key issue
here is that the related processes of the manufacturing system and their design have to be considered
4. Findings
The findings are presented in a structure according to the research questions. The first two sections
reflect findings largely detached from the theoretical approach. Meanwhile, section 4.3 includes
individual issues and challenges that were identified together with an interpretation of their bearing on
the approach.
4.3 Unresolved issues and challenges matched with the chosen theoretical approach
In this section, unresolved issues and challenges in the collaboration between engineering design and
manufacturing are presented in a short statement marked in bold and by a bullet point. The subsequent
text of each paragraph expounds upon the question of how the integrated systems approach based on
the CC concept can address the respective issue or challenge stated.
The access to information in development projects is dependent on personal
relationships.
A strong dependency on the individual engineer yields an information exchange process
sensible to changes in project teams. An information system based on the CC concept can
facilitate the following of a formal information exchange process. This achieves a balance
between formal and informal exchange of information and, in turn, facilitates collaboration in
concurrent development projects.
Understanding other engineers’ perspectives is hindered when functional units are
spread out geographically.
In addition to the dependency on personal relations, harder to maintain if, for example,
manufacturing is located at a different site, an imprecise structural description of technical
systems can contribute to a lack of understanding. A more precise and integrated description
of the product and the production system, including the rationale behind them, can facilitate
understanding other engineers’ perspectives and decrease the effect of geographical distance.
However, it should be noted that there are barriers for achieving shared understanding
[Kleinsmann and Valkenburg 2008] which are outside the scope of the this paper.
Late feedback on smaller changes results in effort and costs that should be avoided.
Large changes do not occur as frequently as smaller ones because they are more easily
anticipated and the underlying problems confronted in earlier phases. The challenge of
avoiding smaller changes, however, is most likely not to be met by the CC concept. As for all
5. Discussion
The limitations stated above have bearing on the CC concept’s capability to help achieve the ideal
scenario described above. However, the discussed issues and challenges also draw attention to
capabilities that can be helpful as one step towards the ideal. Expressing systems information on
purposeful levels of granularity and abstraction, while providing information about interconnections of
systems, is an advantage. It is one means to support both engineering units discussed here in affecting
the design of the product and the manufacturing system. One way, for example, is through helping to
balance interests across functional units. Challenges constituted by dependency on personal
relationships and hindered understanding were identified in the study. Overcoming them contributes to
achieving unobstructed collaboration, exchange and access of purposeful information, and improved
teamwork. Customer and supplier involvement on an engineering level can be addressed, where it
resembles corporate internal collaboration across distance and mindsets. The question of what
purposeful levels of granularity and purposeful information are remains open. Like the question of the
correct platform strategy, it is left to the individual company or engineer. Moreover, the goal of
6. Conclusion
This paper has explored a configurable systems approach to integrating platform descriptions for
products and production systems. The study supplied data with bearing on the first three research
questions, and the data could be used to answer them in part. Moreover, the empirical findings point to
a number of issues and challenges. Some of these could be matched with the capabilities of an
integrated platform of the product and the manufacturing system based on the CC concept, thus
answering the last research question. The reliability and the validity of the findings have been
discussed. Significant limitations exist, due mainly to the explorative nature and scope of the study.
Finally, the question of incomplete and inconsistent information in development projects could not be
connected to the study data. Moreover, the approach adopted is founded on a systems view. It needs
further refinement to account for processes related to the artifacts. These defects should be addressed
in further work, preferably connected to a case study that applies the presented approach for a platform
description based on a suitable platform strategy.
Acknowledgements
This work was carried out within the Wingquist Laboratory VINN Excellence Centre at Chalmers University of
Technology. It was supported by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems. The Authors
would also like to thank Stellan Gedell for discussions and insights into the theory base.
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Marcel Michaelis
Chalmers University of Technology
Department of Product and Production Development
SE – 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
Telephone: +46 31 772 1370
Email: marcelm@chalmers.se
URL: http://www.chalmers.se/ppd/EN/