Tape/Vol. 1: Introduction and Overview. Program structure. What is Concurrent /Simultaneous Engineering (CE/SE)?

Tape/Vol. 2: Competitive pressures and priorities in Europe, USA and Japan. Customer satisfaction

Additional reading on Object Oriented Concurrent (hardware and software) Engineering: as a new development, view the free, electronically published R&D journal, ADAM with IT (Advanced Design And Manufacturing with Information Technology) at this web site, as well as enjoy the hotlinks to other web sites via ADAM's WebCorner; both just a click away...

In this interactive video program we discuss the following:

• Introduction to the program by Dr. Paul G Ranky
• What is Concurrent / Simultaneous Engineering?
• Teamwork is the key...
• The program follows a modular structure...
• The purpose of the interactive breaks and exercises...
• Video Handout (Note, that the printed Video Handouts have been phased out and instead, you have free access to the Video Workbooks you read at present at this web site. We strongly reccommend that you view the videos together with this workbook. This is possible by running the video in your computer from the CD-ROM in a window, whilst viewing this Workbook over the web in the other... and because both files are interactive, you can start, stop, move forward, backward as you wish... have fun!)
• About the systematic approach to CE and SE...
• Audience: Executives in industry, graduate students in engineering design and manufacturing systems, computing science and engineering management. (Please note, that some parts of the program, most importantly some of the case studies and industrial examples are suitable, with appropriate guidence, for undergraduate and technician students).

Concurrent, or simultaneous, or parallel engineering, meaning exactly the same, is a systematic approach to the integrated, object oriented concurrent design of products and their related processes, including prototyping, manufacturing, assembly, quality control, support, disassembly and other processes.

This approach is intended to cause developers, from the outset, to consider all elements of the product life cycle, from conception through final disposal, and recycling, including quality, cost schedule, user requirements, demanufacturing, reengineering and total life-cycle assesment.

In the 21st century, concurrent engineering should be viewed as a networked, distributed process (with various classes of objects interacting over intranets and the Internet), that integrates design, manufacturing, assembly, demanufacturing, reengineering and total life-cycle assessment processes on a global basis.

The purpose of concurrent enginering is to

• increase productivity,
• reduce the time to market a new product,
• create products that are of high quality, less expensive than that of the competitors' and
• reflect the customers' (effordable and realistic) requirements.

As you will experience throughout the entire program of study and these videos on CD-ROMs, there is a very strong relationship between real-world concurrent engineering and the more abstract, or virtual world of object oriented software engineering and software development. When viewing these tapes keep this in mind and keep reminding yourself of this very important analogy, since it will help you to decompose and understand complex systems, as well as build better systems. Enjoy!

The diagram below illustrates different allocated and commited costs during product development stages based on data collected by Professor Lester Gerhardt, RPI, New York and Professor Steven C Y Lu, University of Illinois, USA. (Note, the importance of resuable objects both in the real as well as in the abstract software world, when trying to reduce time-to-market, as well as all related design and manufacturing costs).

The extended diagram below illustrates the different actual and commited expenses during product development.

It is very interesting to recognize similar cost issues in the real world of object oriented concurrent engineering and in the virtual, software world, when developing new software products... view this section with this important experience in mind... (Also note, that according to Rational Inc., USA over 76 percent of software projects fail due to poor planning, design and the lack of object orientation when designing, implementing and testing such products... (Object oriented design was invented over 4000 years ago when the first pyramids were built by engineers in Egipt).

The diagram below represents an important alternative view of object oriented cocurrent engineering. It emphasizes the similarities between just-in-time (JIT), or inventory savy production planning and control as well as concurrent hardware and software product development. In both cases lead time reduction is crucial... The challenge is that if lead times are reduced the "rocks might come to surface"... and hit the boat... therefore the fundamental goal is as always: reduce waste, else your competitors will beat you on time, cost, quality, and other issues).

As a summary and conclusion, note, that this figure, as many other figures and concepts in this program underline the similarities between hardware and software development and the benefits of concurrent product and process development. As another important lesson: management must be able to make interdisciplinary teams work together. Such teams typically consist of marketing, system analysis, system design, hardware, software, quality control, packaging engineers and engineering managers.

As part of a team, discuss, or if you are studying on your own, consider the following:

ENGINEERING:

• Try to define concurrent engineering with your own words focusing on multiple, engineering lifecycles of products.
• What are the benefits of concurrent engineering?
• Explain the simple concurrent engineering information model discussed in this introduction...
  • what are the components and
  • how do these components / objects interact with each other, and with
  • other systems ?
  • How do you as an engineer fit into this model? What are your tasks?
• What are the major cost implications when developing real-world engineering, as well as software products in a traditional as well as in a concurrently engineered fashion?

COMPUTING:

• Try to define concurrent engineering with your own words.
• What are the benefits of concurrent engineering?
• Explain the simple concurrent engineering information model discussed in this introduction...
  • what are the components and
  • how do these components / objects interact with each other, and with
  • other systems ?
  • How do you as a software engineer/ developer fit into this model? What are your tasks?
• What are the major cost implications when developing real-world as well as software products in a traditional as well as in an object-oriented (in engineering terms: 'modular'), concurrently engineered fashion?

MANAGEMENT:

• Try to define the role of management in concurrent engineering with your own words.
• What are the benefits of concurrent engineering for management?
• Explain the simple concurrent engineering information model discussed in this introduction...
  • what are the components and
  • how do these components / objects interact with each other, and with
  • other systems ?
  • How would you manage the establishment and the evolution of this model and team?
• What are the major cost implications when managing real-world as well as software products in a traditional as well as in a concurrently engineered fashion?

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In this video program we discuss the major competive pressures, including the folowing:

• "The customer is the king"... and even more so in our Internet world...
• Demographic changes...
• Less skilled labor and the unemployment issue: one of our major tasks is to help people to get good jobs!
• "The constantly launching new product period..."
• Lifecycles and development time is shrinking, both in terms of hardware as well as software products...
• Time-to-market; windows of opportunities...
• Responsiveness, or knowing when to invest in new technologies
• Reliability and quality at low cost
• Simplification of both the product as well as the manufacturing system
• Job creation! (Agricultural, manufacturing, service society, based on digital highways of information...)
• Morita: "...new technologies build new civilizations...Technology determines the quality and quantity of the human economy..." (Experience the Internet boom as an example)
• Education: the "global engineer"

An interview with Mr. R. B. Syme, IBM Storage Products Manager, covering various aspects, including:

• The changing scene as far as the customer is concerned...
• Challenges we are facing...
• Product developers and manufacturing engineers work together...
• The suppliers play an important part...
• Teamwork is essential (both in-house as well as with customers, suppliers and vendors)
• Resource reduction...
• Cost and quality issues...
• Integration methods and problems...
• The usefulness of various modeling techniques...

Interactive break discussion:

• People management and teamwork...
• Common tools and communication via networks... and face-to-face communication...
• Diffrent groups of people accessing the same database...
• Video conferencing...
• Interactive data access is crucial... (Consider what the Internet and company intranets will, and do offer to literally every employee, anywhere, and anytime...)

Interactive break discussion:

• Integration by means of common toolsets is essential...
• The development of a common thinking process is benefitial...
• Day-to-day commiunication over e-mail, computer networks and face-to-face is essential...
• Education and leadership is important.
• What are the implications for engineering, computing and engineering management?

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