Concurrent Engineering
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== Big idea == | == Big idea == | ||
| − | + | === Context === | |
Concurrent engineering (CE) emerged in the 1980s as a result of the need for a more integrated method of operation to keep up with growing competition in the market, respond to a shorter product life-cycle, and meet shifting market and customer demands (Trygg, L. 1993). Concurrent engineering was thought to be a potential answer to the issues faced by businesses at the time, in order to help them create cheaper goods that could be supplied faster and have higher functionality (Clark, K.B. & Fujimoto, T., 1991). Concurrent engineering functioned as a direct response and opposite to the previous traditional "over the wall", sequential engineering (SE) approach, with the overall goals of higher productivity and lower costs by shorter development time and shorter time-to-market. | Concurrent engineering (CE) emerged in the 1980s as a result of the need for a more integrated method of operation to keep up with growing competition in the market, respond to a shorter product life-cycle, and meet shifting market and customer demands (Trygg, L. 1993). Concurrent engineering was thought to be a potential answer to the issues faced by businesses at the time, in order to help them create cheaper goods that could be supplied faster and have higher functionality (Clark, K.B. & Fujimoto, T., 1991). Concurrent engineering functioned as a direct response and opposite to the previous traditional "over the wall", sequential engineering (SE) approach, with the overall goals of higher productivity and lower costs by shorter development time and shorter time-to-market. | ||
| − | ''“Concurrent Engineering is a systematic approach to the integrated, concurrent design of products and their related processes, including manufacturing and support. This approach is intended to cause the developers from the outset to consider all elements of the product life cycle from conception to disposal, including quality, cost, schedule, and user requirements.”'' | + | <blockquote> ''“Concurrent Engineering is a systematic approach to the integrated, concurrent design of products and their related processes, including manufacturing and support. This approach is intended to cause the developers from the outset to consider all elements of the product life cycle from conception to disposal, including quality, cost, schedule, and user requirements.”'' - Winner, R.J et al. (1988) <ref name=''Winner, R.J. et al. (1988). The role of concurrent engineering in weapons system acquisition. IDA R-338. USA: Institute for Defense Analyses.''> </blockquote> |
| − | - Winner, R.J et al. (1988) | + | |
| − | + | ===What is CE?=== | |
| − | Concurrent engineering (CE) is neither a technique nor a tool. It is a manner of thinking that | + | Concurrent engineering (CE) is neither a technique nor a tool. It is a manner of thinking that calls for a wide range of techniques and methods. The execution of a project's processes simultaneously with the participation of both upstream and downstream functions over the course of the project's life-cycle is the very essence of concurrent engineering <ref name=''Stjepandić J., et al. (eds) (2015) Concurrent engineering in the 21st Century: foundations, developments and challenges. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.''>. |
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| + | The approach aims to decrease the number of larger iterations further down in the process, where the impact is much greater, by encountering and solving them as they appear in the earlier phases of the project (figure 1). This is made possible by the concurrent nature of the approach, in which integrated, multifunctional teams collaborate and work together simultaneously to address multiple project-related issues at the same time. As the control and responsibility is shared amongst the departments across the project’s phases, and because their activities overlap, they are able to identify potential problems as they appear and are able to address them faster <ref name=''Swink, M.L. (1998). “A tutorial on implementing concurrent engineering in new product development programs,” in Journal of Operations Management, 16(1), pp. 103-116. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-6963(97)00018-1.''>. This is opposite to the traditional sequential engineering (SE) approach, where each activity is handled by one functional organization at a time (marketing, design, manufacturing etc.) and then thrown “over-the-wall” to the next organization (figure 2) without communication. The problem with this approach is that it might be in the very late stages of the process that a problem is identified, because of the lack of communication between organizations, which will result in the activity/product being sent back over-the-wall to fix the issues <ref name=''Bhuiyan, N. et al. (2006). “Implementing Concurrent Engineering” in Research-Technology Management, 49(1), pp. 38-43. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2006.11657357''> resulting in a prolonged process time and increased costs. By working concurrently the overall project duration is greatly reduced, as there is constant collaboration and iterations between the teams in the process, ensuring that larger and time-consuming issues will not occur in the final stages, when changes can be both costly and time-consuming. The reduction in time for CE compared to the sequential approach can be seen in figure 3. And the benefits of the implementation of CE in a project setting can also be deduced from the figure, as it results in an increased productivity and an overall lower cost of the project due to the reduction in duration<ref name=''Swink, M.L. (1998). “A tutorial on implementing concurrent engineering in new product development programs,” in Journal of Operations Management, 16(1), pp. 103-116. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-6963(97)00018-1.''>. Which also means that the time-to-market for the potential product or service is also decreased, providing the company with a competitive advantage on the market compared to their competitors. | ||
== Application == | == Application == | ||
Revision as of 13:30, 11 February 2023
Abstract
The implementation of concurrent engineering in a project management framework will be explained holistically in this article. By focusing on the people participating in the project, the process itself, and the technology required to achieve the goal, the article will focus on the main parts of how to make the concurrent engineering approach successful. These provide an explanation of how to successfully use concurrent engineering by addressing topics like the value of knowledge sharing, the necessity of interdisciplinary teams, and effective project planning. Finally, the approach's advantages and disadvantages are discussed. They are paired with the preceding sequential engineering approach to address the situations in which one approach is better to apply than the other.
Big idea
Context
Concurrent engineering (CE) emerged in the 1980s as a result of the need for a more integrated method of operation to keep up with growing competition in the market, respond to a shorter product life-cycle, and meet shifting market and customer demands (Trygg, L. 1993). Concurrent engineering was thought to be a potential answer to the issues faced by businesses at the time, in order to help them create cheaper goods that could be supplied faster and have higher functionality (Clark, K.B. & Fujimoto, T., 1991). Concurrent engineering functioned as a direct response and opposite to the previous traditional "over the wall", sequential engineering (SE) approach, with the overall goals of higher productivity and lower costs by shorter development time and shorter time-to-market.
“Concurrent Engineering is a systematic approach to the integrated, concurrent design of products and their related processes, including manufacturing and support. This approach is intended to cause the developers from the outset to consider all elements of the product life cycle from conception to disposal, including quality, cost, schedule, and user requirements.” - Winner, R.J et al. (1988) Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
