JIMMA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Product Design
Lecture-II

FAYZA SHEMSU
 What is Concurrent Engineering?
 Concurrent engineering, also known as simultaneous
engineering, is a method of designing and developing products, in
which the different stages run simultaneously, rather than
consecutively.
 It decreases product development time and also the time to
market, leading to improved productivity and reduced costs.
 Concurrent Engineering means that during design, we consider
more than just the design, we also consider how to make it, how
to package it, and all of the other functions that were previously
left-for-later.
Traditional design practices are primarily serial or sequential:
 Each step in the process is completed in order or sequence only after
the previous steps have been completed. The implementation of the
design occurs after a prototype or model is created from engineering
drawings.
 A machinist working from the engineering drawings generated by a
drafter, or an engineer, makes the prototype. Only after creating a
prototype of the design would the engineer discover that a hole was
too small, parts didn't mate properly, or a handgrip was misplaced. The
part would have to be redesigned and the process completed until a
satisfactory solution was reached.
Concurrent engineering is a common sense approach to product
design.
• Originally (hundreds of years ago) the designer was also the person
who produced the design.
So during the design phase they considered production problems.
• As designs, and manufacturing methods became more complex, it
became necessary to break down design and manufacture to more
specific tasks.
• These areas of specialization caused different functions to arise in
an enterprise. So it became common for the designer to have little, or
nothing to do with production.
 For many years the designer did not always understand the
results of his decisions.
- More time was spent trying to get a design to work right.
 But, now with the aid of computers, and other information tools, It
is able to close the gap between the designer, and production.
Hence, concurrent engineering.
 This competitive environment required a company to design high-
quality products faster, better, and less expensively than their
competitors. One solution to the traditional design paradigm was
concurrent engineering.
 Concurrent engineering is the ability to implement parallel design
and analysis in which safety, manufacturability, serviceability,
marketability, and compliance issues are considered early on and
during the process.
 Concurrent engineering is however possible through the application of
modern computer-aided design (CAD), analysis, and manufacturing
software.
 A designer starts with an idea of a new product in which the above
factors are considered and uses the CAD software to create a
preliminary design.
 With the appropriate software, the preliminary design can also be
analyzed for functionality as the design is being created.
 Using the results of this analysis, the designer then makes any
necessary modifications and reanalyzes the computer model. An
engineer designing a bicycle frame, for example, would use
concurrent engineering to minimize the weight and maximize the
supported loads in a new frame design. The engineer would first
create a design and model the physical behavior of the frame on the
computer before actually manufacturing the frame.
 The next stage in concurrent engineering is called rapid prototyping .
Here the three-dimensional computer model of the finished design is
used with computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software to drive
appropriate machinery to physically create the part.
 The entire design cycle therefore becomes nearly paperless. Engineers
can go from design to prototype in a matter of days, instead of weeks
or months as with earlier serial design practices.
 Since design is an iterative process, concurrent engineering
significantly shortens the time between iterations. A product can
therefore get to market much quicker, at a lower cost, and with a
higher quality.
 Nowadays, CE is regarded as a key factor in determining the
success of a company. CE involves overlapping various stages
of developing new products to reduce delays. This reduction of
delays is achieved by intensively implementing the CE
principles.
 These CE principles have been cited as the main keys for the
rapid new product development process and it was introduced
by the Japanese firms (Bowonder and Miyake, 1993).
The Principles of CE
 In general, CE principle can be divided into three key factors
which can contribute to time reduction, cost reduction, improve
product quality and fulfill customer’s need, as shown in Fig.
1.People
In the CE approach, utilizing the appropriate human resource at the
right time is critical and it accelerates development by keeping
rework to a minimum. To be successful in CE implementation
requires some factors have to be considered as follows:
i. Teamwork
 Team work is the basic principle of the CE . Teamwork
emphasizes interpersonal relationship, cooperation, negotiation
and collaboration decision making. Teamwork is an integral part of
CE, as it represents the means for organizational integration.
ii. Multidisciplinary teams
 CE is based on multidisciplinary product development team.
Multidisciplinary teams, involving experts from all stages of the
product development process such as design, process,
production, marketing, manufacturing, etc., are very important in
order to succeed in CE implementation. Multidisciplinary teams
can break down the barriers between departments and provide
effective means of communications.
Fig: Basic principles of CE
iii. Communication
 Communication is the basic principle for success in CE. Teams will
work better if they know what other members are doing. Team
members have regular meetings which allow fast and efficient
exchange of information.
 Communication between suppliers, customers and manufacturer
is also a basic principle in the implementation of CE at the early
stage of product development process.
iv. Management Support
 According to Abdalla (1999), the main problem during practicing
CE was the commitment of management in implementing CE.
Thus, the lead and support from the top management is important
to realize the implementation of a successful CE.
 The top management must not only support the CE initiative, but
also actively participate in formulating and implementing the CE
goals.
v. The Involvement of Customers and Suppliers
 In designing and manufacturing a product, the integration
between the customers, suppliers and manufacturer is essential
in determining the success of a product.
 This CE principle can reduce a significant portion of design error
and rework due to misunderstandings or miscommunication
between the company, the customers, and the suppliers, at the
early stage of product development process.
2.Process
A key in implementing the CE approach is to have a single well-
defined process with clear ownership and goals. Thus, the process
and the related schedule of activities must be based on some
basic principles, as follows:
i. Work structure
In general, all activities in product development process must be
performed in a parallel and simultaneous approach. In order to
construct a clear work structure or framework, some factors have
to be worked out such as defining and formalizing the CE process,
defining overlapping activities, identifying process ownership and
setting goals clearly.
ii. Early Problem Discovery
 Problems which are discovered at the early stage of the product
development process (particularly during the first 20% of the
cycle time) are easier to solve than those which are discovered
later.
iii. Early Decision Making
 To affect a design is much wider during an early design stage
than in a later stage, i.e. when some of the decisions are frozen
and the design is matured.
3.Tools and Technology
 An appropriate set of tools and technology should be chosen to
help achieve the maximum benefits which enable integrated
product development.
 For an effective CE implementation to be accomplished, the use
of tools and technology is greatly required.
 However, there are two aspects which need to be considered
when implementing the tools and technology; firstly, the tools and
technology which enable an effective implementation of CE need
to be identified, and secondly, people who will use these tools
and technologies should be trained.