Concurrent Engineering 2.0 Solutions Suites - By: Ben Needles, Posted on: 2008-07-03

In complex and discrete industries like defense, nuclear energy, industrial electronics and aerospace, there are often countless engineering change procedures involved.

Many companies in these industries turn to Concurrent Engineering 2.0 digital solution suites as a way to streamline these procedures as much as possible. This includes using a combination of production solutions suites and design engineering suites.

When companies use a combination package that includes software for both production and engineering, the benefits each one brings to the table are magnified and numerous.

When the engineering and shop floor systems are integrated, the collaborative business process that includes Product Design, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Process Planning, Quality Engineering, Operations and Supplier Management can become very streamlined. This allows for a systematic information flow between the Engineering and Production departments of a company with a process centric change management focus.

There becomes a shorter cycle for getting a new or improved product to market. Since the change control procedures and configuration management are so tightly integrated, extensive reconciliation procedures at the end of the manufacturing process are no longer necessary. There are a reduced number of process and product changes also.

Engineers have more exposure to work in process and shop floor operations, thereby shortening the response time for any quality issues requiring product or process engineering design changes that arise.

They can also use historical data to help determine root cause analysis, and have the ability to put work on hold at the shop floor and supersede work instructions in a matter of minutes. There is a smaller learning curve for new employees learning to produce new or improved products, and a systematic reconciliation of as designed, as planned, and as built product configuration.

If each company has a centralized database, the two departments can work in a collaborative environment and easily share information or alter control mechanisms. A strong suite combination can even bring leveraged investment in 3D models throughout the product life cycle. Management of the process Work Plans is put into the spotlight and all manufacturing systems are aligned to Work Plan changes.

By linking together already existing Engineering and Manufacturing tools, a bridge between Engineering and the Shop Floor is thereby formed. This bridge allows change management and work flow to easily cross back and forth over the bridge in a continuously improving fashion.

When two software suites come together to create a more valuable force than each has alone, businesses can truly excel

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