ARTICLE IN PRESS
Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 20 (2004) 1–15
How to reduce new product development time Janez Ku&sar, Jo&ze Duhovnik, Janez Grum*, Marko Starbek Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Asˇkercˇeva 6, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia Received 27 August 2002; received in revised form 19 March 2003; accepted 24 April 2003
Abstract When entering the global market the companies encounter several difficulties, the most important one being excessive time for new product development. This problem can be solved by transition from sequential engineering to concurrent engineering, (Concurrent Engineering Fundamentals, Integrated Product and Process Organization, Vol. I, Prentice Hall PTR, New Jersey, 1996; Concurr. Eng. Res. Appl. 9 (2001) 191). The article presents the principle of concurrent product development process. The market forces small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to a transition from sequential to concurrent engineering and as team work is the basic element of the concurrent engineering, special attention is being paid to team and workgroup forming in the loops of concurrent product development process in an SME. The article does not deal with communication issues within a team and among teams. A survey of published works in the field of designing teams in big companies has revealed that in big companies a three-level team structure is recommended, as well as a workgroup, consisting of four basic teams. Analysis of the three-level team structure has led us to the conclusion that in SMEs a two-level team structure and a workgroup consisting of two basic teams should be preferred. The results of designing a two-level team structure and the project of transition to concurrent development of mini-loader are presented. Time and cost analysis results prove the justification of transition from sequential to concurrent product development. r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Concurrent engineering; Loops; Team work; Gantt chart; Core team; Project team
1. Introduction Small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) can successfully enter the global market if they can fulfil the customer needs regarding features and quality of products. Customers are becoming more and more demanding and their requirements are changing all the time. ‘‘Customer is the king’’ is becoming the motto of today [1]. In these circumstances only those companies can expect market success which offer their customers the right products in terms of features and quality, at the right time and at the right price. A product which is not manufactured in accordance with the customer needs, which hits the market too late or it is too expensive, cannot be successful. When developing a new product (here we are dealing with development of a product and its production process), it is necessary to harmonise all development
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +386-1-4771-203; fax: +386-61-218-567. E-mail address:
[email protected] (J. Grum). 0736-5845/03/$ - see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0736-5845(03)00049-8
stages—only in this way the product development time can be reduced. Several authors [1–3] have analysed activities in individual stages of new product development process and concluded that in each stage the volume and contents of product development activities depends on quantity and purpose of the product. There is a substantial difference between new product development activities in individual and mass production [4]. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development process of a new product which will be manufactured in small series with increased dynamical response to wishes and requirements of customers. We have first analysed the product development process in the known reference works and then we designed a concept of an ad hoc team and the activities the team has to manage [5]. The purpose of our research was to speed up development of new products in a small-series production company and thus allow them to enter the market sooner. In order to allow for a holistic approach to the new product development process the researchers first
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formed an ad hoc research group with a precisely defined goal: ‘‘The product should hit the market as soon as possible’’.
*
Costs of integrated (or concurrent engineering (CE)) product and process development are lower than sequential engineering costs (SE), as presented in Fig. 1. In sequential product and process development, product development costs increase slowly due to sequential execution of activities, while costs of manufacturing and use increase rapidly because of long iteration loops for execution of required modifications. In concurrent product and process development, costs increase rapidly in the beginning of development due to intensive activities during the early development stage, while costs of manufacturing and use increase slowly because of short iteration loops for execution of required modifications. Today only those companies can successfully compete on the market which can offer the customers the right products, at the right time and price, and of the right quality—therefore the companies which are able to adapt to the wishes and requirements of the customers. Fig. 2 presents an overview of the concurrent engineering tools; knowing and using these tools ensures better quality of products. From the tools listed, the following two methods:
2. Concurrent engineering The term ‘‘concurrent engineering’’ denotes an interdiscipline co-operation and parallel work toward a common set of consistent goals on development, manufacturing and sales of products. Responsibility for products is transferred to teams which are being formed for the time frame of development of innovative products. 2.1. Goals of concurrent engineering Using concurrent engineering, the following goals should be achieved:
*
considerably shorter new product development time, reduced new product development costs, and better quality of new products regarding the customer needs.
Concurrent product development time is reduced by 50% or more [6] due to the following reasons: activities run in parallel, team members have regular meetings which allow fast and efficient exchange of information,
* *
quality functions deployment (QFD) method and failure models and effects analysis (FMEA) method
Reduction of costs e eas Incr
Reduction of production time
*
Costs
*
ost of c
Development - CE
Product and process development - SE
*
Product and process development - CE
*
responsibility for all product features is transferred to teams (no time is wasted for searching the person ‘‘who is to be blamed for errors’’).
Production - CE
Product and process development - CE Development - SE
Production - SE
Product and process development - SE
Fig. 1. Costs of sequential and concurrent product and process development.
Time
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present the methods which take care of transfer and fulfilment of customer wishes and requirements in all product development phases. 2.2. Stages and activities of the new product development process Concurrent and sequential engineering usually consist of seven stages of product development process [3]: * * * *
definition of goals, feasibility study, development, design,
CONCURRENT ENGINEERING Design method
Development of product
Quality functions deployment - QFD
* * *
*
*
*
Quality evaluation *
Design in details
FAILURE MODES and EFFECTS ANALYSIS - FMEA Fig. 2. Concurrent engineering tools.
process planning, manufacturing and assembly, and delivery.
In concurrent product development there are interactions among individual stages of product development process, while there are no interactions in sequential product development. Track-and-loop technology was developed for implementation of these interactions [2]. Type of loop defines the type of co-operation between the overlapping process stages. Winner [7] proposes the use of 3-T loops, where interactions exist between three stages of product development process. When 3-T loops are used (Fig. 3) new product development process consists of five 3-T loops. When developing a new product it is first necessary to determine its field of use, which corresponds directly to the target market. It is necessary to make a feasibility study which is the foundation for definition of the product development process. Feasibility study consists of: *
Value analysis
3
concept of development and design, definition of commercial conditions for product development, definition of financial conditions for successful project implementation, definition of approximate organisation model for project implementation, and definition of teams for product development process.
Results of this study are the foundations for definition of the basic plan of the new product development process. In the product development process, it is necessary to ensure dynamic execution of activities as additions to the concept. If these additions reach such an extent that it is difficult or even impossible
Fig. 3. Track and loop process in new product development (3-T loops).
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to achieve the goals, it is necessary to repeat the feasibility study, taking into account the changed conditions. On the basis of requirements and restrictions a transformation of input into output is made in each product development process loop, as shown in Fig. 4. There is an inter-loops partial information exchange which allows for parallel execution of individual activities in stages of new product development process. Fig. 5 presents the information flow and connections between 3-T loops in the product development process. Output data of a particular loop are the input data for the next loop. Input data of the feasibility loop are:
*
voice of the customer (market analysis results, feedback information on products, experience of teams), strategy of the company (target price of the product, estimated investments and costs, available and required resources), knowledge of the product and techniques, reliability of the product (planning the product’s lifecycle, possible repairs, refits), and special wishes and requirements of the customer.
*
*
*
* *
*
* *
*
Output data of the development loop are: *
*
* *
* * *
*
development goals, goals regarding quality and reliability of the product,
drawings and CAD models, technical specifications, material specification, and requirements regarding measuring equipment.
* * *
*
Redesign and Optimization
2.STEP: 1.STEP : Baseline of Loop i
testing
evaluation of the process quality, plan of the manufacturing process, FMEA of the process, quality control plan, instructions for work, plan for analysis of measuring equipment capability, test series,
4.STEP :
INPUT
and
Output data of the process planning loop are:
* *
FMEA of design (an analytical method which tries to predict errors in design, frequency of errors and their influence on design), DFM/DFA (design for manufacturability and assembly), approval of the product concept, and building the prototype. Output data of the design loop are:
*
Output data of the feasibility loop are:
plan and execution of quality control, list of materials, draft of special requirements of the product and process, and draft of the process organisation.
OK? to Requirements and Constraints
Yes 3b.STEP: Output Baseline of Loop ( i +1 ) OUTPUT
Fig. 4. Steps of 3-T loop implementation.
No
3a.STEP : Analysis and Evaluations
ARTICLE IN PRESS J. Ku&sar et al. / Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 20 (2004) 1–15 Goals of the company
Requirements and restrictions of feasibility loop
FEASIBILITY loop -Goals -Feasibility -Development no
Have requirements and restrictions of the loop been met?
Requirements and restrictions of development loop
yes feedback information
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DEVELOPMEN loop -Feasibility -Development -Design Have requirements and restrictions of the loop been met?
no
Requirements and restrictions of design loop
yes feedback information
DESIGN loop -Development -Design -Process planning
Have requirements and restrictions of the loop been met?
no
yes feedback information
PROCESS PLANNING loop -Design -Process planning -Manufacturing and assembly no
Requirements and restriction of process planning loop
Have requirements and restrictions of the loop been met?
Requirements and restrictions of manufacturing loop
yes feedback information
yes no
Solution in DEVELOPMENT loop?
yes no
Solution in DESIGN loop?
yes
yes no
Solution in PROCESS PLANNING loop?
MANUFACTURING loop -Process planning -Manufacturing and assembly -Delivery no
no
Solution in MANUFACTURING loop?
Have requirements and restrictions of the loop been met?
yes no
Have the company goals been met?
yes Satisfied customers and company
Fig. 5. Information flow between 3-T loops in the product development process. *
* * * *
analysis and estimation of measuring equipment capability, analysis and estimation of the process capability, approval of the process and product, approval tests, and control plan for regular production. Output data of the manufacturing loop are:
* * *
reduction of defects, customer satisfaction, and supply and service.
Analysis of the track-and-loop product development process, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, reveals that the concurrent engineering is not possible without a wellorganised team work.
3. Concurrent engineering and team work We are dealing with team work when a team is oriented towards the solution of a common goal [5]. Team work is an integral part of concurrent
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engineering as it represents the means for organisational integration. There are seven elements (7Cs) in team cooperation philosophy [2]: * * * * * *
*
flexible, unplanned and continuous collaboration, commitment to meet the goals, communication (exchange of information), ability to make compromises, consensus in spite of disagreement, coordination (managing interdependencies between activities), and continuous improvements in order to increase productivity and reduce process times.
3.1. Team composition in big companies Concurrent engineering is based on a multidisciplinary product development team (PDT) [6,8]. PDT members are experts from various departments of a company and representatives of strategic suppliers and customers (Fig. 6). PDT members communicate via central information system (CIS) which provides them with data about processes, tools, infrastructure, technology, and existing products of the company. Representatives of strategic suppliers and customers—as they are located away from the company—participate in the team just virtually, using the Internet technology (Internet information system (IIS)) which allows them to use the same tools and techniques as team members in the company [8]. In big companies the PDT composition changes in different stages of product development. The team consists of logically composed workgroups in various phases of product development, and each workgroup consists of four basic teams [2]:
*
*
*
*
Logical team breaks up the whole product development process into logical units (operations, activities, tasks) and defines their interfaces. Personnel team has to find the required PDT members, it trains and motivates the personnel, and provides proper payment. Technology team generates strategy and concept. Its focus is on assuring the highest product quality at the lowest inherent cost. Virtual team is in a form of computer software and provides other PDT members with data required.
Fig. 7 presents the composition of a workgroup in a big company. The goal of concurrent engineering is to achieve the best possible co-operation among the four basic abovementioned teams of a particular workgroup. As a general rule, the multidisciplinary teams for product development should have such a structure that the following goals are achieved: * * *
clear definition of competence and responsibility, short decision paths, and identification of team members with the product being developed.
A survey of the published works in the field of team structure planning in big companies [2,9] has revealed that a three-level PDT structure is recommended in big companies, as presented in Fig. 8. Core team consists of the company management and the manager of the reference level team; its task is to support and control the product development project. Level team consists of the level team manager and the managers of the participating functional teams in the
Fig. 6. Product development team [8].
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reference stage (loop); its task is to co-ordinate and tune the goals and tasks of functional teams and to ensure a smooth transition to the next level of product development. Functional team consists of the functional team manager, experts from various fields in the company, and representatives of suppliers and customers; its task is to carry out the tasks given, taking into consideration terms, finance and personnel.
* * *
3.2. Team composition in SME *
Analysis of results regarding setup of workgroups and team structure in big companies has shown that the proposed concept for designing workgroups, and structure of teams cannot be used in SMEs (there are too many teams in a workgroup and too many team levels). When developing a workgroup concept, structure and organisation in an SME, it will therefore be necessary to propose:
*
*
*
*
VIRTUALTEAM
PERSONNEL TEAM
WORK A
A
LO
G
L
as few workgroup teams as possible, as few team levels as possible, and appropriate organisation of the company.
In the University of Ljubljana, in the Production Systems Institute we made several versions of workgroup, team, and organisation structure of a company, and decided—after evaluation of the proposed versions—that the following seems advisable for SMEs: *
GROUP
7
transition from four workgroup teams (personnel, logical, technology and virtual) to two teams (logical and technology), transition from the three-level team structure to twolevel structure, and transition from project to matrix organisation of the company. In an SME a workgroup therefore consists of two basic teams (Fig. 9): Logical team ensures that the product development process is divided into logical units and that interfaces and junctions between process units are defined. Technology team is responsible for generating strategy and concept.
Software in the CIS performs the role of the virtual team (workgroup members should be properly trained to use the software), and project team manager carries out the personnel team tasks. For an SME, the transition from a three- to two-level team structure is planned, as presented in Fig. 10. Core team, which supports and controls the product development project, should consist of:
M
TE
IC
*
TECHNOLOGY TEAM
*
Fig. 7. Workgroup in a big company [2].
*
core team manager (permanent member), department managers (permanent members), and project team manager (permanent member).
Level: CORE TEAM
1.
2.
3.
PRODUCTI. PLANNING loop LT
DESIGN loop LT
FEASIBILITY loop LT
PRODUCTI. loop LT
FEASIBILITY OF FUNCTI. 1
FEASIBILITY OF FUNCT. n
DESIGN OF FUNCT. 1
DESIGN OF FUNCT. n
PROD. PLAN. OF FUNCT. 1
PROD. PLAN. OF FUNCT. n
PRODUCTION FUNCT. 1
PRODUCTION FUNCT. n
FT
FT
FT
FT
FT
FT
FT
FT
LT - level team FT - functional team
Fig. 8. Three-level team structure in a big company [2].
MANUFACTURING loop LT
MANUFA. FUNCT. 1
MANUFA. FUNCT. n
FT
FT
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Project team, which carries out the tasks given, taking into consideration terms, finance and personnel, should consist of: * *
project team manager (permanent member), experts from various fields in the company and representatives of strategic suppliers, and customers (variable members).
The project team in an SME is therefore designed similarly as a functional team in a big company, the difference being in that there is just one team and its composition changes in different phases (loops) of product development process.
PERSONNEL TEAM
VIRTUAL TEAM WORK GROUP
AM
AL
TE
IC
LO
G
TECHNOLOGY TEAM Fig. 9. Workgroup in an SME [3].
In the feasibility loop the project team should define customer needs, mission, and make several versions of the product concept; the project team should consist of the employees from the marketing, planning and design departments, and representatives of strategic customers and suppliers. In the development loop the project team should provide general solutions regarding the product, product planning, and design: the project team should consist of the employees from the planning and design departments, customers, and suppliers. In the design loop the team designs the product parts and components, development of prototypes, and selection of the most suitable versions regarding manufacturability; the project team should consist of the employees from the planning, design, and process departments. In the process loop the project team should select the best technology for manufacturing of parts and assembling the components (definition of sequence, operations, selection of machines, tools, and standard times). The project team should also define production type (workshop, cell or product-oriented type of production) and select the optimal layout of production means; the project team should consist of the employees from the design, process, production, manufacturing and assembly, logistics, and delivery departments. In the manufacturing loop the project team should take care of prototype tests, supply of required equipment, layout of production means, manufacturing
PERMANENT STRUCTURE OF CORE TEAM IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Level: CORE TEAM 1.
PROJECT MANAGER
2.
Project team of feasibility loop
Project team of development loop
Project team of design loop
Project team of process planning loop
Project team of manufacturing loop
VARIABLE STRUCTURE OF PROJECT TEAM IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Fig. 10. Two-level team structure in an SME.
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and test of the null series; the project team should consist of the employees from the production, manufacturing and assembly, quality assurance, warehouse and delivery departments. The tasks which are performed by level teams in big companies should be carried out by the project team manager in an SME and he should co-ordinate and tune the goals and activities between the project team and core team and provide smooth transition from one loop of product development process to another. In big companies the members of the core, level and functional teams usually use project type of organisation. This type of organisation cannot be used in SMEs as they have too few employees. Analysis of various organisational structures of companies or teams [10–12] has shown that in SMEs matrix organisation would be the most suitable for core and project team members. Therefore, a member of the core team (with exception of the core team manager) would carry out tasks in his/her department part of his/ her working time (for this work (s)he would be responsible to the general manager of the company), and the rest of his/her working time (s)he would work on the product development project (for this work (s)he would be responsible to the core team manager). A member of the project team (with exception of the project team manager) would carry out tasks in his/her department part of his/her working time (for this work (s)he would be responsible to department manager), and
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
9
the rest of his/her working time (s)he would work on the product development project (for this work (s)he would be responsible to the project team manager). The project team manager would be excluded from his/her department throughout the duration of the product development project and (s)he would work full time on the project. When the project is finished the project team manager would return to his/ her department. Project team manager should be properly trained and experienced person who knows in detail the work in all departments of the company and
Fig. 12. The ‘‘VEPER’’ mini-loader.
GENERAL MANAGER
PERMANENT CORE TEAM STRICTURE CORE TEAM manager
VARIABLE STRUCTURE OF PROJECT TEAM
PROJECT TEAM manager
Marketing dept. manager
Projects dept. manager
Marketing employees
Projects employees
Development dept. manager Development employees
Design dept. manager Design employees
Process planning dept. manager Proces planning employees
Manufactur. and assemble manager
Delivery dept. manager
Manufacturing and assemble employees
Delivery employees
Feasibility loop project team Developmen loop project team Design loop project team Process planning loop project team Manufacturing loop project team
-department participates in project -department coordinates the work in project Fig. 11. Ideal matrix organisation in an SME.
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J. Ku&sar et al. / Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 20 (2004) 1–15 Table 1 Stages and activities in mini-loader development process
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Table 2 Project team structure in individual loops of the mini-loader development
has the skills to use computer tools and information technology. Fig. 11 presents the proposal of an ideal matrix organisation in an SME.
*
* * *
4. Case study SME which produces civil engineering equipment made a decision for integrated product and process development of a mini-loader called ‘‘VEPER’’ (Fig. 12). There are 182 employees in the company; besides the management (general manager and his assistant) there are nine departments: *
*
*
*
*
commercial department is in charge of marketing and sales (7 employees), development and planning department develops new products (5 employees), design department is concerned with product design (6 employees), technology department is concerned with production and logistics (12 employees), supply department is in charge of supply and cooperation (5 employees),
production is in charge of operation planning and manufacturing (136 employees), financial department (3 employees), quality assurance department (3 employees), and IT department (3 employees).
In order that the company could switch to the concurrent development of mini-loader, it was necessary first to decide about the structure and composition of concurrent PDT. The company management decided to form a twolevel team structure (core and project teams). In order to get the best structure of both teams the employees from the Production Systems Institute organised two creativity workshops [4] with the general manager, his assistant and nine department managers participating. Results of the first creativity workshop have shown that the core team should consist of 11 company employees: * * *
general manager who would manage the core team, nine department managers, and assistant general manager who would manage the project team.
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PERMANENT STRUCTURE OF CORE TEAM IN MINI-LOADER DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
DE V M PL EL ana AN OP ger NI ME of NG N T de an pt d .
t. o f ep er d ag ON an I M UCT OD PR
CORE TEAM manager
MA Manag RK er SAL ETIN of ES G an dep d t.
Manager of DESIGN dept.
Manager of FINANCIAL dept.
M TEC anager o HNO f L dept. OGY
Ma n IT ager de pt. of
of t. er e p ag d an LY M PP SU
of . ger dept na Ma LITY A QU
ery De liv
ery
Prod. proc. plan s erati on
tic
Su pp ly
gis Lo
Coop
er y iv el D
Sh ap in g
De liv
Cooperation
tic s
ly
Lo gis
Sup p
tic s
Lo gis
Supply
cs
Logis ti
at. orm Inf unit ty Quali
Finance Sales
t. ac uf an ative Oper re a prep
Pr od pl . pr an oc . Supp ly
n
M
ng
Quality Man ufact.
De sig
t en
rke ti
at. orm Inf unit
m op
Quality
vel De
Ma
Prod u plann ct ing Design . roc .p od Pr plan
e tiv ra re pe a O rep p
. roc .p od Pr plan
mat. Infor it un
e t iv era e Op epar pr
Sa les
Prod u plann ct ing Design
nt me op
Finance ng eti rk Ma ly Supp
s le Sa eting Mark
. roc .p od Pr plan
nt me lop
Design
mat. Infor it un
vel De
ve De
t en
Prod u plann ct ing
nt me
m op
Design
ery liv De Informat. unit Fin an ce
op vel De
vel De Prod u plann ct ing
Sh ap in g
PROJECT MANAGER
VARIABLE STRUCTURE OF PROJECT TEAM IN MINI-LOADER DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Fig. 13. Two-level team structure of mini-loader development.
All core team members will be permanent members; core team composition will not change during the miniloader development time. A second creativity workshop was organised in order to define the stages of mini-loader development process and their corresponding activities, as well as responsibilities of departments which would carry out these activities. Results of the second creativity workshop are presented in Table 1. Results (presented in Table 1) about definition of stages and activities, definition of department responsibilities for execution of activities, and decision of the company management about organisation of 3-T loops during the mini-loader development process were the basis for the definition of the project team structure in individual loops of the product development. Results of defining the varying compositions of the project team structure in individual loops of the mini-loader development are presented in Table 2. Project team manager will be a permanent team member, while experts from nine departments of the company, representatives of designers, suppliers and customers will be variable team members.
After the structure of the core and project teams had been defined, it was possible to design the two-level team structure for mini-loader development (Fig. 13), and a realistic proposal for matrix organisation of the company could be made (Fig. 14). As shown in Fig. 14, the core team members will spend part of their working time in their departments (for this work they will be responsible to the general manager), and the rest of their working time will be spent in the core team (for this work they will be responsible to the core team manager, i.e. the general manager again). The project team members will also use part of their working time to do the tasks in their departments (for this work they will be responsible to department managers), and the rest of their working time they will work in the project team (for this work they will be responsible to the project team manager). Up to now the producer of mini-loaders has developed its products sequentially. Analysis of the results of sequential development of various types of mini-loaders has shown that the average time-to-market for a particular product was approximately 4 years.
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Manager of FINANCE
Manager of QA
Manager of IT dept.
Finance employees
QA employees
IT department employees
Manager of COMERCIAL dept.
Manager of SALES dept.
Manager of TECHNOLOGY
Manager of DESIGN
Core team mam.
Manager DEVELOP and PLANNING dept.
GENERAL MANAGER
Total No. of project team members
Shaping
Delivery
Sales employees
Marketing employees
Manufacturing employees
Operative product prepare employees
Cooperation employees
Supply employees
Logistic employees
Production planning employees
Design employees
Planning employees
Development employees
Project team mam.
Project team of FEASIBILITY loop
12
Project team of DEVELOPMENT loop
12
Project team of DESIGN loop
12
Project team of PROCESS PLANNING loop
13
Product team of MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLY loop
14
Fig. 14. Realistic matrix organisation in the company.
In these days the market demands short delivery terms, i.e. short development times of new products. In order to reduce the mini-loader development time (and thus get a competitive advantage) the company decided to concurrently develop a new type of mini-loader. A creativity workshop was organised in the company [5], with members of the core team participating. Using their experience obtained during sequential engineering, they were asked to estimate or define the following: *
* *
*
duration of individual stages (activities) in the concurrent product development process, possible connections between stages (activities), types and planned times of overlapping stages (activities), and costs of activities during the product development process.
The data on estimated times and costs of concurrent mini-loader development activities were the input data for the CA-SPJ software which was used to perform the time and cost analysis of the concurrent product development. Fig. 15 presents the results of both analyses.
By transition from sequential to concurrent development of mini-loader the company will considerably reduce time and costs, as shown in Table 3. The success of the concurrent mini-loader development process largely depends on the effectiveness of work of the project team (whose composition changes in time) in the product development loops, and therefore the activities in future will be directed towards a detailed organisation and co-ordination of the project team members in individual loops of product development.
5. Conclusions Global market requires short product development times, and so SMEs are also forced into transition from sequential to concurrent product development. The basic element of the concurrent product development is team work, so the article pays special attention to the formation and structure of teams in an SME. Research has led us to the conclusion that a workgroup in an SME should consist of just two teams (logical and technology team) instead of four, and that a two-level team structure (permanent core team and variable project team) is more suitable for SMEs.
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Fig. 15. Time and cost analysis results of concurrent mini-loader development.
Table 3 The planned savings by transition from sequential to concurrent product development Sequential engineering Product and process development time (month) Product and process development costs (Euro)
48 105.000
Concurrent engineering
Reduction (%)
25
52
92.000
13
The proposed concept of team design in an SME has been tested in a sample case of team design in a miniloader producing company. First, the permanent core team structure and then the variable project team structure have been defined. In the process planning phase of the concurrent development of mini-loader the core team members estimated or defined the duration and costs of implementation of activities, possible interconnections of activities and times of overlapping activities. The data obtained allowed the use of the CA-SPJ software to
make the time and cost analysis of activities of concurrent development of a new type of mini-loader.
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