Web-based Collaborative Innovation Systems for ...

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developed by the government-led program, referred to as i-Manufacturing. ... Business innovation, however, must occur in all dimensions including product, ...
Web-based Collaborative Innovation Systems for Korean Small and Medium Sized Manufacturers Kwangyeol Ryu1, Jeonghoon Shin2, Yongju Cho2, Bohyun Kim2, Honzong Choi2 1

Pusan National University, San30 Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735, South Korea, [email protected]

2

Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Sa3-dong, Sangrok-gu, Gyeonggi-do 426-910, South Korea, {boost7; yjcho; bhkim; choihz}@kitech.re.kr

Abstract Customer needs for final products are very unpredictable due to rapidly changing environmental conditions and technologies. In order to survive in a competitive market, manufacturers should make their parts or products with lower costs and shorter delivery time as well as higher quality specifications. To do so, more than 600 small and medium sized manufacturing companies are using web-based collaboration systems in Korea. Those systems are developed by the government-led program, referred to as i-Manufacturing. The systems support some similar functions in Product Data Management (PDM), Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Project Management System (PMS), etc. if such functions are useful for manufacturers’ collaboration. Collaboration systems, however, gradually become complicated by reflecting user requirements for system functions. Hence, the systems become difficult to use under the current system architecture, which is so called function-centric. In this paper, therefore, we propose a new system architecture for collaboration systems, referred to as a process-centric. By applying the process-centric architecture, a user can utilize collaboration systems in an easy manner because the system assists the user to follow appropriate processes or workflows. Even though the user is a beginner, he or she can do the jobs successfully by following the guidance of the system. Main functions of collaboration systems and illustrative case studies are also presented in this paper. Keywords Collaboration, i-Manufacturing, Manufacturing Innovation

1

Introduction

Depressed global economy forces every manufacturer to find a breakthrough for their survival by reducing delivery time and production cost. The most important and difficult challenges for manufacturers are caused by dynamically changing customer demands. Although many advanced companies and even government have tried to innovate in manufacturing industry, they tend to concentrate on the innovation in partial sections of a whole business such as basic application skills, product or production technologies, manufacturing processes, and business services. Business innovation, however, must occur in all dimensions including product, process, and organization to improve business performance and competitiveness [CIMdata, 2003]. Companies seek new ways of providing additional value to customers and gaining a competitive edge over their competitors [Kiritsis et al. 2003]. To cope with such challenges, manufacturing companies of today should have advanced technologies as well as corresponding infrastructure including hardware and software. Enterprises including manufacturing companies must capture, manage, and leverage their intellectual assets to differentiate themselves. To do this, enterprises are focusing on various systematic approaches including business/process reengineering or innovation, knowledge management as well as knowledge intensive applications. The best and easiest way is to use proper applications while they collaborate with other companies. Collaboration seems to be the most important factor to increase a company’s flexibility and agility to respond swiftly to

changing market pressures and competitors. Collaboration is being viewed as a next big wave after e-Commerce, digital commerce [Koc et al. 2003] and several other variants that have emerged over the last decade. In Korea, the government supports manufacturers’ collaboration via a special program referred to as i-Manufacturing. A total of 11 web-based collaboration systems have been developed and used by more than 600 companies. According to the outcomes of the i-Manufacturing, collaboration systems can function as a good extranet as well as an intranet especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Since they do not have sufficient information technology (IT) resources and infrastructure such as hardware, software, and experts, it is strongly necessary for the Korean government to support for the development of their collaborative infrastructure. In this paper, therefore, we introduce i-Manufacturing program focusing on strategies for manufacturing innovation and collaboration systems we developed. We also deal with architectural issues regarding collaboration systems in this paper.

2

i-Manufacturing

In order to facilitate collaboration of Korean SEMs, e-Manufacturing pilot project was launched to develop web-based collaboration systems in 2004. The first target industry was injection-mold industry and three collaboration systems were installed to the industry as a result of the project. After accomplishing the pilot project successfully, Korean government launched eManufacturing project as a regular track in 2005. In 2007, the project boundary was enlarged to include other innovation sections. The e-Manufacturing project has been changed to iManufacturing program [Choi et al. 2006]. Here, “i” in i-Manufacturing refers to three concepts simultaneously: information, intelligence, and innovation. From the statistics in 2009, a total of 11 collaboration systems were developed by i-Manufacturing and more than 600 companies were using them as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Number of companies using collaboration systems

i-Manufacturing is a government-led program that combines IT to conventional manufacturing technologies in order to increase efficiency and productivity of Korean SMEs. The project supports manufacturing companies by strengthening competitiveness of Korean manufacturing industry and nurturing new innovation. e-Manufacturing project was conducted from 2005 to 2006 by both central and regional governments in order to build up digital collaboration infrastructure especially for SMEs. During a 3-year project period including the period of the pilot project, 5 collaboration systems were established. For the realization of the manufacturing innovation, we reorganized the project to more comprehensive one by adding other innovation sections from 2007. That is i-Manufacturing program (for more information, refer to the i-Manufacturing portal, http://www.i-mfg.com). Four

main categories are included; 1)innovation by informatization (i.e., development of digital collaboration infrastructure) which is the same section as e-Manufacturing, 2)innovation in manufacturing processes, 3)innovation in manufacturing systems, and 4) innovation in developing brand-new products as illustrated in Figure 2. Each category will be conducted as sub-projects within i-Manufacturing program, and it will be continued to 2015 [Ryu et al. 2008].

Figure 2: Four innovation categories of i-Manufacturing

3 3.1

Web-based Collaborative Innovation Systems Functions and Strategic Positions of Collaboration Systems

The collaboration systems have been implemented independently according to their specific purposes. Until the end of 2009, a total of 11 web-based collaboration systems were developed: Design_Hub(2004), Production_Hub(2004), Blow_Hub(2004), Engineering_Hub(2005), Automold_Hub(2006), Press_Hub(2007), Automobile_Part_Hub(2007), Module_MassProduction_ Hub(2008), Automobile_Quality_Hub(2008), AutoPart_Dev_Hub(2009), and AutoModule_ Dev_Hub(2009). Figure 3 shows the strategic position of each collaboration system corresponding to the industry, process, function, etc. All functions of the collaboration systems are provided as a type of ASP(application service provider) so that users can utilize them anytime and anywhere if the users can access to the internet. Table 1 summarizes the main functions of each collaboration system. The systems support some similar functions in Product Data Management(PDM), Manufacturing Execution System(MES), Product Lifecycle Management(PLM), Project Management System(PMS), and so on, if such functions are useful for manufacturers’ collaboration. One of outstanding functions in collaboration systems is the function of an integrated on-line conference. With this function, users can communicate with numerous participants based on various product or production data in a synchronized view. Product or production data include part drawings(i.e., CAD data), CAE(computer aided engineering) analysis results, CAI(computer aided inspection) results, and CAS(computer aided styling) information.

Figure 3: Strategic position of collaboration systems

3.2

Development Procedure

In order to expand the usage of a collaboration system, we follow the procedure as in Figure 4 [Ryu et al. 2007]. We first develop a new system during the first project year. During the first year, we usually spend 2~3 months for concluting and analyzing data, process, and other status of the target consortium(i.e., a group of companies, 6~7 months for implementing functional modules and services, and 2~3 months for complementing and stabilizing the system. During the second project year, we strengthen or modify functions of the system according to the user requirements, and also stabilize the system after the modification. After accomplishing the system, we apply the system to other consortium after the customization process.

Figure 4: Procedure for expanding the usage of a collaboration system

System Name (year of dev.)

Main Functions

Design_Hub (2004)

- Managing collaboration project information and history of injection molds - Managing standard work templates and distributing drawings and documents - Online conference with 2D/3D CAD(Computer Aided Design) drawings - Searching project/data information according to users’ permission to access

Blow_Hub (2004)

- Managing collaboration project information and history of blow molds - Managing standard business templates - Providing part library supporting parametric design of parison & blow molds - Same functions supported by the Design_Hub

Production_Hub (2004)

- Planning & scheduling outside orders by simulation(with delivery or cost) - Distributing specification of parts or modules to the cooperating companies - Reporting the production status to customers via SMS(short message service) - Providing online CAE(Computer Aided Engineering), inspection services

Engineering_Hub (2005)

- Online CAD/CAE conference with customers - Managing projects and history of engineering services - Finding experts for customers by facilitating on-line communities - CAI(Computer Aided Inspection) tools for verifying CAD drawings

Automold_Hub (2006)

- Managing three types of collaboration projects (styling, inverse design, and parts development) - Providing collaboration tools such as Photo-Clinic(online voting tools/AHP), on-line CAS(Computer Aided Styling) conference, CAI, etc. - Supporting tools for developing design mock-up of automobile parts

Press_Hub (2007)

- Managing project information and history for producing press molds - 2D CAD visualization with mobile device(PDA) - Managing test information and history of press molds developed

Automobile_Part_ Hub (2007)

- Managing project information and history for producing automobile parts - Providing on-line Digital Mockup(DMU) conference as well as CAD, CAI conferencing tools

Module_Mass Production_Hub (2008)

- Collaborative procurement system for automobile parts or modules - Sharing collaborative schedule for mass production of automobile parts - Managing distributed design information between companies

Automobile_ Quality_Hub (2008)

- Managing quality information of automobile parts between companies - Supporting inspection specification and technical know-how with quality DB - Managing analytical information of middle and large sized automobile parts by using MOLDFLOW for molding flow analysis and ANSYS/NASTRAN for structural analysis

AutoPart_Dev_ Hub (2009)

- Collaboration model and system for developing interior parts of an automobile - Managing collaborative BOM (cBOM) for making automobile parts - Comprehensive management of mold, jig/fixture during whole processes

- Collaboration model and system for developing a functional engine module AutoModule_Dev_ - Managing collaborative projects for developing sub-module among companies Hub(2009) - Quality management during design processes through FMEA Table 1: Functions of i-Manufacturing Collaboration Systems

3.3

System Architecture

From a structural point of view, collaboration systems are composed of various kinds of servers as illustrated in Figure 5. From a functional point of view, on the other hand, there are so many common or distinctive functions in collaboration systems. For example, project or document management, on-line conference, scheduling and monitoring functions belong to the common functions. Distinctive functions as well as some common functions can be found in Table 1.

Figure 5: System architecture (hardware)

As users utilize the collaboration systems for a long time, they request more specific functions in their systems. This makes the systems more complicated. As a consequence, the systems become difficult to use under the current system architecture, which is so called function-centric one. Under this architecture, the user must know the sequence of his or her works so that he or she can call and use the proper functions in the system. As the number of functions increases, it becomes more difficult to know where the function is in the menu. Therefore, we propose a new system architecture for collaboration systems, referred to as a process-centric architecture. By applying the process-centric system architecture, a user can utilize collaboration systems in an easy manner because the system assists the user to follow appropriate processes or workflows. Even though the user is a beginner who does not know all the function in the system, the user can do his or her jobs successfully by following the guidance of the system. We call process-centric collaboration system “Collaboration Hub 2.0” and its architecture is illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Architecture of Collaboration Hub 2.0

In order to support process-centric operations of the system, we are developing a BPM (business process management) module which will be embedded in the system. However, we still have a interface problem between manufacturing processes (MPs) and business processes (BPs). The difference between MP and BP is the level of details. Simply speaking, MPs can be described as one function (BP) such as “Production Parts” for example, in BPs. Three cases can be considered to solve the interface problem; 1) MP-centric (version 1.1): MPs constitute a main stream and BPs are used as references, 2) Hybrid-type (version 1.5): BPs and MPs turns over the initiative of processes between them, 3) BP-centric (version 2.0): BPs constitute a main stream and MPs are called and used while conducting BPs. Aforementioned cases can be compared based on several factors in regard to the system embodiment. Comparison factors

MP-centric(v1.1)

Hybrid-type(v1.5)

BP-centric(v2.0)

Modularization

Low

Medium

High

BP utility

Low

Medium

High

Very easy

Not difficult

Very difficult

Connectivity between processes

Low

Normal

High

Requirement for interfacing data

Unnecessary

Partially needful

Mandatory

Implementability

Table 2: Comparison among three interface cases

4

Effects from Using Collaboration Systems

For facilitating collaboration in manufacturing industry, we conduct the project every year focusing on the followings; 1) development of new collaboration models and systems, 2) strengthening functional weaknesses of the system to meet customer satisfaction by developing complementary functions, debugging, or modifying functions, 3) spreading out applicable areas by restructuring and adapting existing systems to a new group of manufacturing companies. Following three kinds of aforementioned works, we can classify collaboration systems into three types; 1) newly developed hub (Type I), 2) functionally modified one (Type II), 3) restructured one for different users(Type III) (refer to Figure 4). In 2009, AutoPart_Dev_Hub and AutoModule_Dev_Hub belong to Type I, Module_Mass_Production_Hub and Automobile_ Quality_Hub are included in Type II. However, there was no collaboration system in Type III. We investigated the recent results of i-Manufacturing program from two points of view including reduction of delivery time and production cost, and compared the effects before and after using the systems. For example, we compared the results in 2009 with in 2008 in case of Type I. However, we compared the results in 2009 with in 2007 in case of Type II because the systems were first developed in 2007. Regarding the delivery time, target values were 5% reduction for Type I and 15% for Type II. As illustrated in Figure 7, the delivery time was reduced 17.2% in AutoPart_Dev_Hub(Type I), 8.3% in AutoModule_Dev_Hub(Type I), 21.3% in Module_ Mass_Production_Hub(Type II), and 16.1% in Automobile_Quality_Hub(Type II).

Figure 7: Reduction of delivery time after using collaboration system

With regard to the production cost, target values were 5% reduction for Type I, and 10% for Type II. As depicted in Figure 8, the production cost was reduced 10.6% in AutoPart_Dev_ Hub(Type I), 5.6% in AutoModule_Dev_Hub(Type I), 9.7% in Module_Mass_Production_Hub (Type II), and 26.3% in Automobile_Quality_Hub(Type II).

Figure 8: Reduction of production cost after using collaboration system

5

Concluding Remarks

In this paper, we introduced web-based collaboration systems developed for Korean SMEs. We think that the easiest way to raise competitiveness and realize manufacturing innovation is to develop and to provide collaboration infrastructure especially for SMEs. However, lots of novel technologies regarding manufacturing processes and systems also have to be developed and combined with infrastructure to achieve innovation. To do this, we already started to develop strategically important technologies regarding manufacturing processes from 2008. However, we still have to find out the exact boundary of relevant technologies that should be supported within i-Manufacturing. Furthermore, thorough research should be followed to merge and harmonize technologies, developed by other sub-projects, into collaboration systems, so that users can acquire such technologies without any difficulty. Acknowledgement This work has been supported by the i-Manufacturing program funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) of Korea. The authors would like to thank for their support. The helpful comments of anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged. References Choi, H.; Ryu, K.; Lee, S.; Hong, W.; Nam, S. (2006) e-Manufacturing Collaboration Portal supporting PLM of Mold SMEs in Korea, Proceedings of the International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM06). Bangalore, India, pp. 1-10. CIMdata. (2003); Product Lifecycle Management-Empowering the Future of Business, CIMdata, Inc. Kiritsis, D.; Bufardi, A.; Xirouchakis, P. (2003) Research issues on product lifecycle management and information tracking using smart embedded systems, Advanced Engineering Informatics, Vol 17, pp. 189202. Koc, M.; Ni, J.; Lee, J.; Bandyopadhyay, P. (2003) Introduction of e-manufacturing, Proceedings of the North American Manufacturing Research Conference(NAMRC), Hamilton, Canada. Ryu, K.; Lee, S.; Choi, H. (2007) Strategies based on collaboration for manufacturing innovation in Korea, Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering, Alexandria, Egypt, pp. 954-960. Ryu, K.; Shin, J.; Lee, S.; Choi, H. (2008) i-Manufacturing Project for Collaboration-Based Korean Manufacturing Innovation, Proceedings of the PICMET2008, Cape town, South Africa, pp. 253-258.