Product Complexity Management Enabled by a Model-Based Approach


Book Description

As contemporary engineered systems become more interdependent, there is a growing need to manage their system complexity. However, system complexity only exists as implicit and heterogeneous information. This situation causes difficulties to obtain and analyze system complexity. This manuscript illustrates a model-based approach to support system complexity management. The system complexity includes dynamic complexity and structural complexity in this manuscript. The proposed approach includes complexity modeling and complexity analysis. As for complexity modeling, a graph-matrix hybrid complexity modeling approach is proposed to describe the dynamic and structure complexity information. The graph-based architecture models are developed by a unified meta-meta modeling approach. The connections among different architecture models are described by design structure matrix. As for complexity analysis, a general complexity metric provides dynamic and structural complexity values for the designer to evaluate the system. Besides, automatic ontology modeling is introduced to integrate complexity modeling and complexity analysis. Finally, a case study about aero-engine design is conducted. The complexity management processes of three different scenarios are compared in this case study. The comparison results demonstrate that the proposed approach is general and applicable to any engineered system and can support the trade-off between complex product design schemes.




Structural Complexity Management


Book Description

Product design is characterized by a steady increase in complexity. The main focus of this book is a structural approach on complexity management. This means, system structures are considered in order to address the challenge of complexity in all aspects of product design. Structures arise from the complex dependencies of system elements. Thus, the identification of system structures provides access to the understanding of system behavior in practical applications. The book presents a methodology that enables the analysis, control and optimization of complex structures, and the applicability of domain-spanning problems. The methodology allows significant improvements on handling system complexity by creating improved system understanding on the one hand and optimizing product design that is robust for system adaptations on the other hand. Developers can thereby enhance project coordination and improve communication between team members and as a result shorten development time. The practical application of the methodology is described by means of two detailed examples.




Systems Engineering and Its Application to Industrial Product Development


Book Description

Mastering the complexity of innovative systems is a challenging aspect of design and product development. Only a systematic approach can help to embed an increasing degree of smartness in devices and machines, allowing them to adapt to variable conditions or harsh environments. At the same time, customer needs have to be identified before they can be translated into consistent technical requirements. The field of Systems Engineering provides a method, a process, suitable tools and languages to cope with the complexity of various systems such as motor vehicles, robots, railways systems, aircraft and spacecraft, smart manufacturing systems, microsystems, and bio-inspired devices. It makes it possible to trace the entire product lifecycle, by ensuring that requirements are matched to system functions, and functions are matched to components and subsystems, down to the level of assembled parts. This book discusses how Systems Engineering can be suitably deployed and how its benefits are currently being exploited by Product Lifecycle Management. It investigates the fundamentals of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) through a general introduction to this topic and provides two examples of real systems, helping readers understand how these tools are used. The first, which involves the mechatronics of industrial systems, serves to reinforce the main content of the book, while the second describes an industrial implementation of the MBSE tools in the context of developing the on-board systems of a commercial aircraft.




Complexity Management


Book Description

Michael Marti presents a complexity management model that is based on the reasoning that product architecture determines to a considerable extent how external complexity is translated into physical products. The model demonstrates a procedure to optimize a product’s architecture and is applied to several industrial products.




The Future of Product Development


Book Description

These proceedings represent trends in Product Development concerning industrial vendors and scientific research aspects. Coverage includes the following topics are covered: Design Theory, Product Design, Requirements, Collaborative Engineering, Complex Design, Mechatronics, Reverse Engineering, Virtual Prototyping, CAE, KBE and PLM. The papers presented in this book show that answers can only be composed out of a variety of solutions where psychological, economical and technical research results are taken into account.




Security and Quality in Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering


Book Description

This book examines the requirements, risks, and solutions to improve the security and quality of complex cyber-physical systems (C-CPS), such as production systems, power plants, and airplanes, in order to ascertain whether it is possible to protect engineering organizations against cyber threats and to ensure engineering project quality. The book consists of three parts that logically build upon each other. Part I "Product Engineering of Complex Cyber-Physical Systems" discusses the structure and behavior of engineering organizations producing complex cyber-physical systems, providing insights into processes and engineering activities, and highlighting the requirements and border conditions for secure and high-quality engineering. Part II "Engineering Quality Improvement" addresses quality improvements with a focus on engineering data generation, exchange, aggregation, and use within an engineering organization, and the need for proper data modeling and engineering-result validation. Lastly, Part III "Engineering Security Improvement" considers security aspects concerning C-CPS engineering, including engineering organizations’ security assessments and engineering data management, security concepts and technologies that may be leveraged to mitigate the manipulation of engineering data, as well as design and run-time aspects of secure complex cyber-physical systems. The book is intended for several target groups: it enables computer scientists to identify research issues related to the development of new methods, architectures, and technologies for improving quality and security in multi-disciplinary engineering, pushing forward the current state of the art. It also allows researchers involved in the engineering of C-CPS to gain a better understanding of the challenges and requirements of multi-disciplinary engineering that will guide them in their future research and development activities. Lastly, it offers practicing engineers and managers with engineering backgrounds insights into the benefits and limitations of applicable methods, architectures, and technologies for selected use cases.




Information and Management Systems for Product Customization


Book Description

In today's competitive environment, manufacturing and service companies are intensifying their customization processes. Customization means companies must meet the challenge of providing individualized products and services, without introducing high costs. Therefore, companies must address both customization and cost factors to gain a competitive advantage. While product customization is the manufacturing of products according to individual customer needs, it does not involve any focus on the cost perspective. Information and Management Systems for Product Customization will concentrate on both product customization and costs' efficiency, which is termed as mass customization. Moreover, mass customization with its multi-dimensions is the new business paradigm challenging today's manufacturing companies.




Socio-economic Systems: Paradigms for the Future


Book Description

This book is reflective of a science-based vision of the future development paradigm of economic and social systems. It deals with the digitization as the technological basis for the future development of economic and social systems and presents a review of groundbreaking technologies and prospects for their application. The specific character of the industry and prospects for the application of digital technologies in business are analyzed. A rationale is provided for future prospects for the sustainable development of economic and social systems in a digital economy. The authors determine the process of the formation and development of the information-oriented society, social and educational aspects of the digitization, as well as the institutional framework of the digital future of social and economic systems. The book combines the best works following the results of the 12th International Research-to-Practice Conference “Artificial Intelligence: Anthropogenic Nature vs. Social Origin” that was held by the Institute of Scientific Communications (ISC) in cooperation with the Siberian Federal University and the Krasnoyarsk Regional Fund of support of scientific and scientific–technical activities on 5–7 December 2019, in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, as well as following the results of the 3rd International Research-to-Practice Conference “Economic and Social Systems: Paradigms for the Future” that was held by the ISC in cooperation with the Pyatigorsk State University on 5–6 February 2020. The target audience of the book consists of representatives of the academic community concerned with the future prospects for the development of economic and social systems, as well as economic agents engaged in the digitization of business processes, and representatives of public agencies regulating the development of business systems for their progressivity, sustainability and competitiveness.




Managing Complexity


Book Description

This proceedings volume presents the latest research from the worldwide mass customization, personalization and co-creation (MCPC) community bringing together new thoughts and results from various disciplines within the field. The chapters are based on papers from The MCPC 2015 Conference where the emphasis was placed on “managing complexity.” MCPC is now beginning to emerge in many industries as a profitable business model. But customization and personalization go far beyond the sheer individualization of products and become an extension of current business models and production styles. This book covers topics such as complexity management of knowledge-based systems in manufacturing design and production, sustainable mass customization, choice navigation, and product modeling. The chapters are contributed by a wide range of specialists, offering cutting-edge research, as well as insightful advances in industrial practice in key areas. The MCPC 2015 Conference had a strong focus on real life MCPC applications, and this proceedings volume reflects this. MCPC strategies aim to profit from the fact that people are different. Their objective is to turn customer heterogeneities into profit opportunities, hence addressing the current trend of long tail business models. Mass customization means to provide goods and services that best serve individual customers’ personal needs with near mass production efficiency. This book brings together the latest from MCPC thought leaders, entrepreneurs, technology developers, and researchers that use these strategies in practice.




Product Lifecycle Management: Towards Knowledge-Rich Enterprises


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed post-proceedings of the 9th IFIP WG 5.1 International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management, PLM 2012, held in Montreal, Canada, in July 2012. The 58 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. They cover a large range of topics such as collaboration in PLM, tools and methodologies for PLM, modeling for PLM, and PLM implementation issues.