Carlos Vila

Product data quality and collaborative engineering

We survey the impact of product data quality within an extended enterprise framework and present a linguistic model, which focuses on three levels: morphological, syntactic, and semantic.

Modeling workflow activities for collaborative process planning with product lifecycle management tools

Process planning activities are critical in manu- facturing distributed environments where different companies need to collaborate in product development. In this work, we propose a workflow model for a collaborative process planning environment in which original equipment manufacturer and suppliers companies interact with the help of Product Lifecycle Management and CAD/CAM tools. The proposed workflow model establishes the different activities, the information flows and the different stages that must be followed by all the participants. A pilot implementation has been made in order to validate the model in a realistic industrial scenario.

Collaborative solution for cooperation, coordination and knowledge management in the ceramic tile design chain

This paper presents a solution for cooperation between companies that belong to a supply chain in the ceramic tile sector, where competitiveness requires constant innovation in product design. Since it is becoming ever more frequent for these companies to design products and work collaboratively within the framework of the Extended Enterprise, a need arises for a methodology for the successful implementation of collaborative practices. The main contribution of this research work lies in the definition of a collaborative infrastructure for cooperative design that enhances interaction and knowledge management between different firms using information technology tools and, particularly, PLM solutions. The methodology used to achieve an efficient implementation is based on process modeling. Design processes are not always structured; there are continuous changes due to engineering modifications, and this fact makes modeling harder. Consequently, the definition of collaborative processes will allow a deeper understanding of product development activities.

Managing Collaborative Process Planning Activities through Extended Enterprise

Nowadays, the competitive global scenario has driven companies to work within extended enterprises. In this context, the collaborative product design and development process have to take into account all the geographically dispersed manufacturing resources. In order to enable real digital manufacturing, companies are forced to share and distribute data, information and knowledge through collaborative procedures. Particularly, manufacturing process planning activities, which are the link between product development and manufacturing, become crucial to achieve global efficiency. The objective of this chapter is, for these reasons, to define a reference model for collaborative process planning, taking into account certain basic requirements in order to enable an inter-enterprise environment. For the implementation of the reference model, a workflow modelling strategy and a reference architecture are presented that could enable collaborative processes management.

Workflow methodology for collaborative design and manufacturing

During product development processes, collaboration has become a common practice between different departments and companies that are involved in their activities. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools can facilitate collaboration among distributed teams within the context of an extended enterprise, but the efficient use of them is still hard to achieve. in this work, we propose a workflow based approach in order to implement product development collaboration, focusing the discussion on a case study of the integration of design and manufacturing activities, using workflow functionality offered by PLM software.

Implementing Collaborative Engineering Environments Through Reference Model-Based Assessment

This paper presents an assessment methodology based on enterprise reference models that consider next generation manufacturing principles. Because is becoming ever more frequent for companies to design products and work collaboratively within the framework of the Extended Enterprise, the need arises for a methodology for the successful implementation of collaborative practices. The main contribution of this research work lies in the definition of the reengineering process that allows the transition to a collaborative engineering environment and relies heavily on the use of PLM tools, and the definition of the metrics for change management. The proposal includes a readiness assessment procedure that analyzes the development process from a point of view that considers five levels of maturity with the aim of favoring the management of the collaboration process. The development of this collaborative assessment model is important because, on the one hand, the literature on this particular subject is scarce and, on the other, it can provide us with a deeper understanding of the activities associated to product development by defining the collaboration processes.

An approach to conceptual and embodiment design within a new product development lifecycle framework

The design of new innovative products is the result of an accurate and precise management of knowledge sources all over its life cycle, such as technology, market, competitors and suppliers. The work contributes with a framework that shows how the knowledge sources influence in the state-of-the-art and market needs so that they become opportunities for innovating products addressing the whole product life cycle. It provides a systematic path from the early generation of ideas to the production of a new product proposal. Through a deep analysis of previous research works of new product innovation life cycle development frameworks and linking it with knowledge management, strategic planning and scorecards, we came out with a structured contribution. The result considers the concurrent activities and its relationships all the way through the product life cycle that can help in creativity and innovation, combined with a process management proposal. Managing the sources of knowledge in highly dynamic markets and technologies is one of the major difficulties involved in innovative products design and development. The emerging knowledge from external sources is confronted with organisation internal knowledge and experience in order to achieve the first product correct.

Project-based collaborative engineering design and manufacturing learning with PLM tools

In this work we present an educational experience that is focused on teaching collaborative practices for product design. The paper compares two different approaches for engineering education. In the first one each team has to develop a product by collaborating in each product lifecycle stage. The second approach involves collaboration and competition between teams since they participate in different stages of each products development.

Reference Architecture for Modeling Collaborative Engineering Processes

In this work, we present a Collaboration Infrastructure Reference Architecture needed to enable the product development process collaboration that has become a common practice between different departments and companies in the context of an Extended Enterprise. Also, a methodology to model the required workflows is presented in order to coordinate the product lifecycle collaboration activities focusing in the design and manufacturing.

Cooperative analysis of production systems with simulation techniques

In this work we present an analysis of simulation tools and modelling technologies for production systems. The use of these tools within a collaborative environment will be a mainstay for distributed manufacturing companies which require the integration of design, manufacturing resources and processes across the product lifecycle.