Jessica Bruch

Characteristics affecting management of design information in the production system design process

Although it has been argued that the design of production systems is crucial, there is a general lack of empirical studies analysing and identifying resources and capabilities required for an efficient production system design process. One of these resources is the critical role attributed to design information and one such capability is how the design information is managed. To address this research gap, this paper reports the results from two in-depth case studies in the automotive industry focusing on the management of design information in the production system design process. Our results show that design information management needs to be understood as a multidimensional concept having three dimensions: acquiring, sharing and using design information. By focusing on the three dimensions, six characteristics affecting the management of design information when designing the production system are identified. The characteristics are information type, source of information, communication medium, formalisation, information quality and pragmatic information.

Design information for efficient equipment supplier/buyer integration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the underlying design information and success factors for production equipment acquisition, in order to support the design of high‐performance production systems.Design/methodology/approach – The research strategy employed was an in‐depth case study of an industrialization project, together with a questionnaire of 25 equipment suppliers.Findings – The study provides the reader with an insight into the role of design information when acquiring production equipment by addressing questions such as: What type of information is used? How do equipment suppliers obtain information? What factors facilitate a smooth production system acquisition?Research limitations/implications – Limitations are primarily associated with the chosen research methodology, which requires further empirical studies to establish a generic value.Practical implications – The implications are that manufacturing companies have to transfer various types of design information with respect to...

Characteristics of product introduction process in low-volume manufacturing industries A case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how the characteristics of low-volume manufacturing industries influence the product introduction process and factors which can facilitate that process in low-volume manufacturing industries. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review and a multiple-case study were used to achieve the purpose of the paper. The multiple-case study was based on two product development projects in a low-volume manufacturing company. Findings – The main identified characteristics of the product introduction process in low-volume manufacturing industries were a low number of prototypes, absence of conventional production ramp-up, reduced complexity of the process, failure to consider the manufacturability of the products due to an extensive focus on their functionality and increased complexity of resource allocation. It was determined that prior production of similar products could serve as a facilitator of the manufacturing process. Research limitations/implications ...

Creating a competitive edge when designing production systems – facilitating the sharing of design information

When designing production systems, design information must be shared among functions at the manufacturing company and the external equipment supplier in order to integrate the various work activiti ...

Focusing Early Phases in Production System Design

It is a well-known fact that it is in the early phases of production system design where the most important decisions are made. If the production system is not designed in a proper way, this will eventually end up with disturbances and problems during serial production and it is in the early phases the potential to influence is greatest. The purpose with this paper is therefore to describe how to work and what activities to focus on in early phases of production system design by proposing a structured production system design model focusing on the early phases which can be applied by practitioners and academics. Six production system design projects were studied in three real-time case studies and three retrospective case studies. Combined with literature studies a production system design model is developed describing the initial phases of initiation, project definition and concept including activities and decision points.

Exploring the design process of reconfigurable industrial production systems activities, challenges, and tactics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore activities, challenges, and suggest tactics for the design of industrial reconfigurable production systems that can easily adapt to changing market ...

On the production location decision: a case study on process and criteria

The paper explores the process and criteria used in production location decisions, based on a literature overview and a case study in a Swedish manufacturing company with a global production network. The data collection comprised interviews with top management and project management as well as a document analysis. The findings indicate that the production location decision process is facilitated by following a stepwise process with an initial strategic analysis with a broad scope including also the selection of the future production system concept.

Knowledge integration in manufacturing technology development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze knowledge integration in manufacturing technology development projects required to build competitive advantages. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal case study has been conducted at a Swedish manufacturing company by following a manufacturing technology development project in real time during a two-year period. Findings The results show that three different knowledge integration processes exist when developing unique manufacturing technology: processes for capturing, for joint learning, and for absorb learning. The findings of the current research suggest that the three knowledge integration processes are highly interrelated with each knowledge integration process affecting the other two. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of the research is primarily associated with the single case, which limits generalizability outside the context that was studied. Practical implications The findings are particularly relevant to manufacturing engineers working with the development of new manufacturing technologies. By using relevant knowledge integration processes and capabilities required to integrate the knowledge in manufacturing technology development projects, companies can improve design and organize the development of manufacturing technology. Originality/value Previous research has merely noted that knowledge integration is required in the development of unique manufacturing technology, but without explaining how and in what way. This paper’s contribution is the identification and analysis of three knowledge integration processes that contribute to the building of competitive advantages by developing unique manufacturing technology and new knowledge.

The Introduction Process of Low-Volume Products: Challenges and Potentials of Information Management

The product introduction process plays an important role in development of new products and launching them to the market on-time with a high quality. The product introduction process has been studied primarily in high-volume manufacturing industries and therefore, the influences of the characteristics of low-volume manufacturing industries on the product introduction process has not been investigated. The aim of this paper is to study challenges and potentials of information management during the product introduction process in low-volume manufacturing industries by a multiple-case study in two Scandinavian low-volume manufacturing companies. The paper contributes in covering the knowledge gap about the information management during the product introduction process in low-volume manufacturing industries.

Start of Production in Low-Volume Manufacturing Industries: Disturbances and Solutions

Reducing disturbances during start of production of new products is of high importance to assure that products reach the market on-time with the intended quality and volume. Therefore, identification and elimination of sources of such disturbances is necessary. Since the literature about such disturbances in low-volume manufacturing industries are limited, this paper is aimed to identify the common sources of such disturbances and the possible solutions to mitigate them in low-volume manufacturing industries. A multiple-case study has been conducted to achieve this aim. The results show that main sources of disturbances are lack of opportunities to test and refine products, considering the production system “as is” and putting extensive focus on product functionality rather than its manufacturability. Moreover, using the knowledge and experiences from production of previous similar products is identified as a source of learning and compensation for lack of opportunities for test and refinement.