Knut Einar Aasland

An analysis of the uses and properties of the Obeya

The term Obeya has become known as part of the Toyota Product Development System and the Lean Product Development strategy which has come out of that. Literature describes the Obeya as one of the tools of the TPDS, but rarely discusses what really makes an Obeya work, and what the critical aspects of it are. In the EU-sponsored project Linked Design, which develops methods for design in distributed work groups - often called collaborative design - a virtual Obeya has been identified as one of the subgoals. In order to specify such a solution, we need to examine thoroughly what Obeya is, how it is used, and what the critical factors determining its success are. This paper provides such an analysis.

Success Factors for PDCA as Continuous Improvement Method in Product Development

In order to maintain sustainability in an ever changing environment, where customer requirements contains a yearly price reduction over the life cycle of a product, decreased time for development of new products and increased product quality, there is an increased need for focus on continuous improvements. A well-known improvement method is the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act), which many companies have succeeded in implementing in the manufacturing department. Not so common, is the use of this method for the development process. The aim of this article is to present success factors which must be in place to succeed in using the specified method, and thereby the desired improvement during continuous improvement initiatives within product development. Management commitment is ranked as most important followed by knowledge about how to use the method, when to apply PDCA, efficient performance and use of internal marketing activities to focusing on the topic.

Building sustainability knowledge for product development and design – experiences from four manufacturing firms

To further improve the sustainability performance of products, a framework for identification and compilation of sustainability information beyond mere product and process data has been developed. This has been done under the assumption that access to and use of such information may increase firm knowledge on sustainability issues as well as firm ability to develop more sustainable products, and thus enhance competitiveness by adding value to products beyond functionality, quality, and cost. This article presents the results from four case studies in the Norwegian furniture and automotive supplier industry, identifying the categories of sustainability information which firms find most important and relevant to product development. Factors influencing accessibility of such information have also been identified. Systematically identifying and compiling sustainability information the way proposed by the framework is suggested useful for developing requirements and specifications, for general decision support, and for generating knowledge that may inspire entirely new product meanings.