A quantitative methodology for acquiring engineering characteristics in PPHOQ

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a planning and problem-solving methodology that is widely used for translating customer requirements (CRs) into engineering characteristics (ECs) of a product. Acquiring ECs in product planning house of quality (PPHOQ) is a crucial step of QFD methodology. In previous studies, methods for acquiring ECs are qualitative and subjective. In this paper, a novel quantitative methodology for acquiring ECs in PPHOQ is presented. In the proposed methodology, a hierarchical framework for generating the refined set of EC candidates from the EC candidates obtained by brainstorming is established. A concept of a general relationship between a CR and an EC is introduced, and then a novel approach for identifying the general relationship measures with the help of intelligent characteristics of rough set is proposed. Another concept of the intension threshold of the general relationship corresponding to a CR is introduced, and then a set-operation-based method of acquiring ECs used in PPHOQ is presented. An example of a two-cylinder washing machine is used to demonstrate the proposed methodology.     

A methodology of determining aggregated importance of engineering characteristics in QFD

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a planning and problem-solving tool that is gaining acceptance for translating customer requirements (CRs) into engineering characteristics (ECs) of a product. Deriving the importance of ECs is a crucial step of applying QFD. However, the inherent fuzziness in QFD presents a special challenge to effectively evaluate the importance of ECs and correlation among them. Furthermore, degree of impact of an engineering characteristic (EC) on the other ECs also reflects the importance of the ECs. In previous studies, those impacts were neglected or simply represented using a linear combination in determining the importance of ECs. To address this issue, in this paper, a new methodology of determining aggregated importance of ECs is presented which involves the consideration of conventional meaning of importance of ECs as well as the impacts of an EC on other ECs. In the proposed methodology, fuzzy relation measures between CRs and ECs as well as fuzzy correlation measures among ECs are determined based on fuzzy expert systems approach. These two types of measures are then used to determine the aggregated importance of ECs. An example of design of a digital camera is used to illustrate the proposed methodology.     

An integrated linguistic-based group decision-making approach for quality function deployment

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a well-known customer-driven approach for new or improved product/service design and development to maximize customer satisfaction. A typical QFD analysis process involves a series of group decision-making (GDM) processes, such as determination of the importance of customer requirements (CRs), the relationship between CRs and engineering characteristics (ECs), and the correlation among ECs. Properly handling these GDM processes is essential because it will significantly affect the prioritization of ECs, the target value setting of ECs, and the following deployment phases of QFD. Due to different personal experiences and/or lack of sufficient knowledge and information, decision-makers who participate in the QFD analysis process tend to provide their opinions by using different types and multi-granularity linguistic information, which are inherently vague and imprecise. Unlike most of the previous studies, which excessively rely on fuzzy approaches, this study proposes an integrated linguistic-based GDM approach, which can compute with words directly and avoid the risk of loss of information, to cope with multiple types and multi-granularity linguistic assessments given by a group of decision-makers in QFD activity process. Finally, a numerical example is taken to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach. The linguistic-based approach can effectively manage the imprecise and vague input information in QFD and facilitate decision-making in product design and development.     

An integrated approach for rating engineering characteristics’ final importance in product-service system development

Product-service system (PSS) approach has emerged as a competitive strategy to impel manufacturers to offer a set of product and services as a whole. A three-domain PSS conceptual design framework based on quality function deployment (QFD) is proposed in this research. QFD is a widely used design tool considering customer requirements (CRs). Since both product and services influence satisfaction of customer, they should be designed simultaneously. Identification of the critical parameters in these domains plays an important role. Engineering characteristics (ECs) in the functional domain include product-related ECs (P-ECs) and service-related ECs (S-ECs). ECs are identified by translating customer requirements (CRs) in the customer domain. Rating ECs’ importance has a great impact on achieving an optimal PSS planning. The rating problem should consider not only the requirements of customer, but also the requirements of manufacturer. From the requirements of customer, the analytic network process (ANP) approach is integrated in QFD to determine the initial importance weights of ECs considering the complex dependency relationships between and within CRs, P-ECs and S-ECs. In order to deal with the vagueness, uncertainty and diversity in decision-making, the fuzzy set theory and group decision-making technique are used in the super-matrix approach of ANP. From the requirements of manufacturer, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach is applied to adjust the initial weights of ECs taking into account business competition and implementation difficulty. A case study is carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed integrated approach for prioritizing ECs in PSS conceptual design.     

Development of a web-based system for engineering change management

Engineering changes (ECs) are changes and/or modifications in forms, fits, functions, materials, dimensions, etc., of products and constituent components. ECs usually induce a series of downstream changes. Multiple disciplines and responsibilities are therefore involved in managing ECs. Previous investigations conducted by the authors and other researchers have shown that paper-based and standalone computerised EC management (ECM) systems have limited support for such intensive teamwork and close communication. This paper proposes to establish a web-based framework that supports ECM procedures and activities. A web-based ECM system is able to provide better information sharing, simultaneous data access and processing and more prompt communication and feedback. The amount of paperwork and the throughput time of managing ECs are significantly reduced while the effectiveness and the efficiency are substantially improved. This paper focuses on discussing the issues of design, development, and implementation of this prototype web-based ECM system.     

Integration of engineering change objects in product data management databases to support engineering change analysis

This study proposes a product data management (PDM) database that can support engineering change analysis (ECA). It can integrate ECA with the existing main product development process managed by PDM systems. Since engineering change (EC) history is a key EC data element that enables ECA, this study extends PDM databases to represent the EC history with existing entities for ECs and associated products and their product structures. To show the feasibility of the proposed PDM database, this study integrates a prototype PDM system with on-line analytical processing (OLAP) tools and a data mining module for ECA. It also applies the implemented tools to two typical ECA applications, EC evaluation and EC propagation problems. The illustrative application examples show that the proposed PDM database can support ECA through multidimensional data analysis with OLAP and data mining with association rules.     

Chemical enterprise model and decision-making framework for sustainable chemical product design

The chemical product substitution process is undertaken by chemical industries for complying with regulations, like REACH in Europe. Initially devoted to chemists, chemicals substitution is nowadays a complex process involving corporate, business and engineering stakeholders across the chemical enterprise for orienting the search toward a sustainable solution. We formalize a decision making process framework dedicated to the sustainable chemical product design activity in an industrial context. The framework aims at improving the sharing of information and knowledge and at enabling a collaborative work across the chemical enterprise stakeholders at the strategic, tactical and operational levels. It is supported by information and communication technologies (ICT) and integrates a computer aided molecular design tool. During the initial intelligence phase, a systemic analysis of the needs and usages enables to define the product requirements. In the design phase, they are compiled with the help of a facilitator to generate the input file of a computer aided product design tool. This multiobjective tool is designed to find mixtures with molecular fragments issued from renewable raw materials, and is able to handle environment-health and safety related properties along with process physicochemical properties. The final choice phase discusses the solution relevancy and provides feedback, before launching the product manufacturing. The framework is illustrated by the search of a bio-sourced water–solvent mixture formulation for lithographic blanket wash used in printing industry. The sustainability of the solution is assessed by using the sustainability shades method.     

The product development process: the Wenger 1/1 Office Printer

A product that is adapted individually to a specific market segment, that is innovative, and that is constructed aesthetically, will be successful. In this process there is a triangular relationship between designer, client, company and market, where functional communication has to be ensured. Globally the market has segmented into age groups, so that aesthetic attitudes are independent of nationality. Design should distinguish a product from the mass by accentuating its individual characteristics and so enable the consumer to identify with it. Today's design determines tomorrow's quality of life. This article describes the process of product development as exampled by the Wenger 1/1 Office Printer.

The design development procedure is divided into three phases: (a) planning phase; (b) project phase; (c) realization phase. The printer market is described, and the most important product requirements defined. The design concept was that a product should be developed that combined the advantages of impact- and non-impact printing techniques with a new, market-influencing design, There were two options with regard to the Wenger 1/1; [a) mechanical and electronic parts combined in one housing; (b) mechanical and electronic parts in separate housings. In order to ensure optimal noise silencing, option (b) was chosen. The favored option was realized in a foam-rubber model, and details worked out. A 'function-model' was manufactured and tested to ensure performance and market-adjustment of the new product. The designer and the client then liaised to supervise the product through to serial manufacture.     

Human Factors Analysis,Design, and Evaluation of Engage,a Consumer Health IT Application for Geriatric Heart Failure Self-Care

ABSTRACT

Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) and related approaches can be used to enhance research and development of consumer-facing health information technology (IT) systems, including technologies supporting the needs of people with chronic disease. A multiphase HFE study of health IT supporting self-care of chronic heart failure by older adults is described. The study was based on HFE frameworks of “patient work” and incorporated the three broad phases of user-centered design: study or analysis, design, and evaluation. In the study phase, data from observations, interviews, surveys, and other methods were analyzed to identify gaps in and requirements for supporting heart failure self-care. The design phase applied findings from the study phase throughout an iterative process, culminating in the design of the Engage application, a product intended for continuous use over 30 days to stimulate self-care engagement, behavior, and knowledge. During the evaluation phase, a variety of usability issues through expert heuristic evaluation and laboratory-based usability testing were identified. The implications of our findings regarding heart failure self-care in older adults and the methodological challenges of rapid translational field research and development in this domain are discussed.     

Integrating preference analysis and balanced scorecard to product planning house of quality

Product planning house of quality (PPHOQ) is of fundamental and strategic importance in quality function deployment (QFD). Determining the aggregated priority ratings (PRs) of engineering characteristics (ECs) is a crucial step of constructing PPHOQ. A QFD team often involves a group of cross-functional team member from marketing, design, quality, plan, finance, logistics, and after service. Each member of the QFD team from different backgrounds often demonstrates significantly different behavior from the others and generates different preference assessment to the competitive products. The gross benefit of implementing the improvement goal of the performance value (IGPV) of each EC should be estimated from the short- and long-term perspectives in a comprehensive and accurate way. In this paper, we propose an extended PPHOQ by using a least deviation based approach (LDBA), and balanced scorecard (BSC), and develop a comprehensive and systematic approach to determine the aggregated PRs of ECs in the extended PPHOQ. The proposed approach is based on the presented LDBA for dealing with competition and preference information to determine the technical point of each EC, and the combination of BSC and analytic hierarchy process for estimating the gross benefit of implementing the IGPV of each EC. Finally, a case study is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Integrating customer's preferences in the QFD planning process using a combined benchmarking and imprecise goal programming model

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a customer-oriented design tool for developing new or improved products to achieve higher customer satisfaction by integrating various functions of an organization. The engineering characteristics (ECs) affecting the product performances are designed to match the customer attributes (CAs). However, from the viewpoint of the QFD team, product design processes are performed in imprecise environments, and more than one factor must be taken into account in determining the target levels of ECs, especially the limited resources and increased market competition. This paper presents an imprecise goal programming (GP) approach to determine the optimum target levels of ECs in QFD for maximizing customer satisfaction under resource limitation and considerations of market competition. Based on benchmarking data of CAs, the concept of satisfaction functions is utilized to formulate explicitly the customer's preferences and to integrate the competitive analysis of target market into the modelling and solution process. In addition, the relationships linking CAs and ECs and the ECs to each other are integrated by functional relationships. The proposed approach will be illustrated through a car door design example.     

Improving quality function deployment analysis with the cloud MULTIMOORA method

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a quality guarantee method extensively used in various industries, which can help enterprises shorten the product design period and enhance the manufacturing and managing work. The task of selecting important engineering characteristics (ECs) in QFD is crucial and often involves multiple customer requirements (CRs). In this paper, a modified multi‐objective optimization by ratio analysis plus the full multiplicative form (MULTIMOORA) method based on cloud model theory (called C‐MULTIMOORA) is developed to determine the ranking order of ECs in QFD. First, the linguistic assessments provided by decision makers are transformed into normal clouds and aggregated by the cloud weighted averaging operator. Then, the weights of CRs are determined based on a maximizing deviation method with incomplete weight information. Finally, the importance of ECs is obtained using the C‐MULTIMOORA method. An empirical case conducted in an electric vehicle manufacturing organization is provided together with a comparative analysis to validate the advantages of our proposed QFD model.     

Product design logic for an intelligent product modelling system

Recent research in CAD systems has been conducted to realize intelligent processing. Several CAD systems and product modelling systems have been developed using AI techniques. However, in order to develop more intelligent CAD systems, the design logic which connects the functional requirement to the geometric and the technological information of the designed product must be evaluated.

A product model used in such intelligent CAD systems has to include not only the geometric and the technological information of the product but also the designer's thought process which explains the design logic.

Design logic is generally divided into two parts. One is the generalized design logic which is commonly used in the conceptual design of mechanical products. The other is the product specified design logic which is used in the fundamental and detailed design phase. Different logic is applied to each product. This type of design logic is often used in modification design and compilation design, where the dimensions of parts have to be modified according to different functional requirements. When the dimensions and accuracies of the products are defined in connection with the functional requirements through design logic, the CAD system can automatically make decisions according to the given requirements. In this paper, suitable presentation formats and processing functions for these two types of design logic are discussed.

The importance of design logic in product modelling is proven through several case studies in this paper. As a conclusion, the intelligent product modelling system is developed, which should expedite the progress of design automation in the near future. In conceptual design, the design logic is processed in the modelling system and the product structure, with the technological information decided automatically from the functional requirement. Automation in the detailed design phase is also facilitated by the modelling system using the product specified design logic in the product model.     

Digital twin-based smart assembly process design and application framework for complex products and its case study

With rapid advances in new generation information technologies, digital twin (DT), and cyber-physical system, smart assembly has become a core focus for intelligent manufacturing in the fourth industrial evolution. Deep integration between information and physical worlds is a key phase to develop smart assembly process design that bridge the gap between product assembly design and manufacturing. This paper presents a digital twin reference model for smart assembly process design, and proposes an application framework for DT-based smart assembly with three layers. Product assembly station components are detailed in the physical space layer; two main modules, communication connection and data processing, are introduced in the interaction layer; and we discuss working mechanisms of assembly process planning, simulation, predication, and control management in the virtual space layer in detail. A case study shows the proposed approach application for an experimental simplified satellite assembly case using the DT-based assembly application system (DT-AAS) to verify the proposed application framework and method effectiveness.     

An integrated methodology for fixture design

In this paper, a methodology to perform fixture design as an integrated aspect of process planning is proposed. A three-phase methodology for the fixture design activity has been developed. The three phases include predesign analysis (phase I), functional analysis (phase II), and productivity improvement (phase III). In phase I, the product design information is studied, and initial fixture design aspects are developed. In phase II, the clamping and location aspects of fixture design are addressed for the given initial process sequence and product design information. Phase III involves studying ways to increase the productivity including using simultaneous machining approaches, multiclustering, use of specialized jigs, etc.     

Application of neural network in QFD matrix

The major challenge for contemporary enterprises is to make products fulfill customers’ expectations. Conceptual design is the foundation of the development process, as it starts from the customer needs identification and decides about the whole product life cycle. Quality function deployment (QFD) helps to extract product characteristics from customer demands. Optimization of the product development process requires different product variant information at the early stage of product development. At the early designing stage, designers lack sufficient product information and have difficulty in determining it. The idea of the paper is to provide measurable engineering information for the quality function deployment method. For this purpose, a chosen artificial intelligence method was used. In the experiment, artificial neural network (NN) was applied. The results of analyses show that the intelligent estimation methods are useful and effective. The methods of estimation consist of four stages: goal setting, data acquisition, configuration of NN architecture, fulfilling of the QFD matrix. Finally, to illustrate the procedure of the chosen engineering characteristic estimation, a toothed gear box example was used.     

Integrated design and collaborative engineering of fabric structures

The design of fabric structures incorporates specfic aspects due to the tight interdependency between geometric, mechanical and manufacturing data used by the different professional partners. This is highlighted through the analysis of the various steps of the design process. A design approach, that takes into account the various actors, their knowledge and the techniques available within each of the previous fields has been set up.This approach relies on the identification of the flow of information and on the organization of data sets that are compatible with the design process breakdown into tasks in order to preserve their integration. Approximation methods are associated with some of this information to create design phases adapted to each actor through software tools implementing various modelling processes. The form finding process, the mechanical analysis of the structure, the determination of cutting patterns are examples of such modelling processes. The surface model of the fabric structure is one of such sets of data which has been identified and used to preserve the integration of the design process.Associated with the integrated design architecture, a collaborative environment helps to set up communication between some of the actors according to the design process organization. This environment acts as a complementary tool to help seeking compromises among the actors participating in a given phase of the design process. The communication tools work on a distributed architecture in such a manner that dialogue objects are shared among the actors.     

CIG-EM:一种面向通信综合的通信信息图提取方法

提出通信信息图提取方法CIG-EM,实现了从系统行为级模型到通信信息图（CIG）模型提取的自动设计流程,以帮助系统设计人员在系统设计的早期设计高效的片上通信体系结构. CIG-EM采用层次化控制/数据流图（HCDFG）模型作为系统的内部表示模型,并建立了从系统描述到CIG模型提取的整个设计流程;引入HCDFG模型的扩展M-HCDFG模型表示函数-功能单元和变量-存储器的映射信息,简化了CIG模型提取的过程;提出了3种模型HCDFG,M-HCDFG和CIG之间的转换算法,实现了其自动转换. CIG-EM能够平滑系统设计流程,减少设计周期.利用JPEG解码程序表明CIG-EM方法的正确性和有效性.     

PDM/CAx产品变型设计系统

采用基于消息驱动的星型集成模式实现PDM/CAx系统的紧密集成,将事物特性表(SML)技术与参数化CAx技术相结合,支持从管理层面到实现层面的快速变型设计.在PDM系统中利用SML建立产品族信息模型,支持产品族数据的存储、查询、识别、比较和选择,在CAx系统中实施尺寸驱动、工艺规程派生等变型功能.目前该软件系统已经应用于汽车企业、邮电设备企业.