An energy factor based systematic approach to energy-saving product design

In order to reach to an energy-saving product design, this paper presents a mathematic energy model to calculate the total energy consumption within entire product lifecycle. Energy factor is the essential coefficient of this model to represent the energy consumption throughout the entire product lifecycle, including raw material extraction, manufacturing, assembly, use, disassembly, and recycling. With an aim to create a systematic approach to energy-saving product design, the authors integrate the axiomatic design and modularity design theories with energy factor, and the energy factor is eventually optimized together with other major design factors in a multiple objective decision making model.     

Industrial Product-Service Systems—IPS

In mechanical engineering and plant design, product-related services are usually considered as an add-on to the actual product. Industrial Product-Service Systems deal with dynamic interdependencies of products and services in production. Research areas cover new concepts and methods which enable the machine producers to design the potential services in an optimal way, already during the development of the machine. This paradigm shift from the separated consideration of products and services to a new product understanding consisting of integrated products and services creates innovation potential to increase the sustainable competitiveness of mechanical engineering and plant design. The latter allows business models which do not focus on the machine sales but on the use for the customer e.g. in form of continuously available machines. The business model determines the complexity of delivery processes. Characteristics of Industrial Product-Service Systems allow covering all market demands.     

Generating design alternatives for increasing recyclability of products

This paper proposes a design support method for improving the recyclability of electronic and electrical products. The method estimates the recycling rate of a product based on its end-of-life scenario. The method supports a designer in generating design alternatives that increase the rate by conducting impact analysis with the change of material composition and end-of-life scenario. The method suggests design alternatives with the constraint of keeping the other performance factors (e.g., flexural strength and thermal conductivity) constant by adjusting the geometric parameters (e.g., thickness and volume) of the components.     

Mapping Knowledge about Product Lifecycle Engineering for Ontology Construction via Object-Process Methodology

Knowledge mapping is a first and mandatory step in ontology definition. This paper considers the lifecycle of products and systems, and discusses the creation of a knowledge-based ontology. With respect to the life cycle of products and systems, knowledge refers to the processes involved in their creation (design manufacturing and assembly), use and maintenance, and end of life (EOL). Hence, this knowledge should consider what a product is comprised of (its structure), how it operates (its dynamics), and how it interacts with the environment. A clearly defined and consistent mapping of knowledge regarding structure, operation and interaction is necessary to construct an effective and useful ontology. Yet, in order to obtain the required knowledge and to organize it in a consistent and useful form, an appropriate ontology must be used. An interactive, iterative and consistent method is needed to cope with this complex and circular problem. In this paper, the Object-Process Methodology (OPM) approach is considered, along with OPCAT [1], a tool for OPM-based knowledge modeling. OPM is a systems-modeling approach that represents knowledge about systems concurrently and bi-modally through graphics (a set of Object-Process Diagrams, OPDs) and text (Object-Process Language, OPL, a subset of English), yielding a single, unified and consistent view. In this paper we propose a foundational modeling and ontology construction approach for a generic product that incorporates hardware and software components. The ontology can serve as a basis for a knowledge model to cover the entire product lifecycle, from inception to EOL, and can be applied in the VRL-KCiP Network of Excellence.     

Evaluating the relationship between use phase environmental impacts and manufacturing process precision

The environmental impact of most consumer products is dominated by their use phase. However, these impacts tend to be driven by the manufacture of the product's components since components fabricated with higher precision typically allow the product to operate at higher efficiencies. This paper investigates the relationship between precision and life cycle environmental impacts by extending the traditional LCA methodology to evaluate the impact of manufacturing process precision on the functional performance of a product during its use phase. The implications of this relationship to manufacturing decision-making are also discussed as sustainability concerns may support the use of higher precision processes.     

Lifecycle operational reliability assessment of water distribution networks based on the probability density evolution method

In this study, a lifecycle operational reliability assessment framework for water distribution networks (WDNs) is proposed on the basis of the probability density evolution method (PDEM). The occurrence models of daily accidents are fitted using the maintenance data provided by a local water administration sector. For a given accident, two types of accidents (e.g., leaks and bursts) are distinguished in different occurrence probabilities and simulated in various ways. The pipe deterioration process in the lifecycle is reflected by incorporating the time-dependent pipe roughness model. Considering various randomness in the model, PDEM, a newly proposed and developed method for a stochastic system, is used to evaluate the lifecycle operational reliability of WDNs. The framework is demonstrated using an actual WDN, and the nodal reliabilities in the lifecycle are obtained. Comparisons of the operational reliabilities of all nodes calculated via the PDEM and Monte Carlo simulations prove that PDEM is an accurate and highly efficient method.     

Crowdsourcing as a strategic IS sourcing phenomenon: Critical review and insights for future research

Fueled by the development of Internet-based platforms that provided its technological foundation, and the need for an agile and uniquely skilled workforce, crowdsourcing has grown from the grassroots, with a burgeoning body of research investigating its many aspects. To gain insight into organizational crowdsourcing as a strategic IS sourcing phenomenon, this paper thoroughly reviews the literature to identify both areas of saturation and gaps, with a focus on the strategic organizational context. Pulling together knowledge on specific aspects of crowdsourcing, we first offer a high-level analysis of definitions to reveal rather broad coverage of various activities involving the crowd, many of which do not involve sourcing. We further build on the literature to establish boundary conditions and clarify the focus on crowdsourcing. This is followed by an in-depth critical analysis of selected studies published in top IS and general management journals to date. Through this review, we identify key themes that emerge out of the crowdsourcing literature and synthesize the literature to chart a more focused research path moving forward. Guided by our analysis, we offer a road map for future research that brings together fine-grained insights from existing crowdsourcing studies towards developing a high-level, macro-perspective of the crowdsourcing phenomenon and its strategic impact.     

Quantitative lifecycle risk analysis of the development of a just-in-time transportation network system

The automotive manufacturing industry is under financial pressure due to massive cost structure, relatively small scale operation and strong global competition. In order to improve their operational cost efficiency, companies have adopt lean principles in all their manufacturing activities, in particular, just-in-time supply chain. However, a consequence of this policy makes the transportation network from the local supply chain time critical. This paper uses an enterprise system model integrated with a quantitative method to study a manufacturing company’s logistics system re-development project. The quantitative risk analysis examines the project’s systems engineering management plan to see if it is sufficiently to mitigate risks in design, monitoring and validation of the project’s lifecycle processes. The computed risk profile shows a trend of decreasing risk and suggests areas of improvement in the systems engineering plan to ensure greater probability of success. The research assumes a single risk profile for the supply chain. Research is continuing in expanding to more accurate risk profile of the project when partners of the supply chain have individual profiles.     

A methodology for supporting requirement management tools (RMt) design in the PLM scenario: An user-based strategy

In the current “mass customization” scenario, product complexity is increasing significantly due to the necessity to answer as quickly and effectively as possible to many different costumer needs but maintaining costs under control. In this scenario, requirements management becomes a fundamental features for the entire product lifecycle, as enterprises need to have a complete and clear idea of the market for succeeding in developing and supporting the right and innovative product. Moreover, considering that product lifecycle is characterized by many “trade-off”, so that product features are often negotiated in order to fulfil to conflicting requirements, it is important to support the “traceability” of the entire lifecycle “negotiation” process. For this reason, PLM platform has to provide suitable methodologies and tools able to efficiently support the design and management of large set of complex requirements. Requirements Management Tools (RMt) embedded in PLM solutions help keeping specifications consistent, up-to-date, and accessible. At present, there are different possible solutions, but a shared PLM integrated seems not to be available. In order to fill this gap, this paper has developed an user-based strategy, based on Kano methodology, so on “user satisfaction”, in order to define a structured set of guidelines to support the design of the features of an integrated PLM requirement management tool.     

基于软件生存周期的软件文档管理策略

软件质量是当前软件工程领域的研究热点,各种各样的软件质量保证方法,为提高软件质量起到了积极的作用.但是在众多的软件质量保证方法中,基于软件文档的软件质量保证通常得不到应有的重视,导致软件质量受到严重的影响.本文分析了软件生存周期各阶段文档的特点,并提出相应的软件文档的管理策略.