Platforms may enable offering a variety of products to the market while keeping the development cost down. Reusing design knowledge is a key concept, whether manifested as reusing parts, ideas, concepts, or technologies. This article describes processes and information technology solutions for holistically working with both technology platforms and product platforms. A platform framework was developed for managing information and to support the processes. The use of the framework is illustrated through a case study performed at a subsupplier in the aerospace industry focusing on technology development, platform-based product development, and platform configuration. A wiki system supports the technology platform, containing electronic guidelines, methods, and information about the technologies. To support the product platform, a product lifecycle management architecture is created. A turbine rear structure from a turbofan engine is used as an example, requiring several different analysis technologies to be used and coordinated when creating a variant. The solution is a product lifecycle management architecture created based on the technology platform. It integrates a product data management system, a computer-aided design tool, two computer-aided engineering tools, and a configurator.
In multi-domain product development organizations, there is a continuous need to transfer captured knowledge between engineers to enable better design decisions in the future. The objective of this paper is to evaluate how engineering knowledge can be captured, disseminated and (re)used by applying a knowledge reuse tool entitled Engineering Checksheet (ECS). The tool was introduced in 2012 and this evaluation has been performed over the 2017–2018 period. This case study focused on codified knowledge in incremental product development with a high reuse potential both in and over time. The evaluation draws conclusions from the perspectives of the knowledge workers (the engineers), knowledge owners and knowledge managers. The study concludes that the ECS has been found to be valuable in enabling a timely understanding of technological concepts related to low level engineering tasks in the product development process. Hence, this enables knowledge flow and, in particular, reuse among inexperienced engineers, as well as providing quick and accurate quality control for experienced engineers. The findings regarding knowledge ownership and management relate to the need for clearly defining a knowledge owner structure in which communities of practice take responsibility for empowering engineers to use ECS and as knowledge evolves managing updates to the ECS.
The utilization of a platform strategy has become a competitive priority in many industries, most notably in the automotive industry. Naturally, many firms in other industries are adopting this strategy with different modifications and degrees of implementation. However, little research covers the application of platform development in a supplier and/or small batch production environment. The adaptation of a platform strategy in these settings, by a supplier in the aircraft engine industry, is the focal point of this paper. Based on platform development literature and the characteristics of the aircraft engine industry and the company studied advantages and hindrances for platform strategies have been ruled out. Interviews with involved people within the company studied have further clarified different perspectives on platforms and their possible utilization. Based on the analysis of collected information it is proposed that a possible platform strategy would include: a technology platform, incorporating general knowledge on core technology assets embodied in either humans, organizations, processes, information or methods; and a product platform, incorporating product specific elements that could be re-used when developing new components for a particular product line.
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