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 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 the management of design information needs to be understood as a multidimensional concept having three dimensions: acquiring, sharing and using of 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, formalization, information quality, and pragmatic information.Keywords: design of production systems; manufacturing industry; information management; case study, characteristics Subject classification codes: Original manuscript IntroductionFor manufacturing companies active on the global market, high-performance production systems that contribute to the growth and competitiveness of the company are essential. Among a wide range of industries it is increasingly acknowledged that superior production system design capabilities are crucial for competitive success. However, the process of designing the production system has received little attention, ignoring its potential for gaining a competitive edge. The real power of an efficient design process is not its contribution to reduced operating costs, but how it supports manufacturing companies in their attempts to achieve faster time to market, smoother production ramp-up, enhanced customer acceptance of new products, and/or a stronger proprietary position (Hayes et al., 2005, Pisano, 1997. The right design before implementation facilitates rapid commission of systems to allow for rapid repayment of the invested capital as well as bringing new products promptly to the market, thus reducing the cost for the manufacturing company (Wu, 1994).A review of the literature shows a broad range of factors affecting design in either a positive or negative way. One factor frequently mentioned as one of the most valuable resources that a manufacturing company possesses is design information and how design information is managed. From a theoretical point of view, there are several reasons why the management of design information should be positively associated with the performance of the production system design process. First, in line with the arguments of Cohen and Levinthal (1990), this article assumes that the ability to recognize the value of information, process it and dispose of it, is critical to the company's ability to create organizational knowledge. The second argument su...

Purpose – The purpose of the research presented is to analyse and discuss critical challenges related to the development of a production system portfolio. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a longitudinal case study of an industrialization project at a global supplier in the automotive industry. Findings – This research makes two clear theoretical contributions. First, it extends the existing research on the manufacturing and R&D interface by proposing an innovative structure for production system development facilitating manufacturing companies in their efforts of being fast and cost-effective when introducing new products to the market. Second, this research identifies challenges related to the adoption of a production system portfolio and the necessary actions of a manufacturing company applying such a portfolio strategy. Research limitations/implications – The findings should be seen as a first attempt at assisting the development of a production system portfolio that matches the product portfolio. However, since the findings are based on only one case, the findings are to some extent context-specific and thus need to be complemented by more research. Practical implications – The research unveils challenges related to production system development and provides managers with a better understanding of some of the implications of the adoption of a portfolio strategy. Originality/value – This empirical study is among the first to explore the implications of a production system portfolio strategy. It advances the understanding towards a fully integrated product and production system development.

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 opportunities. Design/methodology/approach The paper synthesizes the empirical findings of seven case studies including 47 in-depth interviews at four manufacturing companies. Findings A conceptual production system design process and including activities that enables a long-term perspective considering reconfigurability is proposed. Additionally, critical challenges indicating that reconfigurable production system design is not a trivial issue but one that requires separate control and coordination are identified and tactics to overcome the challenges described. Research limitations/implications The authors propose a process for designing reconfigurable production systems that are better suited to adjust to future needs. The knowledge of reconfigurability from the reconfigurable manufacturing system literature is applied in the general production system literature field. This study contributes to a clearer picture of managerial challenges that need to be dealt with when designing a reconfigurable production system. Practical implications By clarifying key activities facilitating a long-term perspective in the design process and highlighting challenges and tactics for improvement, the findings are particularly relevant to production engineers and plant managers interested in increasing the ability to adapt to future changes through reconfigurability and improve the efficiency of their production system design process. Originality/value Although reconfigurable production systems are critical for the success of manufacturing companies, the process of designing such systems is not clear. This paper stretches this by giving a comprehensive picture of the production system design process and the activities that need to be considered to meet these challenges.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. AbstractPurpose -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.

Manufacturing competitiveness frequently relies on company ability to rapidly reconfigure their assembly systems. This paper introduces assembly system proactivity, a concept based on interrelated levels of automation, human competence, and information handling. Increased and structured human involvement contributes to increased system ability to proactively address predicted and unpredicted events. Correct involvement of human operators will utilize the combined potential of human and technical capabilities, providing cost-efficient assembly system solutions. The ProAct project is developing proactive assembly system models and evaluates proactive, feature-based solutions. Focus is on realising the potential of cost-efficient and semi-automated systems with relevant human involvement, i.e. highly skilled operators who add flexibility and functionality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the selection of decision-making approaches at manufacturing companies when implementing process innovations. Design/methodology/approach This study reviews the current understanding of decision structuredness for determining a decision-making approach and conducts a case study based on an interactive research approach at a global manufacturer. Findings The findings show the correspondence of intuitive, normative and combined intuitive and normative decision-making approaches in relation to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability. Accordingly, the conditions for determining a decision-making choice when implementing process innovations are revealed. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to increased understanding of the combined use of intuitive and normative decision making in production system design. Practical implications Empirical data are drawn from two projects in the heavy-vehicle industry. The study describes decisions, from start to finish, and the corresponding decision-making approaches when implementing process innovations. These findings are of value to staff responsible for the design of production systems. Originality/value Unlike prior conceptual studies, this study considers normative, intuitive and combined intuitive and normative decision making. In addition, this study extends the current understanding of decision structuredness and discloses the correspondence of decision-making approaches to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability.

This is an accepted version of a paper published in Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. This paper has been peer-reviewed but does not include the final publisher proof-corrections or journal pagination.Citation for the published paper: Bruch, J., Bellgran, M. Design information for efficient equipment supplier/buyer integrationAbstract Purpose -The purpose 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 study employs an in-depth case study of an industrialization project together with a questionnaire of 25 equipment suppliers as a research strategy. 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 the content and kind of information. More attention has to be placed on what information is transferred to secure that equipment suppliers receive all the information needed to design and subsequently build the production equipment. To facilitate integration of equipment suppliers, manufacturing companies should appoint a contact person who can gather, understand and transform relevant design information.Originality/value -External integration of equipment suppliers in production system design by means of design information is an area that has been rarely addressed in academia and industry.

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.