The Strathprints institutional repository (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk) is a digital archive of University of Strathclyde research outputs. It has been developed to disseminate open access research outputs, expose data about those outputs, and enable the management and persistent access to Strathclyde's intellectual output.
Effective engineering management is acknowledged as being fundamental to the successful operation of organizations. While traditional and contemporary approaches to operational engineering management are of great significance, there remains a need to make further advances in this field. Such advances will enable an increase in the competitiveness of an organization by contributing toward delivering quality products in shorter timescales at an acceptable cost. As such, there is a requirement for a more comprehensive and innovative approach that offers a means of improving the operational management of engineering. Existing approaches recognize coordination as an important and pervasive characteristic of operational engineering management; however, they fail to offer a consistent understanding and appreciation of the concept. This paper comprehensively identifies the key elements of operational design coordination, which will provide the basis for an improved approach to engineering management.
A computer-based system for modelling and optimizing processes is presented. The Design Structure Matrix (DSM) process representation was used to model the processes due to its compact, generic and easily quantifiable nature. The system is capable of calculating a number of process performance metrics that are focussed towards determining the degree of iteration and concurrency within the process, however, the system is easily extendible to include other process performance measurements. The paper describes the use of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to optimise the sequence of activities with the focus of reducing the amount of iteration by reducing the number of feedback loops and hence reducing the number of initial guesses that are needed in order to undertake highly dependent tasks. Previous investigations have attempted to define a generic structure for combinatorial optimisation using GAs [Todd, D. (1997). Multiple Criteria Genetic Algorithms in Engineering Design and Operation, Ph.D. Thesis, Engineering Design Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.], however this paper demonstrates that the structure of the GA is intrinsically tied to the domain. The focus of this paper was an investigation to determine the most efficient and timely structure for the GA with respect to process optimisation. Additional criteria are included within the system and it is has been demonstrated that the structure is applicable for these criteria. It is therefore assumed that if the criteria are dependent upon the matrix representation, in particular, the sequence of the activities and dependencies, then the GA structure will remain applicable. This assumption was demonstrated to be correct when the DSM and GA were used with the same GA structure to optimise component modularity using different optimisation criteria [Whitfield R.I.
The paper describes work which is being carried out as part of a collaborative research programme between the British warshipbuilding company, Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd., and the Department of Naval Architecture at The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Recent developments in CAD have made available to the designer a wide range of hardware and software which encourage the application of interactive, graphics‐based design procedures. Such methods can be of significant benefit in modern warships design where the optimal utilization of ‘space’ is a primary design goal. Two facets which influence and control space management systems are the adjacency of functional areas and the environment into which a space is to be placed. Recent work concerned with the geometric representation and manipulation of architectural arrangements has been adapted for use in marine vehicle design. An optimal design procedure which utilizes the theory of fuzzy sets is used to achieve the general layout of space which allows the delineation of the main compartments of a vessel. The hull envelope can be generated using a surface generation module or by using previously faired basis ship offsets held in a data base. Having defined the compartmental configuration of the functional spaces the next level of design is concerned with a more detailed consideration of compartments, or groups of compartments and the equipment and systems they contain. Equipment is defined in terms of ergonomic envelopes, geometry and connectivity of services etc. The attributes of a 3‐D graphics workstation are used, in conjunction with an equipment library, to provide an effective detailed design procedure. The layout of equipment in spaces usually concerns the achievement of goals which conflict or have different priorities. The use of optimal goal programming techniques is suggested as a way of solving the multi‐objective problem. As illustrative examples of the method the layout of the victual complex and dining areas for a small warship are generated.
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