A systematic user-centred framework for engineering product design in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Gherardini, Francesco; Renzi, Cristina; Leali, Francesco

doi:10.1007/s00170-016-9857-9

Cited by 31 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…They typically tend to employ approaches to design that are unstructured with a lack of systematic engineering methods, as they are normally developed in-house (Gherardini, Renzi, and Leali 2017). This is as a consequence of a hierarchy that usually bases decision-making on subjective factors (Kirkham et al 2014), coupled with the uneven time-management and deployment of human resources that results from an excess of day-to-day tasks.…”

Section: Use Of Design Methodologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design methodology for production systems retrofit in SMEs

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et al. 2019

International Journal of Production Research

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Investment in the productive systems of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector is usually quite limited. For this reason, normal practice is to apply minor developments internally, or upgrade equipment as it becomes obsolete to increase their productive capacity and competitiveness at lower cost. However, the work team, mostly made up of engineers, does not usually have experience in the use of design methodologies but also they are often familiar with the functioning of various design and quality-management tools. This paper presents a clear and simple design methodology that facilitates the development of adaptations to items of equipment that might be considered one-off products. It includes a selection of design tools that are, according to literature on the subject, the most common and best-known among engineers, and which are also best-suited to the environment of an SME. The design methodology was validated experimentally with the upgrading of a gear-rolling tester installed on the premises of an SME in the sector. The recommended techniques and tools were satisfactory applied opening the possibilities for further application of the methodology in similar machine's upgrades in the future.

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Section: Use Of Design Methodologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design methodology for production systems retrofit in SMEs

Pueo

Santolaria

Acero

et al. 2019

International Journal of Production Research

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“…Additional requirements may come from the citizens' needs. In accordance with [26], citizens can be considered as "non-technical customers", based on the way in which they perceive and communicate their needs. The citizens' needs, such as implicit or emotional needs, have to be identified, analyzed, and translated into technical specifications.…”

Section: Electricity Pylon Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assessment of the final design of the pylon: a survey among citizens of the region where the pylons will be placed may be carried out with the support of renders, scenario, etc. (as in [26]).…”

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confidence: 95%

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Design for Visual Quality Enhancement of Artificial Infrastructure Facilities: An Application to Electricity Pylons

et al. 2020

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(1) Background: The visual impact of artificial infrastructures on natural landscapes generates a common negative perception in public opinion. However, as in the case of electrical energy, the increasing demand for power supply and its need for capillary distribution require the installation of new lines, commonly overhead lines with tall tower-like pylons. In most countries, this situation is faced with many attempts of solutions, as participatory workshops and design contests. Nevertheless, the solutions are usually not further developed into real structures due to many limitations (e.g., regulatory, safety, lack of feasibility). (2) Methods: This paper presents a systematic method for the design of tower-like pylons (e.g., electric ones) able to improve the visual quality on the landscape areas in which they will be installed. The method identifies a design strategy that advantageously exploits the inevitable visual impact of pylons on the landscape by integrating the symbolic morphology and the topologically optimized pylon structure from the earliest design phases. (3) Results: The resulting structure is designed in three steps. First, a concept is morphologically developed by integrating symbolic references to the landscape, environment, or cultural society. Second, the concept is topologically optimized, by reducing the structural weight and its visual impact, and respecting regulatory requirements. Third, the resulting structure is engineered and embodied into an industrially feasible layout. (4) Conclusions: The method is able to develop an original, brand new tower-like pylon integrating all the types of requirements, such as regulatory, industrial feasibility, and social components’ needs. The resulting electricity pylon presents an enhanced visual quality according to the citizens’ feedback.

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“…With these characteristics, the interrelation matrix is constructed, which highlights which of these is the most influential characteristic and which among these is the most influenced by the others, as shown by Gherardini, Renzi & Leali in 2017 [26].…”

Section: Lack Of Noisementioning

confidence: 99%

Innovative Urban Transportation Means Developed by Integrating Design Methods

et al. 2018

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The aim of this article is to apply some design methodologies to define, as a first objective, an optimized technical specification and then, as a second objective, to manage the transition from conceptual design to construction project of an innovative means of urban transport, meeting the needs of ‘renewable energy’ requirements, which then decline into this new urban vehicle formed by a hoverboard and an electric scooter. The first part of the article is focused on the conceptual design of the means by using methodologies such as the Quality Function Deployment (QFD), applied in the first phase of the work to compare some of the most popular electric scooters on the market; we then used a typical method for product marketing, i.e., the decision-making process driven by the analysis of benchmarking, suitable for quantitatively organize competitive analysis and choosing innovation targets; finally, we implemented the top-flop analysis in order to better improve the benchmarking implementation, identifying the best product on the market, basing on the highest number of innovative requirements owned by it, as shown by Frizziero in 2018 and Meuli et al. in 1997. The second part of the article focuses on the project of the kick scooter through the use of a software for the FEA simulation and on the possible realization of the prototype through a suitable connecting component.

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A systematic user-centred framework for engineering product design in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Cited by 31 publications

References 44 publications

Design methodology for production systems retrofit in SMEs

Design methodology for production systems retrofit in SMEs

Design for Visual Quality Enhancement of Artificial Infrastructure Facilities: An Application to Electricity Pylons

Innovative Urban Transportation Means Developed by Integrating Design Methods

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