Figure 8 - uploaded by Lars Hvam
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
Is it possible to support the engineering processes with intelligent product models when the knowledge and information work is very complex? This paper describes how IT-supported product configuration can support the complex engineering activities carried out in the quotation processes. The research has been carried out at the Centre for Product Mo...
Context in source publication
Similar publications
Software architecture is receiving increasingly attention as a critical design level for software systems. As software architecture design resources (in the form of architectural specifications) are going to be accumulated, the development of techniques and tools to support architectural understanding, testing, reengineering, maintenance, and reuse...
The whole business of an organization is carried out through business processes. The process is a set of interconnected activities with interactions, which are transforming the object (as its input) into a result (as its output), where employees are adding a certain procedural values, using the resources of the organization. There are permanent req...
The article is devoted to the identification of the need in material, technical, labor, information resources at the stages of life, their effective use as a part of the capital construction reengineering. In this regard, the issues of the formation of resource provision of the capital construction facility reengineering indicators, their documenta...
Citations
... • improved cost calculation accuracy (Myrodia, Kristjansdottir, & Hvam, 2017;Rasmussen, Hvam, & Mortensen, 2017;Yu & Skovgaard, 1998), • improved product specification quality (Forza & Salvador, 2002a;Forza, Trentin, & Salvador, 2006;Haug et al., 2011;Heatley, Agarwal, & Tanniru, 1995;Heiskala, Paloheimo, & Tiihonen, 2005;Hvam et al., 2013Hvam et al., , 2008Hvam, Malis, Hansen, & Riis, 2004;Sviokla, 1990;Trentin et al., 2012;Yu & Skovgaard, 1998), • improved manufacturing specification quality (Haug et al., 2011), • increased product standardisation and measurement (Huang, Simpson, & Pine, 2005;Hvam et al., 2013;Meyer & Lehnerd, 1997), • reduced man-hours in the specification processes (Aldanondo, Rougé, & Véron, 2000;Ardissono et al., 2003;Barker, O'Connor, Bachant, & Soloway, 1989;Forza & Salvador, 2002a;Forza et al., 2006;Haug et al., 2011;Heatley et al., 1995;Heiskala, Tihonen, Paloheimo, & Soininen, 2007;Heiskalaet al., 2005;Hvam, 2006a;2006b;;Hvam et al., 2013Hvam et al., , 2004Petersen, 2007;Sviokla, 1990;Tiihonen, Soininen, Männistö, & Sulonen, 1996), • increased profitability of customer orders (Haug et al., 2019b;Kristjansdottir, Shafiee, Hvam, Bonev, & Myrodia, 2018;Myrodia et al., 2017) and • increased product quality (Yu & Skovgaard, 1998). ...
... • improved cost calculation accuracy (Myrodia, Kristjansdottir, & Hvam, 2017;Rasmussen, Hvam, & Mortensen, 2017;Yu & Skovgaard, 1998), • improved product specification quality (Forza & Salvador, 2002a;Forza, Trentin, & Salvador, 2006;Haug et al., 2011;Heatley, Agarwal, & Tanniru, 1995;Heiskala, Paloheimo, & Tiihonen, 2005;Hvam et al., 2013Hvam et al., , 2008Hvam, Malis, Hansen, & Riis, 2004;Sviokla, 1990;Trentin et al., 2012;Yu & Skovgaard, 1998), • improved manufacturing specification quality (Haug et al., 2011), • increased product standardisation and measurement (Huang, Simpson, & Pine, 2005;Hvam et al., 2013;Meyer & Lehnerd, 1997), • reduced man-hours in the specification processes (Aldanondo, Rougé, & Véron, 2000;Ardissono et al., 2003;Barker, O'Connor, Bachant, & Soloway, 1989;Forza & Salvador, 2002a;Forza et al., 2006;Haug et al., 2011;Heatley et al., 1995;Heiskala, Tihonen, Paloheimo, & Soininen, 2007;Heiskalaet al., 2005;Hvam, 2006a;2006b;;Hvam et al., 2013Hvam et al., , 2004Petersen, 2007;Sviokla, 1990;Tiihonen, Soininen, Männistö, & Sulonen, 1996), • increased profitability of customer orders (Haug et al., 2019b;Kristjansdottir, Shafiee, Hvam, Bonev, & Myrodia, 2018;Myrodia et al., 2017) and • increased product quality (Yu & Skovgaard, 1998). ...
Product configuration systems (PCSs) have been successful applications of artificial intelligence principles in engineer-to-order (ETO) companies in recent decades. Such applications mainly focus on quotation or production processes rather than multiple business processes. However, in some cases, there could be a benefit of applying multistage PCSs, that is, PCSs that can support several business processes. To investigate the conditions required for the beneficial application of multistage PCSs, this study examines the costs and the benefits associated with this approach. This is done by outlining a framework that defines multistage configuration, hereunder the identification of costs and benefits, as well as the strategies for implementing the approach. The framework is tested through a case study of an ETO company, which provides empirical evidence of the feasibility and the potential benefits of multistage configuration projects. Specifically, the case study shows that investments are modest when moving from a single-stage configurator strategy to a multistage strategy, while demonstrating significant benefits. This paper thereby provides two novel contributions: (1) a definition of multistage configuration, hereunder two strategies for its implementation and (2) empirical evidence that identifies costs and benefits of multistage product configuration, thereby, supporting its feasibility.
... Product configurator pre-implementation is a challenge also due to the fact that the configurator affects the core processes of ETO companies, i.e. sales, engineering, and manufacturing. These processes might need to be redesigned, such as in the case of FLSmidth (Hvam et al. 2004), and the redesign project might last years (Ariano and Dagnino 1996;Hvam et al. 2004;Barker et al. 1989). ...
... Product configurator pre-implementation is a challenge also due to the fact that the configurator affects the core processes of ETO companies, i.e. sales, engineering, and manufacturing. These processes might need to be redesigned, such as in the case of FLSmidth (Hvam et al. 2004), and the redesign project might last years (Ariano and Dagnino 1996;Hvam et al. 2004;Barker et al. 1989). ...
Engineer-to-Order (ETO) companies are embracing the mass customisation strategy to face the challenges posed by global competition. Product configurators are key enablers of such strategy. Despite the benefits, the actions to perform to manage the challenges of implementing product configurators are still understudied. This paper aims to fill this gap by empirically exploring seven case studies of ETO companies that are embracing a mass customisation strategy and have implemented a product configurator. The results provide a classification of the challenges that ETO companies have to manage in each phase of the implementation of product configurators, and a framework that supports managers in defining the actions necessary for the development and implementation of product configurators. This study, thereby, contributes to the debate on how ETO companies can move towards a mass customisation paradigm.
... One of the most important steps in product development is the specification process, whose activities are defined by Hvam et al. (2004) as: "The activities in the specification process include an analysis of the customer needs, design and specification of a product which fulfills the customer needs, and are characterized by having a relatively welldefined space of (maybe complex) solutions, in contrast with product development, which is a more creative process." Wynn and Clarkson (2018) clarify and classify the different types of design and development process models through a framework. ...
The process of product design specification is subjective in nature and this motivates the application of approaches and methods to make it explicit. Among the available approaches, the systematization of the development of a single product, modular products, family of products and products for mass customization stands out. Among the methods, the design structure matrix (DSM) is highlighted, as well as the use of networks to represent the variables and their interdependence relations. Representation is very important to increase the cognitive capacity of those involved in the design and to facilitate communication between specialists and non-specialists. The clarification of the knowledge and reasoning of the design increases the complexity of the specification, which needs to be managed. In this work, the method called design structure network (DSN) is proposed, allowing the visualization of the design variables as nodes of a network and the relations of interdependence as links and the specification reasoning can be represented as a path that connects the nodes in a network. For the management of network complexity, ten principles based on cognitive processes are implemented. The DSN method was applied in the geometric specification of surfboard, and the results obtained show the potential of graphical representation of the specification reasoning, as well as the ability to reduce the complexity of the network.
... These include Forza and Salvador [26], who found that the time required for activities in the tendering process was reduced from 5 to 6 days to 1 day; Forza el al [27]. found that time needed to make quotes was reduced from 1 to 2 days to a few hours, and technical specifications from 2.5 days to a few minutes; Hvam et al. [28] found that the lead time for generating tenders was reduced from 15 to 25 days to 1-2 days, and the time required for engineering in the quotation process was reduced from 5 weeks to 1-2 days; Hvam [29] found that the time spent preparing offers and production instructions was reduced to almost nothing, and the delivery time was reduced from 11 to 41 days to 1 day; and Hvam [25] found that the resources required to generate the quotations were reduced by 50%. ...
In recent decades, many engineering-oriented companies have gained significant benefits from the use of product configurators, including higher product specification quality, fewer specification errors, faster quote creation and higher quote accuracy. On the other hand, many companies also experience great difficulties in realising such benefits within reasonable costs, which in many cases makes them abandon such projects. Although the literature provides a variety of methods to support the development and implementation of product configurators, it remains unclear how to estimate the costs and benefits for different scenarios-and, from there, how to define a profitable project scope. To address this issue, this paper develops a framework to support the estimation of costs and benefits of configurator projects in connection with their scoping. The framework includes models of the relationships between costs and benefits of product configurators at three different abstraction levels: product family level, product part level, and product detail level. The framework is investigated through studies of five configurator projects, which include descriptions of the total costs and benefits of these projects. The numbers from the projects studied support the hypothesised cost-benefit models. The studies also show that there can be great variety with regard to break-even points, as one of the configurator projects became profitable after only 12 months, while two projects had yet to become so after five years.
... This section discusses the findings from the literature regarding the expected benefits from implementing and utilizing product configurators. As this field has been examined in detail, we refer to previous work [2,3,11,[14][15][16] and their lists of references. However, to provide an overview we present a short list of realized benefits for the different lifecycle phases (Table 1). ...
To handle the increasing product complexity manufacturing companies of configurable products tend to utilize configurators to cover more lifecycle phases of their products. This is described as configuration lifecycle management (CLM) and it is concerned with the management of all configuration models across a product's lifecycle. However, to connect and align all configurators and IT systems to each other remains a challenging task. Apart from the technical perspective, on an operational level the integration and alignment of the IT systems also requires a structured approach and is highly related to the maturity of the organization. Therefore, this research focuses on studying the relation between the maturity level and the expected benefits from implementing CLM. It is expected that the more advanced an organization is in using product configurators in different lifecycle phases and integrating and aligning them to each other and to other IT systems, the realized benefits would be significantly higher than the sum of benefits from applying standalone configurators to support each life cycle phase. Empirical evidence from seven case studies demonstrate that there is a relation between the maturity and the realized benefits with regards to the utilization of product configurators.
... Expert systems are being applied to a variety of problem domains to assist in the decision making process (Chen et al., 2012). It is able to provide solutions for different problems in the industry ranging from planning to marketing strategies (Li, 2005) to re-engineering consultation (Hvam et al., 2004;Ruiz et al., 2011). Nowadays, expert systems are applied in various fields with different applications, such as: ...
... Previous works have shown that the use of a PCS results in reduced man-hours and lead-time when generating product specifications [6,17,21,23,24,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. Even though this benefit is the most commonly mentioned and quantified in previous studies, the literature does not explain the extent to which reduced man-hours and lead-time result in direct cost savings. ...
... Improved quality due to more accurate product specifications is another benefit of a PCS that is frequently described in the literature [6,8,17,[21][22][23][24][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. This improvement in quality can be attributed to the reduced number of errors in product specifications. ...
... -The throughput cycle was reduced from 6 days to 1 day. Hvam et al. [45] Case study of one company -The lead-time required to generate tenders was reduced from 15-25 days to 1-2 days. ...
Product configuration systems (PCS) are increasingly being used in industrial companies to enable the efficient design of customized products. The literature describes substantial benefits that companies have achieved from the use of PCS, such as reduced resource consumption, reduced lead-time, improved quality, and increased sales, which should lead to a significant return on investment (ROI). However, there is little detailed quantification of the benefits, costs, and ROI from using PCS in the literature. Thus, the true value of PCS remains unknown. Hence, this study quantifies (1) the benefits in terms of reduced man-hours, improved quality of specifications, reduced lead-time, and increased sales and (2) the costs of development, implementation, and maintenance of PCS. Based on this, the ROI is calculated. The analyses presented in this study are based on a world-leading company in pump manufacturing. This study verifies the benefits of PCS that are described in the literature. Further, it contributes to the field by introducing a method to quantify the related benefits, costs, and ROI. Finally, the article illustrates how PCS can be used in companies having product portfolios consisting of a standard to engineered products.
... Previous works have shown that the use of a PCS results in reduced man-hours and lead-time when generating product specifications [6,17,21,23,24,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. Even though this benefit is the most commonly mentioned and quantified in previous studies, the literature does not explain the extent to which reduced man-hours and lead-time result in direct cost savings. ...
... Improved quality due to more accurate product specifications is another benefit of a PCS that is frequently described in the literature [6,8,17,[21][22][23][24][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. This improvement in quality can be attributed to the reduced number of errors in product specifications. ...
... -The throughput cycle was reduced from 6 days to 1 day. Hvam et al. [45] Case study of one company -The lead-time required to generate tenders was reduced from 15-25 days to 1-2 days. ...
This article aims at analyzing the impact of implementing a product configuration system (PCS) on the increased accuracy of the cost calculations and the increased profitability of the products. Companies that have implemented PCSs have achieved substantial benefits in terms of being more in control of their product assortment, making the right decisions in the sales phase and increasing sales of optimal products. These benefits should have an impact on the company’s ability to make more accurate cost estimations in the sales phase, which can positively affect the products’ profitability. However, previous studies have not addressed this relationship to a great extent. For that reason, a configure-to-order (CTO) manufacturing company was analyzed. A longitudinal field study was performed in which the accuracy of the cost calculations and the products’ profitability were analyzed before and after a PCS was implemented. The comparison in the case study revealed that increased accuracy of the cost calculations in the sales phase and consequently increased profitability can be achieved by implementing a PCS.
... The main benefits are described in terms of suppliers and customers. Hvam et al. (2004) present a case study where a company is faced with changed market environment, and increased pressure to deliver in shorter time, with lower cost and improved overall performance. Hvam et al. (2013) present a study where they describe the observed benefits from applying PCSs in four industrial companies. ...
Individual customization of goods and processes in different industries leads to complexity due to a growing mix of products both regarding characteristics of products and support services. In order to eliminate complexity and challenges in product/process customizing, smart IT systems called Product Configuration Systems (PCS), have been proposed as the solution both by researchers and practitioners and various benefits are mentioned from utilizing PCSs. Based on the latest literature, there are challenges reported in all phases of PCS projects including planning, development, and documentation. Moreover, the challenges become more serious when it involves complicated products/processes in engineer-to-order (ETO) companies. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the existing knowledge of managing PCS projects by proposing frameworks and tools to address some of the main challenges.
First, this research focuses on the reported benefits and challenges in different phases of PCS projects aligned with the gaps in the current literature. Second, the study presents a survey in order to have a comprehensive overview to assess the most important challenges in the area. Third, in order to overcome different challenges in the PCS projects, the study contributes to the literature in forms of different frameworks, tools and IT solutions. Addressing the defined challenges, the following frameworks are proposed. 1) A framework is provided for business cases in PCS projects in order to estimate the needed investments and financial return-on-investment. 2) Furthermore, the research proposes a framework and different tools to scope the whole PCS project from planning to the maintenance phase. 3) Afterwards, the study suggests a framework to manage the knowledge in PCS projects due to reported challenges. 4) In order to make it possible to model, maintain, communicate, and document complicated products/process, a framework aligned with an IT tool is developed in close collaboration with industry. 5) Finally, the study contributes to the direction of integration of PCS and other IT systems by showing the automation impact of this alignment.
The tools and frameworks developed have been evaluated based on existing literature and by empirical tests in companies. Furthermore, areas for further investigation have been identified.
... The benefits from applying PCSs can be described in terms of shorter-lead time and improved quality of the product's specifications, reduced resource consumption and increased customer satisfaction [11]. For that reason, less rework and less iterations are required, as the quality and the accuracy of quotations are increased [12]. Furthermore, PCSs can be used as tools that support sales persons to offer customized products within the boundaries of standard product architectures and thereby enable companies to be more in control of their product assortment [2,13]. ...
... Reduction in work hours [12] [33] Reduction in hours making production instructions [31] Improved quality and number of specifications that can be used directly without iterations [16], [33] Distribution Reduction in delivery time [31] Improved on-time delivery [2], [27], [30] ...
