OPENSPACE 22: Rosetta: Making Space History | Page 23

“Engineering teams have realized the advantages of
concurrent design and they want to move forward with
the same approach in further phases of the product lifecycle.”
What advances in the concurrent design field from
the last years are the most relevant for corporations
in the industry? the design of complex engineering processes. They help
There has been a change of mentality from the customer side. huge change. Companies often fail to have these integrated
They are increasingly interested in working with concurrent solutions, and this is what concurrent design is facilitating.
to distribute the different multidisciplinary tasks as a team.
This is a big advantage for the engineering process and a
design to save design and engineering time and costs. Our
cost benefits have proven to be very relevant, especially in the Over the years, how has concurrent design helped to
streamline engineering processes?
shipbuilding and offshore industries, but also in construction In the beginning, concurrent design was only implemented
and infrastructure. The competition is also forcing this shift in the early design phases, but now the engineering teams
to concurrent design. They want to have the product in the have realized the advantages of concurrent design, and they
market faster, and to do so, they need to get it right from the want to move forward with the same approach in further
start by reducing the number of errors in further phases of phases of the product lifecycle. However, the approach is
the product lifecycle and avoiding reworking costs. different in this case. In early phases, the whole team can sit
For big governmental infrastructure, there has also been a together to discuss the design aspects. However, when you
change in the customer. While in the past buying the building have to go into detail, the sessions are less frequent, and
from the builder was the norm, governmental organizations they focus on tackling specific multidisciplinary problems
are now increasingly engaging in service contracts with that might come up and on raising the awareness of
builders, passing on the responsibility of the ownership and progress within the team. We have implemented concurrent
maintenance to the builder. This motivates the builders to design both in conceptual design and detail design phases
have a longer-term vision and to think better about their for the shipbuilding industry with great success. Even the
building/infrastructure during feasibility, early concept, design, Casco shipyard and suppliers of long lead items were
engineering, and building phases to reduce risks and focus involved in the sessions to make sure the product is feasible
on the design in early phases. and to start production earlier, thereby allowing the shipyard
attempts to show enhanced quality in addition to time and
to take more customer orders.
How can concurrent design help develop complex
engineering processes?
It is al l about integrating the different disciplines involved in What is the most rewarding concurrent design case
you have ever worked on as an expert in the field?
the design and creating a common understanding of each ESA was the starting point, and we are very thankful to them.
discipline’s challenges from the start. The disciplines normally Helping Airbus Defence and Space in Les Mureux and Bremen
fail to see themselves as a part of a system. With concurrent to implement the concurrent design methodology and train
design, this has changed; all parties involved work together their team was also very rewarding. We are currently working
in the same room from early phases to discuss all design on several shipbuilding projects for different shipbuilding
aspects. This might sound very normal, but in fact, this is customers. Their teams and top management have really
not so common in the engineering industry. The structure embraced the methodology; we are very excited about these
of the sessions is also a very important part of streamlining projects and the future.
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