A Systems Engineering Approach for Design of Production Systems for Novel Products
Doctoral thesis, 2024
The heavy truck industry is facing new market challenges and is investing vastly in new product portfolios. Investments in the industrial systems are of significant magnitude, with annual costs for equipment and machinery in some cases more than double the costs for R&D. Remarkably, despite the vast monetary investments made in production systems, the interest shown by industry and academy in systematic and effective systems engineering design methods in production system design is low. For the powertrain production system engineering community, there are several additional factors impacting simultaneously which are influencing the required skillsets and ways of working, for example the transformation to electric powertrains and the drive to build human-centric production systems. With systematic systems engineering, the risks with industrial projects of cost overruns, increased lead times and work overload for engineers due to late capturing of requirements could be reduced, and this leads to Claim 1 of this research:
· Claim 1: The synthesis of the current industrial problem and the research gaps indicates that a framework is needed for human-centric production system design for novel products in order to mitigate risks in terms of cost, performance and schedule due to late identification of system requirements. Two large battery plant projects were followed for 18 months, starting in the concept phase. A Design Research Method was applied with workshops and interviews with a total of 178 practitioners (not 178 unique individuals, however). A framework was developed combining the systems engineering methods of Concept of Operations and Model-based Systems Engineering with creative cross-functional workshops and visual models. The framework is called Visual Design Human-Centric Production (VDHCP). By following the developed framework, 60 previously neglected new IT demands were identified. Additionally, the methods created engagement from engineering and project members. Traditionally, non-detected demands would have become obvious after implementation of the production system with potential consequential cost overruns, increased lead times and work overload for engineers.
The findings of these studies lead to Claim 2 and Claim 3 of this research:
· Claim 2: The VDHCP framework, combining the system engineering methods of Concept of Operations and Model-based Systems Engineering with creative cross-functional workshops and visual models, could be developed to support powertrain production system design engineers to identify system requirements early when designing human-centric production systems for novel products.
· Claim 3: The VDHCP framework supports powertrain production system design engineers to identify system requirements early when designing human-centric production systems for novel products, as 60 previously neglected new IT demands were identified and hence mitigated the risks in terms of cost, performance and schedule due to late identification of requirements.
Recommendations for future work include exploring further what the production system design engineering community could harvest from the product development community, and if these methods would have any actual impact on project cost and lead time overruns, workload of engineers and better production systems in terms of resilience, sustainability and human factors.
· Claim 1: The synthesis of the current industrial problem and the research gaps indicates that a framework is needed for human-centric production system design for novel products in order to mitigate risks in terms of cost, performance and schedule due to late identification of system requirements. Two large battery plant projects were followed for 18 months, starting in the concept phase. A Design Research Method was applied with workshops and interviews with a total of 178 practitioners (not 178 unique individuals, however). A framework was developed combining the systems engineering methods of Concept of Operations and Model-based Systems Engineering with creative cross-functional workshops and visual models. The framework is called Visual Design Human-Centric Production (VDHCP). By following the developed framework, 60 previously neglected new IT demands were identified. Additionally, the methods created engagement from engineering and project members. Traditionally, non-detected demands would have become obvious after implementation of the production system with potential consequential cost overruns, increased lead times and work overload for engineers.
The findings of these studies lead to Claim 2 and Claim 3 of this research:
· Claim 2: The VDHCP framework, combining the system engineering methods of Concept of Operations and Model-based Systems Engineering with creative cross-functional workshops and visual models, could be developed to support powertrain production system design engineers to identify system requirements early when designing human-centric production systems for novel products.
· Claim 3: The VDHCP framework supports powertrain production system design engineers to identify system requirements early when designing human-centric production systems for novel products, as 60 previously neglected new IT demands were identified and hence mitigated the risks in terms of cost, performance and schedule due to late identification of requirements.
Recommendations for future work include exploring further what the production system design engineering community could harvest from the product development community, and if these methods would have any actual impact on project cost and lead time overruns, workload of engineers and better production systems in terms of resilience, sustainability and human factors.
human-centric design
electric powertrain
battery production
Model-based Systems Engineering
systems engineering design
systems engineering
Concept of Operations
Virtual Development Laboratory, Hörsalsvägen 7A
Opponent: Professor Dr-Ing Michael Vielhaber, Universität Des Saarlandes, Germany
Author
Malin Hane Hagström
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Product Development
BARRIERS FROM A SOCIO-TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE TO IMPLEMENT DIGITALISATION IN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING PROCESSES - A LITERATURE REVIEW
Proceedings of the Design Society,; Vol. 3(2023)p. 737-745
Paper in proceeding
Quantifying and visualising wastes and losses in automotive production flows (across multiple plants and organisations) for increased accuracy in improvement prioritisations
International Journal of Product Development,; Vol. 27(2023)p. 245-264
Journal article
Reducing professional maintenance losses in production by efficient knowledge management in machine acquisitions
International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management,; Vol. 14(2022)p. 70-101
Journal article
Hane Hagström, M., Bergsjö, D. Using Concept of Operations to design human-centric manufacturing systems for novel products. A prescriptive case study, Part 1.
Hane Hagström, M., Bergsjö, D. Using Model-Based Systems Engineering to design human-centric manufacturing systems for novel products. A prescriptive case study, Part 2.
Hane Hagström, M., Bergsjö, D. (2024). A Proposed Framework Using Systems Engineering To Design Human-Centric Manufacturing Systems For Novel Products To Reduce Complexity And Risk. Accepted at DESIGN Conference.
Learnings from Product Design to Production System Design
Despite significant investments in industrial systems, there's a lack of effective production system design methods. Current methods often lack systematic approaches, hindering creativity and decision-making, and tend to overlook human factors. With the shift towards electrification, systematic production system engineering is crucial for the heavy truck business.
What Was the Contribution?
In a study of the establishment of two battery plants, the existing product design methods of Concept of Operations and Model-based Systems Engineering were tested. These methods enable collaborative brainstorming and use digital models for comprehensive system planning and analysis. Combining them, the Visual Design for Human-Centric Production (VDHCP) framework was developed to simplify system design and foster innovation. VDHCP ensures early consideration of human aspects and facilitates early issue detection, promoting team collaboration.
Why Does it Matter?
These advancements look promising to improve production system design for novel products like electrified powertrains, by addressing complexity and emphasising human-centric design. They could pave the way for more efficient and effective production processes.
Despite significant investments in industrial systems, there's a lack of effective production system design methods. Current methods often lack systematic approaches, hindering creativity and decision-making, and tend to overlook human factors. With the shift towards electrification, systematic production system engineering is crucial for the heavy truck business.
What Was the Contribution?
In a study of the establishment of two battery plants, the existing product design methods of Concept of Operations and Model-based Systems Engineering were tested. These methods enable collaborative brainstorming and use digital models for comprehensive system planning and analysis. Combining them, the Visual Design for Human-Centric Production (VDHCP) framework was developed to simplify system design and foster innovation. VDHCP ensures early consideration of human aspects and facilitates early issue detection, promoting team collaboration.
Why Does it Matter?
These advancements look promising to improve production system design for novel products like electrified powertrains, by addressing complexity and emphasising human-centric design. They could pave the way for more efficient and effective production processes.
KIDSAM: Knowledge and information-sharing in digital collaborative projects
VINNOVA (2018-03966), 2018-11-01 -- 2021-11-30.
MALEKC
VINNOVA (2017-03059), 2017-10-09 -- 2019-10-08.
Digitala Stambanan Produktion
VINNOVA (2021-02421), 2021-07-01 -- 2024-07-01.
Subject Categories
Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
Areas of Advance
Production
ISBN
978-91-8103-048-8
Doktorsavhandlingar vid Chalmers tekniska högskola. Ny serie: 5506
Publisher
Chalmers
Virtual Development Laboratory, Hörsalsvägen 7A
Opponent: Professor Dr-Ing Michael Vielhaber, Universität Des Saarlandes, Germany