Reducing Product Developent Cycle Time by using Concurrent Engineering Methodology
In today’s business worlds, corporation or organization must be able to react to the changing of market needs rapidly, effectively and responsively. Only corporation that have ability to adapt with today changing which is very fast will be able to compete with another competitors in terms of business related. The needs from the customer have been coming with a lot of variety and unpredictability. That’s why they must be able to reduce their time to market and adapt to the changing environments. The understanding of customer needs also one of the important key to gain effectively communication what customer really wants and what customer expectation.
The satisfaction of the customer needs is the highest priority for the corporation in terms of running their business in today’s world. Moreover, to build customer satisfaction need made decisions quickly and they must done right in the first position. Then, corporation’s no longer waits time to bring new products to market. As a result, concurrent engineering nowadays be chosen as a way of bringing rapid solutions to product design and development process. In addition, for being able of bringing as a rapid solution to product design and development process, corporation must take an action which is alter their product and product development cycle time to complete diverse tasks concurrently. The goal of concurrent engineering is to make significant reductions in designs and development life cycle for creating a new product. The corporation or organization need to concern about the product development process, because leading corporation or organization always treated product development process as strategic process because they have always recognized it as key component of their competitive strategy
On the other hand, the concurrent engineering is still the new system and not all corporations are able to implement this system. The reason is because concurrent engineering is a process that must be reviewed and adjusted for continuous improvement of engineering and business operations, and also concurrent engineering is a complex strategic plan that demands full commitment and have another factor to mention. There is any several reason why implementing the concurrent engineering have limitation or boundaries. On this paper, I’m trying to identifying what is product development cycle, what is concurrent engineering, how importance an organization or corporations concerning in the product development cycle time, what is difference between traditional organization and an organization that implementing concurrent engineering methodology, bring the current issues in concurrent engineering and trying to find the answer to solve it and also making connection how to reducing the product development cycle time by using concurrent engineering methodology.
As I mentioned, the product development cycle time is one of the component that need to be highlighted because it can give valuable benefits to reduce the product development process and can creating the product development more faster cheaper, better, effective and efficient way.
How to reducing the product development cycle time by using concurrent engineering methodology? Is it possible? Why using concurrent engineering methodology to reducing the product development cycle time? How concurrent engineering works? Before we answer this entire question, let’s we understand first, what is product development cycle time and concurrent engineering is all about.
In the process of producing products or goods in manufacturing system, cycle time have highest role in the manufacturing system. The cycle time required to complete a given process which is involved with a process that identifying and implementing more efficient ways to do things. By concerning in product development cycle time, it can require eliminating or reducing non value added activity such as reduced costs, improved communications, schedule integrity, and time improvement to developed new products. In addition, concerning in the product development cycle time also can make our products better, faster, cheaper than the other products and also the quality of the product also can be taken care of and protected. The product development cycle time is the key point to created the better products. Therefore, the product development cycle time by using traditional way has been to change to concurrent engineering.
What is concurrent engineering? I will adopt the following definition of concurrent engineering by researcher at the Institute For Defense Analysis, Winner et. al., 1988; p. 2:
“ A systematic approach to the integrated, concurrent design of their product and their related process, including manufacturing and support. This approach is intended to cause the developers, from the outset, to consider all elements of the product life cycle from conception through disposal, including quality, cost, schedule, and user requirements.”
Furthermore, according to Dean and Unal (1992):
“Concurrent engineering is designing for assembly, availability, cost, customer satisfaction, maintainability, manageability, manufacturability, operability, performance, quality, risk, safety, schedule, social acceptability, and all other attributes of the product”.
In short, concurrent engineering is “systematic” approach. Systematic approach means the process in product development need to starting from the beginning until the end of process systematically. This approach in concurrent engineering is a business strategy that replaces the traditional product development process in which tasks are done in parallel. This strategy by using concurrent engineering focuses on the optimization and distribution of a firm’s resources in the design and development process to ensure an effective and efficient product development process.
Moreover, concurrent engineering also consider all element of product life cycle from conception through disposal. Using concurrent engineering methodology can reduced product development cycle time process in creating new product. In addition, using concurrent engineering methodology can make faster development and a reduction time to market and would be give a competitive advantage over competitors to take longer to respond to market changes, customer needs and new technologies.
And than, how concurrent engineering works to reduced the product development cycle? There is a lot possibilities by using concurrent engineering it can reduce the product development cycle time. There are any advantages and disadvantages if we are using and implementing the concurrent engineering methodology to reduce the product development cycle time process. Furthermore, implementing concurrent engineering methodology also has several barrier and boundaries that need to notice.
The reduction in product development life cycle and the effectiveness concurrent engineering methodology to be implementing will be highlighted on this paper, because I’m trying to find the connection between the product development life cycle and possibility to reduce the product development life cycle using concurrent engineering methodology. And than, how it can work and implement in the industrial sector effectively and efficiently.
On the business competition nowadays, organization or corporation who have ability to adapt with the rapidly changing environment will be able to resist with all the different conditions and situations that is can make their corporation to be leader in their business sector. A number of recent national studies on economic productivity have concluded that, in order for U.S manufacturers to regain their competitive edge in the world market, they must only cut costs and improve quality, but also reduce product development time and deliver products and services that meet customer demands.
Based on the competitive edge issues, an organization need to find the greatest way to solve these issues to regain their competitive edge in the world market. Moreover, an organization or corporation can’t keep and unmoved themselves only by using traditional organization approach nowadays. They need to change and find the systematic way and also implement the appropriate method to make their company can be adaptable with the business-changing environment. According to Nevins and Whitney, 1989, the reason why an organization needs to change the traditional organization is because complexity of the activities involved. And than, there is too many coordination requirement and separated functions between people in management and people in engineering whose can make big gap that can affected and give bad impact in the productivity of organization or corporation. Moreover, according Sakakibara & Westney, 1985, they have had persistent problems in developing quality new products, which require organizational integration.
As a result, one of the methodologies found to solve these issues that is concurrent engineering. Why concurrent engineering? Why the organizations need to use concurrent engineering? The answer is according to Nevins and Whitney, 1989. because concurrent engineering represents the way of the future of managing design and manufacturing. In addition concurrent engineering also the fundamental of changes in business environment and changes in design and manufacturing technologies. And than according to Bower & Hout, 1988, time based competition issues has becoming increasingly factor for market success[8]. Based on the issues, Concurrent engineering is one of the methods whose can shortening of the product development cycle with considering of performance in dimension of quality.
On the other hand, concurrent engineering as a method is difficult to implement because in most organization, this new mode of problem solving using concurrent engineering represents radical departure from the traditional way of conducting daily engineering activities. Hence it entails a process of organizational change. Moreover, the lack of expertise, less employees acceptance, and high cost is a several issues in implementing concurrent engineering technology to reduce the product development cycle time to give effectively and efficiently in the organization or corporation. On this paper, I will trying to bring this issues and find the answer how to implementing the concurrent engineering methodology in organization or corporation to reducing the product development life cycle which it can make shorter the process to create new product with low cost, high quality, effective, efficient, and fast.
