Concurrent Engineering: Part 2--Building an Architecture for Concurrent Engineering

In the second of a series of three papers on concurrent engineering, the authors describe the development of an architecture that serves as the foundation for implementing a concurrent engineering process into a manufacturing enterprise. All aspects of such an architecture are considered, including a control component (to manage the development), a functional component (to design the process), an information component (to define the data needs of the process), a physical component (to facilitate the process and the sharing of data), and an implementation component (to support the installation and use of the process and its facilitating systems and tools). Finally, the key issues that typically impact development of such an architecture are discussed, with recommendations for their mitigation.