Even in the subsequent set-up for the executive phase of the project, it is necessary to ensure coherence with the above points 2, 3, 4 and 5. It is clear, for instance, that the sale price of the product depends on its value (i.e., on PFD and QR indicators), just as sales volume (market share) depends on the comparison of the prices to those of competitors. Investment requirement and the process of obtaining capital depend consequently on sales volume.
In modern industrial automotive organizations, these important coherence tests are performed by a specific top management staff, in charge of Product Devel- opment Planning. This department, in collaboration with Marketing and Brand and other industrial departments for powertrain and vehicle development, must design the Product Range Plan, assuring synergy and defining the appropriate level of standard carry-over and specific solutions for modules and components.
Finally, Finance and Administration has to perform an economic and financial analysis in industrial initiatives and an audit on profit results.
According to the best practices of the automotive industry, to develop a new model of car, already equipped with available engines and transmissions, it is possible to reach a ‘‘time-to-market’’ of less than twenty-four or a maximum of twenty-eight months, depending upon the technical complexity of the product.
These terms correspond to a lead time of eighteen to twenty-two months, depending upon the period between PFD and concept and the definition of style specifications and start-up of production (job one).
In the case of a new solution for the engine or space frame, the above ‘‘time- to-market’’ could turn out to be some months longer, due to the necessity of a highly meticulous testing phase for assuring reliability of the new product and obtaining technical approvals (as the result of more severe restrictions).
Similar consideration can also be given to the development of new models of commercial and industrial vehicles.
Let us consider modern criteria for reducing ‘‘time-to-market’’ and assuring in the meantime the necessary quality level from the first delivery to customers:
1. More activities are run in parallel, when possible and convenient, applying modern techniques ofgrid planning.
To do that, ‘‘simultaneous engineering’’ is applied between Product and Process Engineering, involving partner suppliers in ‘‘co-design’’ being put in charge of manufacturing the principal components and tools.
2. During the design phase, CAD/CAE support are run, applying accurate pre- dictive analysis, by using modern techniques of numeric calculation for full elements (FEM) and simulation of behavior of product during usage(shock absorption, vibration and dynamic effects, thermal effects…).
Concept and Style
Product
Development Project Set-Up Prototipation
And Product Testing Concept
and Style Delivery
Project Validation
Manufacturing Engineering Plan and
Preliminary Project
Manufacturing System Development
Installation and Try-Out Design
Changes Introduction
Productive Processes and «buy»
Elements Qualification
Delivery for production
Series Production Pre-production
INDUSTRIALIZATION
Manufacturing Feasibility Checks Designs Technical Specifications
Virtual
Checks Functional checks and Omologations
Technical Changes
Equipments construction and Try- Out
Technical documentation Equipment
and Tools preliminary project
Technical Specifciations for Purchasing
Material Requirement
Manufacturing Engineering and Work Analysis
Equipment and Machine Development
Labour Requirement
1 2
3
4 Commercial Launch 5
. . .
. . .
. .
Fig. 2.1 Automotive industrialization diagram
3. During the development of specific tools, modern techniques CAD/CAPE are used together with material transformation processes and component assembly simulations.
The above-mentioned checks and consequent project reviews have to be done in advance in spite of the significant manufacture of prototypes to reduce critical events detectable during experimentation in the laboratory and on the road. In this way, the total number of requisite prototypes and experimentation cycles can be drastically reduced.
4. Significant prototypes are built up quickly, using material according to geo- metrical specifications reported in drawings; for these purposes, modern‘‘fast- tooling’’ techniques for the construction of pilot tools and representative of the manufacturing engineering plan are used. Proceeding this way, products can be tested with accuracy, obtaining approval and reaching project validation on time(key point #2),in advance of the availability of definitive tooling. As a consequence, the total amount of technical design changes required decreases in the final product and process set-up phases.
5. Apre-production phaseis run, using definitive tools, even if the try-out phase has still not been completed, so as to organize the product and process checks in a statistical data base, assuring quality levels required for commercial launch (key point #3).
The industrialization process ends with the ‘‘delivery for production’’ (key point #4), assuring the stock of final product necessary for commercial launch (key point #5). For the purpose of reducing ‘‘time-to-market’’, production management will attempt to accelerate production ramp-up, assuring defined quality levels.
Let us see now in detail what the necessary phases are for developing the competitiveness of industrial products.
The first phase consists of setting up a manufacturing engineering plan for makingparts and researching partner suppliers forbuyingparts. As we will see in Chap. 3, starting from the manufacturing engineering plan, production systems are developed, choosing convenient machinery and equipment types in relation to product characteristics and the planned level of activity.
Interaction between product development and manufacturing engineering, rightly extended to first level suppliers, allows the manufacturer to:
• verify design feasibility in advance, in relation to quality, productivity and cost targets (design for manufacturing);
• join elements and complete modules for production, according to the rel- evant logics of technological families (family groups), to realize production with the right economic scale and necessary operative flexibility (product mix model setting facility);
• preventively establish ‘‘process capability’’ levels necessary for standard operations of the manufacturing cycle influencing product quality.
The flow chartin Fig.2.2describes macro activities necessary for the devel- opment of manufacturing systems:
To reach quality and productivity targets, with the best ‘‘lead time’’, it is particularly useful to apply modern ‘‘Project Management’’ methodologies, which can be broken down as follows:
(a) activity matrix description building, so called WBS (Work Breakdown Structure);
(b) attribution of the single items of related tasks reported in WBS, underlining necessary co-operations for ‘‘simultaneous engineering’’;
(c) definition of time needed for activities, using GANTT diagrams and under- lining sequence obligations and possibilities for running phases in parallel;
(d) definition of the critical path for determining project development and specific tools, both for the making and buying of parts, and total lead time;
(e) professional resources necessary in Technical Centers for each planning phase of the project.
In advance of the run of the process, before series production begins, the Product and Process Engineering Departments must provide the following items to the Manufacturing Team:
• updated technical documentation for product and process;
• technical instructions for conduction and maintenance of the machinery and for tools assigned (normally provided by equipment constructors);
• tools and parts normally subject to usage;
• specific spare parts, necessary for ‘‘back-up’’, in case of technical failures.
Manufacturing Engineering Development Preliminary Project,
systems order plaing solutions identifying
Executive Project
Assembling and
installing Try-Out and
Pre-production (job - one)
Technical Instructions and Resources
Employment Parametrs
Production start-up and production speed calibration
(job-one) -Tools designing
-Executive Lay-out -Automation Software -Machinery and Tools
Building
Information flows for project setting -up and ordering system Information flows for project development
Executive flows
-Element Disegn -Direct Auxiliar Material
Requirement -Manufacturing
Elementary Job Descriptions -Production Norms -Machining Descriptions -Assembly Descriptions -Standard Working Times -Maintenance Norms
Fig. 2.2 Manufacturing system development process
In advance of start-up of production, production and maintenance workers must be trained according to a specific plan designed by manufacturing managers and performed in collaboration with working means and suppliers of information systems.
Normally, it is allowed that productive flow speed will be initially low and only progressively reach the project target after a certain time from the start of production (due to the ‘‘learning curve’’). Conversely, it is not allowed, either initially or otherwise, for products to be sold that do not fulfill the qualitative and functional customer requirements.