APPLICATION OF SIMULTANEOUS ENGINEERING BETWEEN THE PRODUCT ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

Abstract

This paper aims at evaluating and suggesting a Simultaneous Engineering tool or Concurrent Engineering for integration between product design and production areas, aiming to make companies more competitive regarding product quality, costs and deadlines; through the development and application of a methodology to integrate the project with production, taking into account the difficulty of communication between who designs and who produces because of the complexity of the companies to gather multifunctional teams. Reduced time in product development process, higher product quality, lower cost in manufacturing process and fulfilment of customers’ requirements are the key factors to determine the success of a company. To produce excellent products, the concept of Concurrent Engineering must be implemented. Concurrent Engineering is a systematic approach which can be achieved when all design activities are integrated and executed in a parallel manner. The article presents a case study where a tool is applied for a preliminary analysis of the project before the beginning of the production phase and indicates a significant reduction in the number of technical changes and in the term to process the change of the product, since the project becomes more mature from the early stages.