GETTING STARTED - CONCURRENT ENGINEERING FOR A MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFACTURER

Concurrent engineering replaces the traditional sequential new product development process with one where tasks proceed in parallel whenever possible and where there is early consideration of all aspects of a p roduct's lifecycle. Concurrent engineering shortens new product lead t imes, improves quality, and reduces manufacturing costs. The first ste p in implementing concurrent engineering requires developing an approp riate company structure and culture to support cooperation among depar tments, including design, manufacturing, marketing, purchasing departm ents, and so on. The second step is developing effective computer comm unication and analysis tools to yield in-depth benefits. This case stu dy describes our efforts to improve new product development at a mediu m-sized cable manufacturer. Few concurrent engineering principles were currently being used. But our efforts with 14 individuals on the comp any's relatively simple product resulted in implementation of the firs t steps of concurrent engineering within three months. Team members fr om various departments discussed each new product using a checklist fo r early input and consideration of details, a new method for schedulin g trial runs was implemented, and a system was built to track individu al projects and monitor the process itself, identifying causes for del ay. Our early experiences lead us to conclude that concurrent engineer ing can benefit many large and small companies, those who are industry leaders and followers and those with highly technical, complex produc ts or relatively simple products.