Marti Complexity Management
2007
ISBN: 978-3-8350-5435-6
Verlag: Deutscher Universitätsverlag
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark
Optimizing Product Architecture of Industrial Products
E-Book, Englisch, 248 Seiten, eBook
ISBN: 978-3-8350-5435-6
Verlag: Deutscher Universitätsverlag
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark
Michael Marti presents a complexity management model that is based on the reasoning that product architecture determines to a considerable extent how external complexity is translated into physical products. The model demonstrates a procedure to optimize a product's architecture and is applied to several industrial products.
Dr. Michael Marti promovierte bei Prof. Dr. Fritz Fahrni am Institut für Technologiemanagement der Universität St. Gallen. Er ist als Produktmanager bei Siemens tätig.
Zielgruppe
Research
Weitere Infos & Material
1;Foreword;6
2;Preface;7
3;Brief Contents;10
4;Table of Contents;12
5;List of Figures;18
6;List of Tables;22
7;List of Acronyms;24
8;Management Summary;26
9;Management Summary (Deutsch);28
10;1 Introduction;30
10.1;1.1 Problem Statement;30
10.2;1.2 Research Objectives and Research Question;32
10.3;1.3 Reference Frame;34
10.4;1.4 Methodological Approach;34
10.5;1.5 Thesis Structure;38
11;2 Background and Fundamental Concepts;42
11.1;2.1 Complexity as a Challenge for Enterprises;42
11.1.1;2.1.1 The Two Sides of Complexity;43
11.1.2;2.1.2 External Complexity – Understanding the Market Needs;49
11.1.3;2.1.3 Internal Complexity – The Cost Side of Complexity;56
11.2;2.2 The Complexity of Systems;62
11.3;2.3 The Importance of Product Architecture;68
11.3.1;2.3.1 Definition and Implications of Product Architecture;68
11.3.2;2.3.2 Modular and Integral Product Architectures;72
11.4;2.4 Concluding Remarks;75
12;3 Literature Review: Existing Concepts;76
12.1;3.1 Assessment Criteria;76
12.2;3.2 Managing Complexity on a Conceptual Level;77
12.2.1;3.2.1 Mass Customization;78
12.2.2;3.2.2 Lean Management;83
12.2.3;3.2.3 The Concept of Optimum Variety;86
12.3;3.3 Tools for Managing Complexity;87
12.3.1;3.3.1 Quality Function Deployment (QFD);88
12.3.2;3.3.2 Target Costing;93
12.3.3;3.3.3 Design for Variety;97
12.3.4;3.3.4 Design for Configuration;98
12.3.5;3.3.5 Product Modularization;99
12.3.6;3.3.6 Modular Function Deployment;104
12.3.7;3.3.7 Product Platforms;106
12.3.8;3.3.8 Variant Mode and Effects Analysis;112
12.3.9;3.3.9 Variety Reduction Program;115
12.4;3.4 Assessment Summary;117
13;4 Complexity Management Model;120
13.1;4.1 Overview;120
13.2;4.2 Strategy and Product Life Cycle Assessment;121
13.2.1;4.2.1 Strategic Considerations;122
13.2.2;4.2.2 Product Life Cycle Considerations;136
13.2.3;4.2.3 Summary of Strategy and Product Life Cycle Assessment;141
13.3;4.3 Product Complexity Assessment;143
13.3.1;4.3.1 Introduction;143
13.3.2;4.3.2 Quantifying Functionality;145
13.3.3;4.3.3 Quantifying Physical Complexity;149
13.3.4;4.3.4 Drawing the Complexity Matrix;159
13.3.5;4.3.5 Summary of Product Complexity Assessment;161
13.4;4.4 Deriving Guidelines for Action;162
13.4.1;4.4.1 Introduction;162
13.4.2;4.4.2 Basic Norm Strategies;165
13.4.3;4.4.3 Influence of Strategic Considerations;174
13.4.4;4.4.4 Influence of Product Life Cycle Considerations;177
13.4.5;4.4.5 Summary of Guidelines for Action;179
13.5;4.5 Summary of Complexity Management Model;181
14;5 Case Studies;184
14.1;5.1 Introduction;184
14.2;5.2 Railroad Signal;185
14.2.1;5.2.1 Introduction to the Case;185
14.2.2;5.2.2 Application of Complexity Management Model;188
14.2.3;5.2.3 Result of Optimization;198
14.2.4;5.2.4 Discussion;200
14.3;5.3 Liquid Handling Platform;201
14.3.1;5.3.1 Introduction to the Case;201
14.3.2;5.3.2 Application of Complexity Management Model;203
14.3.3;5.3.3 Result of Optimization;210
14.3.4;5.3.4 Discussion;211
14.4;5.4 Process Industry Compressor;214
14.4.1;5.4.1 Introduction to the Case;214
14.4.2;5.4.2 Application of Complexity Management Model;217
14.4.3;5.4.3 Result of Optimization;223
14.4.4;5.4.4 Discussion;223
14.5;5.5 Railroad Switch Lock;226
14.5.1;5.5.1 Introduction to the Case;226
14.5.2;5.5.2 Application of Complexity Management Model;229
14.5.3;5.5.3 Result of Optimization;233
14.5.4;5.5.4 Discussion;233
15;6 Conclusion;238
15.1;6.1 Reflecting on the Research Achievements;238
15.1.1;6.1.1 Answering the Research Question;238
15.1.2;6.1.2 Concluding Model Assessment;238
15.2;6.2 Limitations;240
15.3;6.3 Reflecting on the Research Methodology;243
15.4;6.4 Suggestions for Future Work;245
16;Appendix A List of Definitions;248
17;Appendix B Classification of Strategies;250
18;Appendix C Ballpoint Pen Example;252
19;Appendix D Complexity Matrix Calculations;254
19.1;D.1 Calculating Physical Complexity;254
19.2;D.2 Quadrant Borders in the Complexity Matrix;258
19.3;D.3 Taking the Logarithm for Complexity Driver Calculations;260
20;Reference List;264
Background and Fundamental Concepts.- Literature Review: Existing Concepts.- Complexity Management Model.- Case Studies.- Conclusion.
1 Introduction (S. 1)
If one does not begin with a right attitude, there is little hope for a right ending.
Kung Fu meditation.
1.1 Problem Statement
A successful product must satisfy customer requirements and preferences. As this bundle of market needs has many facets and is highly complex in its nature, it is called external complexity here. To comply with these diverse demands, companies design their product portfolios accordingly, i.e. they introduce variety to their products. This, in turn, increases not only the product’s complexity but affects the complexity within the entire company. This enterprise-internal complexity spreads to all functional areas (product development, logistics, production, and sales, to name a few) and is called internal complexity.
The products of an enterprise are exposed to external complexity and cause internal complexity. Therefore, products must be designed to cope with the implications of both external and internal complexity because they are a very important instrument for achieving sustained profits and assuring long-term survival. Complexity is not an evil per se, though. Both the benefit created by product variants and the costs they cause must be weighed against each other in order to find the optimum combination (Rathnow, 1993, pp. 1-4 and pp. 41-42).
The benefit side is explained by the purpose of product variety, which is to match the product with customers’ requirements as closely as possible and to acquire new customers, which increases sales, and retain existing ones. On the cost side, introducing product variants entails additional complexity costs that are effective initially (when the product is launched) as well as continuously over the product’s life cycle.
As the product variety benefits cannot be harvested without a rise in complexity costs, the goal is not to reduce product complexity as far as possible but to find the optimum level of complexity that takes into account the benefits as well as the costs generated by product variety. As the product portfolio grows and variants proliferate, complexity costs do not spread equally among all product variants (Schuh &, Schwenk, 2001, pp. 17-19). Due to a lack of economies of scale, low-sales variants generate more per unit costs than the high-sales variants, which are produced in larger numbers.
A problem of traditional cost accounting systems lies in their insufficient capability of transparently tracing back all costs to the respective variants. As a result, low-sales variants are priced too low, effectively being subsidized by the high-sales variants (Cooper &, Kaplan, 1988a). The product architecture inherently determines the nature of the complexity costs generated by all the variants of that product.
It is a very important element in defining the internal complexity necessary to respond to the external (market) complexity. Depending on how the architectures of its products are structured, an enterprise can take advantage of a high degree of commonality – which keeps costs low – while still maintaining a sufficiently high level of distinctiveness – what customers care about. Bearing in mind that complexity costs affect virtually all enterprise functions over the entire product life cycle, one can appreciate the importance of well-founded decisions concerning the product architecture.
