1st Edition
Concurrent Engineering Shortening Lead Times, Raising Quality, and Lowering Costs
By simultaneously examining the concerns of design, production, purchasing, finance, and marketing from the very first stages of product planning, concurrent engineering makes doing it right the first time the rule instead of the exception. This should be the first book managers read when they are ready to eliminate waste in the product development process.
An introductory handbook, it gives managers 16 clear guidelines for achieving concurrent engineering and contains abundant case studies of Japanese, U.S., and European company success stories.
The book also:
- Defines the concurrent engineering task force as a full-time, multidisciplinary unit of operation.
- Discusses the necessary interdependence of concurrent engineering, Quality Function Deployment, Total Quality Control, and CAD/CAM.
- Shows how concurrent engineering can be structured to fit your company and used to gain flexibility and efficiency.
- The Need for Change
- Quickening Change
- The Key to Japanese Success
- North American Pioneers
- CE in the European Automobile Industry
- Management in Control of Product Development
- Total Quality Control Becomes a Reality
- Concurrent Engineering Enhances Design
- Easier Production, Fewer Failures
- Robust Products for Manufacture
- Concurrent Engineering is Wasted without CAD/CAM
- Concurrent Engineering Makes Friends with Manufacturing
- Customer-Driven Vendors
- Starting Concurrent Engineering
- Surprises and Shorter Product Lives
- Future Concurrent Engineering
Biography
John R. Hartley
"Corporate survival in the 90s depends on the ability to fully satisfy key customer requirements. CE (a philosophy) and QFD (a methodology to implement CE) are the first steps towards that goal. This book provides a balanced discussion of theory, implementation techniques, and real examples from current practitioners to guide the readers to the ultimate goal: Total Customer Satisfaction."
Jose A. Lugo, Corp Engineering Productivity Group, Harris Corporation 06/01/04"The author has heard the 'voice of the customer' and responded well. His book explains the concepts and tools of concurrent engineering and presents case studies to guide the reader through its implementation. It should be read by anyone involved in getting a product from design to the customer."
Gary A. Maddux, Quality Improvement Techniques Lab., U of Alabama Huntsville 06/01/04