No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the role of design in the product development process in the apparel industry in the United States, looking for variations in how design is used in the industry. In order to obtain a snapshot of the fashion design industry, creativity, originality, innovation, and product development were examined, as well as corporate culture and strategic orientation. The study also sought to examine pedagogical strategies based on these findings. A mixed methods approach, consisting of an on-line survey and interviews, was employed. The findings suggest variations in the role of design based on the time design-department employees spent on creative tasks. These variations were examined and industrial and pedagogical implications are explored. The significance of this study relates to the findings of the importance of creativity in the product development process of the apparel industry in the United States, as well as considerations for pedagogical strategies.

Les responsables de la conception des produits que nous utilisons tous les jours ont un grand pouvoir car ils sont responsables de la conception d’une très partie du monde qui nous entoure. Tous les produits et services d’aujourd’hui n’étaient autrefois qu’une partie de la nature et l’impact des activités humaines sur cette nature devient de plus en plus préoccupant. Des efforts sont faits à tous les niveaux, des utilisateurs aux multinationales, pour réduire l’impact des hommes mais ce n’est pas une tache simple. Dans une première partie, cette thèse présente le processus de la conception de produits et différents moyens qui peuvent être utilisés pour conduire ce processus vers des solutions plus respectueuses de l'environnement. La conception de produits est une activité complexe qui peut être modélisée comme un processus composé de trois phases – conceptual, embodiement et detailed. Les décisions prises au cours des premières étapes de ce processus conduisent à la majorité des coûts finaux, monétaire, environnementaux, etc., d'un projet. Après ces étapes, toutes modifications apportées au projet augmentent les coûts mais peuvent aussi ne pas être réalisables. Les responsables de la conception de produits ont accès à certains outils afin de produire des objets plus respectueux de l'environnement, dont les directives Design for Environment, qui ne fournissent pas de données quantifiables, et des méthodes basées sur l’ACV, extrêmement gourmandes en ressources et ne donnent pas de résultats fiables avant la modélisation finale. Afin de pallier aux différents points faibles de ces méthodes, cette thèse propose l’approche DA-Ex basée sur l'exergie et l'analyse dimensionnelle. Le but de cette approche est d'utiliser des données faciles d’accès qui peuvent être stockées dans une base de données de faible taille, être applicable lors des premières phases du processus de conception lorsque l'artefact étudié n'est pas encore défini en sa totalité, fournir des résultats de qualité comparable à ceux obtenus avec des méthodes et outils existants, et offrir la possibilité d'élargir les domaines étudiés en dehors de l’évaluation environnementale. L'approche DA-Ex considère trois aspects - l'efficacité de la transformation de l’exergie, l'efficacité d'utilisation des ressources, et les émissions environnementales. La possibilité d’extension de l’approche est illustrée avec l’analyse des coûts. Plusieurs études de cas ont été réalisées pour tester l'approche DA-Ex. Les résultats obtenus avec cette approche ont été comparés à ceux fournis par des méthodes et indicateurs existants. / Engineering designers wield a tremendous power as they are responsible for the design of a large part of the world that surrounds us. All artificial products and services were once a pristine bit of nature and the impact that mankind has on this planet is a growing concern at all levels, from single customers to world-wide companies and governments. The task of producing something that does not contribute to this impact is daunting. The first part of this thesis elaborates on engineering design and the ways of influencing product design towards more environmentally conscious solutions. Engineering design is a complex activity that can be modelled as a process made up of three basic phases - conceptual, embodiment, and detailed design. The decisions made during the early stages of this process are responsible for the majority of the final costs, monetary, environmental or otherwise, of a project. Any changes made to the design after these stages not only unnecessarily bring up the costs, but there are also fewer opportunities to make them. The question remains of how designers can be supported during the design process to produce more environmentally conscious artefacts. Design for Environment guidelines are a good start but they do not provide quantifiable data, full LCA methods are extremely resource consuming and do not provide robust results before the design is finalised, etc. In order to alleviate the shortfalls of these methods, the thesis proposes the DA-Ex approach based on exergy and dimensional analysis. The aim of the approach is to use readily available data that can be stored in a lightweight database, be applicable during the early phases of the design process when the studied artefact is not yet fully defined, provide results of comparable quality to those obtained with existing methods and tools, and offer ways of expanding the studies to fields related to sustainability beyond environmental assessment. The DA-Ex approach first considers exergy transformation efficiency, resource use efficiency, and environmental emission metrics. An expansion is also proposed to cost analysis. Several case studies were performed to test the DA-Ex approach. The results obtained with the approach were compared to those provided by existing methods and indicators, although they could not be compared number to number due to the fact that all methods and indicators function with different characterisations and base hypotheses. The next step for the DA-Ex approach is to include a systemic view, as to not only cover the designed artefact in a study but also its environment and what impact it has on it.

Parker Hannifin QCDE aim to eliminate as much wasted time, materials and resources as achievable by implementing Design for Manufacturing and Assembly principles into a modified version of their Product Development Process. The modified Product Development Process was developed within this project with the objective of aiding the company to remain competitive within their field, as well as continue to efficiently develop and produce high quality products.   A literature study was performed to gain a greater understanding of the multiple Design for Excellence methods and their possibilities to enhance the Product Development Process at Parker Hannifin QCDE. The literature study included various sources such as academic books and scientific articles.   An empirical study was conducted and the use of the current Internal Product Development Process was evaluated in conjunction with a detailed evaluation of the designated coupling. An additional aspect that was explored includes an evaluation of the extent of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly that is implemented into the current Internal Product Development Process.   The Generation chapter of this thesis outlines the sequence and process implemented for generating the modified Internal Product Development Process and implementing Design for Manufacturing and Assembly. The results of this thesis project included implementing Design for Manufacturing and Assembly in the form of checklists. The multiple Design for Excellence checklists were inspired in part by the information obtained from the literature study and the authors interpretation. The finished concept has been provided to Parker Hannifin QCDE in the form of a pamphlet including instructions of how to implement the checklists into the modified Internal Product development process.   The discussion chapter within this report consists of a conclusion and deliberation regarding the methodology used within this thesis. The results obtained from this thesis have been dissected and evaluated along with implications and potential weaknesses in the work.

Background: The reason for conducting this master thesis within the field of knowledge management derived from the realization that there was a need for an increased understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics of the integration and transfer of knowledge in cross-functional new product development projects. Research advocates that organizations with organic project-based environments with fluid team boundaries may aggravate routine-based work and organizational memory, which in turn may lead to an organizations’ inability of capturing and storing existing personalized knowledge for internal storage and future transfer (Koskinen, 2004). For this reason, the conversion of knowledge for re-use between and within projects in an organization is not supported in a natural way (Lindner and Wald, 2011). To this end, organizational culture is critically important in facilitating a knowledge transfer culture within an organization that supports such knowledge conversion processes (Davenport and Prusak, 1998a). Thus, an increased understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics of knowledge integration and transfer in cross-functional projects is viewed as an opportunity to contribute with findings with interest in both industry and academia. Increasing the understanding of organizational culture’s role in knowledge conversion facilitation is particularly seen as an important research area in existing knowledge management research. The study aimed to produce a deeper understanding of these social processes by exploring and interpreting them in their real-life social contexts. Research question: How does organizational culture and knowledge management strategies support as well as hinder knowledge integration and transfer between cross-functional product development teams and specialists in a project-based organization? Purpose: To increase the understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics of knowledge integration and transfer in cross-functional projects. In order to study the socio-cultural elements, a case study in a global Swedish company engaged in new product development was conducted during the spring of 2016. Method: The research design of the study was case study. The empirical data was collected through face-to-face interviews, observations and studying of internal steering documentations. The author found it necessary to adopt an interpretivist epistemological position with a qualitative focus in alignment with employing abductive reasoning in order to understand the collected data and to explore the posed research question. Quality measures with respect to qualitative research studies were cautiously considered. Conclusion: This study found that an organization with a network-based knowledge culture and a standardized process with standards and routines for effective knowledge conversion processes are two sides of the same coin that can support the knowledge integration and transfer between cross-functional product development teams and specialists in a project-based organization. Further, both a single dominant organizational culture and multiple local cultures within an organization can both support and hinder the integration and transfer of knowledge. In extension to this finding, inconsistencies in the knowledge integration and transfer processes may evolve across these different cultural interpretations which may further support or hinder the social dynamics in an organization. Moreover, my study suggests that a network-based knowledge culture can interact with a standardized process in order to enable effective knowledge integration and transfer routines.

Title: The Effect of Integrating 1st-tier Suppliers into the Product Development Process on the Environmental Performance – A Study in the German Automotive Industry Background: The research of this paper is based on the topics of 1st-tier supplier integration into the product development process and corporate social responsibility, with the environmental dimension as field of research. Furthermore, the German automotive industry is selected as a sample industry in which research is undertaken. Purpose: This research aims on finding a relation between 1st-tier supplier integration into the product development process and environmental performance. The dyad being examined is manufacturer and their 1st-tier suppliers – from the manufacturer’s point of view. I investigate the effect of supplier integration on the environmental performance in order to see whether the integration concept can support organizations in reaching their goals of customer satisfaction and image preservation. The German automotive industry is being utilized as it is recognized as pioneer industry in order to make an example for other sectors on how to measure 1st-tier suppliers’ environmental performance and how to efficiently integrate them in the manufacturer’s product development with the overall aim of enhancing environmental performance of manufacturers. Method: A qualitative research approach with multiple case studies based on semi-structured interviews has been applied for empirical data collection. The gathered data of three cases has been analyzed in a cross-case synthesis comparing the different cases with each other and with peer-reviewed literature. Results, conclusion: The gathered empirical information showed that German car manufacturers only rarely measure their 1st-tier suppliers’ environmental performance due to close and long-term relationships; additionally, the ISO 14001 standard is a minimum criterion of being a supplier in this industry and some quotes regarding3environmental performance are being forwarded to suppliers by manufacturers. In terms of 1st-tier supplier integration research shows in contrast to literature that the process of integration is not as relevant as other factors such as the supplier, the product and components. Regarding the 1st-tier supplier integration into the product development process affecting manufacturers’ environmental performance, the research at hand has shown a positive correlation. I believe that these results can be an example for other industries and dyads within the industry.

Detta examensarbete genomfördes för att undersöka hur   materialhanteringen runt avgradningssystemet Fladder kan utvecklas och   automatiseras. Behovet uppkom av dagens manuella hantering som är ineffektiv   och tidskrävande och behöver därmed optimeras. Arbetet genomfördes med metodik från   produktutvecklingsprocessen för att erbjuda layout-förslag på hur   materialhantering kan förbättras. Först gjordes en förstudie där en   datainsamling, litteraturstudie och nulägesanalys att identifiera behovet.   Koncept genererades baserat på kraven på systemet och genom olika   beslutsmatriser valdes två lösningar för vidareutveckling. Lösningarna   granskades och analyserades mer i detalj och beräkningar på deras   effektivitet och lönsamhet genomfördes. Lösningarna förfinades och mynnade ut i två layouter på   hur materialhanteringen kan förbättras. Där slutkoncept 1 är ett enkelt   system för situationen idag och slutkoncept 2 är en mer avancerad lösning för   framtida investeringar. / The bachelor   thesis was performed to investigate how material handling around the   deburring system Fladder can be developed and automated. The reason is due to   today's manual handling which is inefficient and time consuming and therefore   needs to be optimized. The work was   carried out with methodology from the product development process to offer   layout suggestions on how material handling can be improved. First, a   feasibility study was conducted in which a data collection, literature study   and current situation analysis were done to identify the needs. Concepts were   generated based on the requirements of the system and through various   decision matrices, two solutions were chosen for further development. The   solutions were reviewed and analyzed in more detail and calculations of their   efficiency and profitability were made. The solutions   were refined and resulted in two layouts on how the material handling can be   improved. The first concept is a simple system for the situation today and   the second concept is a more advanced solution for future investments. / <p>Betyg 2019-07-24</p>

This thesis is the final assignment for a bachelor degree in Industrial Design Engineering via Luleå University of Technology. The project comprises 15hp and has been carried out in collaboration with MECON AB in Luleå, which works with construction, among other things. This report contains the development process of a touch guard for the power rails that runs along a traverse path. The task of the touch guard is to protect the staff at SSAB from risks that may arise if something falls on the power rails. Objects such as a wrench could create short circuits and be pushed off by the current in the electrical rails with high speed causing a hazard. The work is based on IDEO- the field guide to human-centered design, which is a human-centered process with three phases. In this case, the installer is the user. It is the installer who is affected by how easily mounted the touch guard is. Therefore, in order to design a user-friendly touch protection, an understanding of the user and its needs is required. By collecting information using interviews, observations, study visits and a literature study, a design specification could be created. This was then the basis for the remaining work that led to a bracket and three versions of the protection plates. Together with the users and the stakeholders, a final concept was chosen that fulfills the design specification. The report presents the process and its steps leading to a final concept. Later, the results are discussed and how well the work fulfilled the purpose and goals, and whether the work answered the research questions. / Detta examensarbete är utförts som den avslutande uppgiften för programmet högskoleingenjör Teknisk Design på Luleå Tekniska Universitet. Examensarbetet omfattar 15 högskolepoäng och har utförts i samarbete med MECON AB i Luleå som arbetar med bland annat konstruktion. Rapporten behandlar utvecklingen av ett beröringsskydd för en elskena som löper längs en traversbana. Beröringsskyddets uppgift är att skydda personalen på SSAB från risker som kan uppstå om någonting faller ned på elskenorna. Föremål som till exempel en skiftnyckel skulle kunna skapa kortslutning och skjutas iväg av strömmen i elskenorna. Arbetet utgår från IDEO-the field guide to human-centered design, som är en användarcentrerad process med tre faser. I detta arbete är det montören som är användaren. Det är montören som är berörd av hur lättmonterat beröringsskyddet är. För att kunna utforma ett användarvänligt beröringsskydd krävs därför en förståelse för användaren och dess behov. Genom att samla in information med hjälp av intervjuer, observationer, studiebesök och en litteraturstudie kunde en designspecifikation skapas. Denna låg då till grund till resterande arbete som ledde till ett fäste och tre stycken skyddsplåtar. Tillsammans med användarna och intressenterna valdes ett slutgiltigt koncept som uppfyller designspecifikationen. Rapporten redovisar processen och dess moment som leder till ett slutligt koncept. Senare diskuteras resultatet och hur väl arbetet uppfyllde syfte och mål, samt om arbetet besvarade frågeställningen.

Bryne AB has invented a device called Loop for measuring the fluidity of molten metal. Loop is made up of refractory fiber material and has a dimension of 196 sq.mm within which there is an engraved spiral shaped runway for the molten metal to flow. The distance traveled by the molten metal in the spiral determines its fluidity and is measured visually by the operator with the help of the spiral scale printed on the Loop. A workstation is used to support the Loop for an easier and better working environment. At present, the entire operation of fluidity measurement is done manually. The aim of the thesis is to develop an automatic workstation for the fluidity measurement and find a technique to measure the fluidity without human visual aid. Further, an attempt has been made to find a way to store and retrieve the measured values for future use.   The automation of the workstation is done with the help of Arduino Uno circuit board for electrical connections and Arduino IDE for programming the circuit. MATLAB image processing tool is used for measuring the fluidity digitally.   The prototype of the automated workstation is built and showcases the ability to reduce the time and operational errors. The automation of the unplugging operation saves up to 7 seconds.  The digital measuring of the fluidity with FLIR thermal camera and MATLAB image processing tool does not show significant improvement in accuracy in measurement, but it reduces the dependency on the expertise of the operator. There is an error of 12.7% from the actual fluidity value.