Presently the automotive industry is facing enormous pressure due to global competition and ever changing legislative, economic and customer demands. Both, agility and reconfiguration are widely recognised as important attributes for manufacturing systems to satisfy the needs of competitive global markets. To facilitate and accommodate unforeseen business changes within the automotive industry, a new proactive methodology is urgently required for the design, build, assembly and reconfiguration of automation systems. There is also need for the promotion of new technologies and engineering methods to enable true engineering concurrency between product and process development. Virtual construction and testing of new automation systems prior to build is now identified as a crucial requirement to enable system verification and to allow the investigation of design alternatives prior to building and testing physical systems. The main focus of this research was to design and develop reconfigurable assembly systems within the powertrain sector of the automotive industry by capturing and modelling relevant business and engineering processes. This research has proposed and developed a more process-efficient and robust automation system design, build and implementation approach via new engineering services and a standard library of reusable mechanisms. Existing research at Loughborough had created the basic technology for a component based approach to automation. However, no research had been previously undertaken on the application of this approach in a user engineering and business context. The objective of this research was therefore to utilise this prototype method and associated engineering tools and to devise novel business and engineering processes to enable the component-based approach to be applied in industry. This new approach has been named Configurable and Collaborative Automation Systems (CO AS). In particular this new research has studied the implications of migration to a COAS approach in terms of I) necessary changes to the end-users business processes, 2) potential to improve the robustness of the resultant system and 3) potential for improved efficiency and greater collaboration across the supply chain.

Over the last decades computer based tools have been introduced to facilitate systems engineering processes. There are computer based tools for assisting engineers in virtually every aspect of the systems engineering process from requirement elicitation and analysis, over functional analysis, synthesis, implementation and verification. It is not uncommon for a tool to provide many services covering more than one aspect of systems engineering. There exist numerous situations where information exchanges across tool boundaries are valuable, e.g., exchange of specifications between organisations using heterogeneous tool sets, exchange of specifications from legacy to modern tools, exchange of pecifications to tools that provide more advanced modelling or analysis capabilities than the originating tool or storage of specification data in a neutral format such that multiple tools can operate on the data. The focus in this thesis is on the analysis, design and implementation of a method and tool neutral information model for enabling systems engineering tool data exchange. The information model includes support for representation of requirements, system functional architecture and physical architecture, and verification and validation data. There is also support for definition of multiple system viewpoints, representation of system architecture, traceability information and version and configuration management. The applicability of the information model for data exchange hasbeen validated through implementation of tool interfaces to COTS and proprietary systems engineering tools, and exchange of real specifications in different scenarios. The results obtained from the validation activities indicate that systems engineering tool data exchange may decrease the time spent for exchanging specifications between partners developing complex systems and that the information model approach described in the thesis is a compelling alternative to tool specific interfaces.

Recent advances in molecular biology have led to an explosive growth in the number of peptide and protein drugs derived from both recombinant technology and conventional peptide drug design. However, development of peptide and protein therapeutics has proven to be very challenging because of inadequate physical and chemical stability. In recent years, particle engineering processes have become promising approaches for enhancement of protein stability as well as provide options for more delivery routes. In this research program, spray freezing into liquid (SFL) process was developed and optimized in order to achieve broad platform and application in protein and peptide drug delivery systems. The overall goal of this research was to produce stabilized protein and peptide microparticles for various drug delivery systems by using SFL particle engineering technology. Firstly, the use of the SFL process to produce peptide microparticles was investigated. Insulin microparticles produced by the SFL process were highly porous, low tap density and narrow particle size distribution. The influence of the SFL process parameters and excipients on the physicochemical properties of peptide microparticles was determined and compared to the widely used particle formation technique--freeze-drying. The SFL process was further used to produce protein microparticles. In the study, bovine serum albumin (BSA), a medium sized protein, was used as a model drug. The influence of SFL process parameters and excipients on the stability of BSA was studied. Very low monomer loss of BSA was found in this study even though the specific surface area of the powder was very high. Results also demonstrated that the SFL process had minimal influence on protein structure. The SFL process was further investigated by comparing the SFL process to spray freeze drying process (SFD), which is a relatively new process to produce protein and peptide microparticles. The influence of atomization, freezing and drying on the stability of lysozyme was investigated for both the SFL and SFD process. This study tested the hypothesis that the SFL process is a better process than SFD process because of avoiding air-liquid interface and minimum interfacial surface absorption of protein in SFL process. The particle size of protein and peptide microparticles produced by SFL process was further reduced to nanoparticles by sonication or homogenization processes in organic solvent. In this study, the influence of process parameters on the particle size and enzyme activity of lysozyme was investigated. The results showed that sonication or homogenization did not influence the enzyme activity of lysozyme. Lastly, insulin and insulin/dextran microparticles produced by SFL the process was encapsulated into polymer microspheres for oral delivery. Complexation and polymer composition was studied in order to optimize release and stability of insulin. Insulin nanoparticles in microspheres minimized the release of insulin in acid with high drug loading compared to other studies. The stability of insulin was decreased by complexation to dextran sulfate. The results of this research demonstrated that the SFL process offers a highly effective approach to produce protein and peptide powders suitable for different drug delivery systems. The microparticles produced by the SFL process had desirable characteristics such as narrow particle size distribution and high porosity. The stability of protein and peptide was well maintained through the SFL process. Therefore, SFL process is an effective particle engineering process for protein and peptide pharmaceuticals. / text

Information integration is considered a source of competitive advantage in the capital projects industry. While it has been broadly implemented, many organizations appear to have achieved only limited benefits from their efforts. This dissertation investigates the complementarity relationship between information technology (IT) use and project execution processes and practices. It asserts that rather than directly improving an organization’s competitive advantage, IT serves instead as a mode to improve existing processes and practices which in turn serve to improve the bottom line. Building from this foundation, the dissertation proceeds to expand its findings to document mechanisms by which various resources influence the complementarity relationship. Topics within this dissertation are investigated with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using capital projects data, evidence of complementarity is established quantitatively between general use of IT and best practices. The benefits of complementarity in terms of cost, schedule, and rework project performance measures are documented. Data analyses show that more use of IT is associated with more use of best practice; and, projects that intensively implement IT and best practice tend to show superior project performance. Furthermore, by investigating the use of a specific technology, this dissertation presents a thorough statistical analysis showing that IT use affects the use of practices, which together support improved project performance. Next, this dissertation lists organization resources that may affect complementarity. Using sixteen actual information integration cases, the major resources consistently affecting complementarity are identified. Illustrations of seven case studies present how the resources are managed. The case studies are also used when discussing the interaction of IT use and processes generating complementarity. The primary contribution of this research is to provide a quantitative evidence of IT’s indirect impact on construction project performance via practices. A broad discussion citing the range of resources affecting the complementarity and identifying the major ones in the capital projects industry is another contribution of this research. / text

Aims and Objectives: Information Technology (IT) service management has gained importance in the recent years. A service is a means of delivering value to the customers by facilitating outcomes, which customers want to achieve without ownership of the specific costs and risks. As IT services’ efficient execution revolves around its implementation through software management, the need for understanding the relationship between IT service management and software management has become crucial. The aim of this thesis is to explore this relationship. Methodology: We designed this thesis study as an exploratory study. First, a systematic literature review was conducted to explore the role of software engineering in IT service management and the interconnection between them. Then, we performed a case study at Telenor Sweden AB by conducting interviews in order to further investigate the intersecting elements between ITIL v3 Framework, which is an international standard for IT service management and software engineering considering ISO/IEC 12207 standard on software processes. Results: The outcome of this thesis is a mapping between IT service management and software engineering considering ISO/IEC 12207 for software engineering processes and ITIL V3 Framework for IT service management. These mappings have been recommended to use by the case company to incorporate ‘in-house’ software models in line with ITIL V3 Framework implementation. Conclusion: Though ITIL V3 framework gives in depth guidelines for IT Service Management, it does not give sufficient details for managing applications that constitute IT Services. As ITIL V3 is a framework, it is flexible to accommodate the software engineering processes defined in ISO/IEC 12207 standard. Though we brought three-way relationship between ITIL V3, ISO/IEC 12207 and case company’s software process models, it is found out that replacing existing models with ISO/IEC 12207 shall be difficult as it would be two new standards for the employees. The in house software process models are already inspired from standards. In this thesis, we provide a mapping between ITIL V3 and inhouse models of the case company to support the implementation of ITIL V3 for managing software applications to realize IT Services. / The thesis gives mapping between ITIL V3 Framework and ISO/IEC 12207 Software Engineering processes to incorporate them in integrated Service Management and Software Management / +46762509249

Contemporary organizations often deal with a procurements process when purchasing system solutions from different suppliers. Many of these organizations either lack the knowledge, experience, or the time needed to successfully manage procurements processes. This research addresses the role of brokers in such processes, i.e., organizations mediating knowledge between customers and IT suppliers. A main concern for these brokers is managing knowledge flow across boundaries between different stakeholders. The management of knowledge is particularly challenging in requirements engineering processes involving different stakeholders who have distinctive understandings and perspectives of information system development. This thesis presents findings from a single case study in which a consulting firm providing broker services for eliciting and translating client's requirements in procurement processes of system solutions has been investigated. The empirical investigation was conducted through interviews with seven consultants from the firm North Consulting. It focused on formal processes, perceived key challenges, and applied problem solving methods. The contributions of the thesis lie primarily in three important findings: identification of competencies required to successfully broker knowledge in procurement processes, challenges in managing such processes, and, explication of methods, tools, and documents applied to overcome the challenges. / <p>The external partner has choosen to cooperate anonymously. / Den externa samarbetspartnern har valt att delta anonymt.</p>

A student-based university environment for engineering design and development is much different from a product development environment within the aerospace industry. Therefore, a different approach to systems engineering should be considered. By its very nature, a university product development laboratory thrives on creativity and rejects bureaucracy. Experience shows that continuity and discipline within a project is crucial for success. The practice of systems engineering enables technical project discipline. Systems engineering is the art and science of developing an operable system that meets requirements within imposed constraints. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the systems engineering processes and techniques necessary for a student-based project, and explicitly show how to implement these processes. Although attempts have been made to utilize a few systems engineering techniques in past projects, many students did not properly and consistently apply those techniques to the technical design work. The goal of the thesis is to tailor the NASA systems engineering processes to a student-based design laboratory environment and to apply the methodologies to the mission design of Paradox. The Picosatellite for Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking on-Orbit eXperiment, or Paradox, is the second of four missions to demonstrate autonomous rendezvous and docking with a picosatellite-class satellite. A strong technical contribution highlighted within the thesis involves developing an open architecture rendezvous targeting algorithm for the Paradox mission in the face of large mission architecture uncertainties. The robust targeting algorithm builds from previous work utilizing an optimizer based on the Clohessey-Wiltshire equations and an iterative Lambert targeter. The contribution extends the rendezvous transfer times by including a multi-revolution Lambert targeter. The rendezvous algorithm will perform successfully given any launch vehicle and target spacecraft vehicle supporting the notion of an open architecture to satisfy the mission. The development of the algorithm is embedded within the context of the systems engineering processes to clearly showcase the intimate connection between systems engineering processes and the technical engineering design of a mission. / text

<p>U radu se iskazuje potreba za obavljanjem reinţenjeringa preduzeća (RP), kao radikalno novog totalnog procesnog organizovanja preduzeća sa tendencijom ostvarivanja TQM-a (totalno procesno organizovanje preduzeća po prvi put je inţenjering preduzeća (IR)). Takođe, u radu se daje odgovarajuća metodologija za obavljanje inţenjeringa I reinţenjeringa preduzeća i iskazuje ĉinjenica da obavljanje svakog inţenjeringa i reinţenjeringa preduzeća, kao i funkcionisanje TQM-a podrazumeva postojanje menadţmenta u preduzeću koji se stalno inovira.<br />Rad istiĉe ĉinjenicu da u procesnom organizovanju preduzeća treba da se razlikuje selekcionistiĉki pristup koji prvenstveno odgovara naprednim preduzećima u razvijenoj svetskoj privredi i totalistiĉki pristup, koji rad obrađuje, a koji prevashodno odgovara svim ostalim preduzećima. Osnovni kriterijum koji odreĊuje kad koji pristup treba da bude upotrebljen je kvalitet posedovanne marketin&scaron;ke organizacione culture. Ako je posedovana marketin&scaron;ka organizaciona kultura zadovoljavajuća onda za ostvarivanje procesnog organizovanja treba da bude upotrebljen postojeći selekcionistiĉki pristup, dok u suprotnom sluĉaju, koji je daleko rasprostranjeni, treba da bude primenjen totalistiĉki pristup, koga rad obrađuje.<br />U radu je obrađen model za identifikaciju kvaliteta postojeće marketin&scaron;ke organizacione kulture preduzeća i iskazan naĉin pokretanja reinţenjeringa na primeru konkretnog preduzeća sloţenog karaktera i naĉin kako se identifikuju koristi od njegovog obavljanja u poĉetnoj fazi obavljanja (prve dve godine od njegovog pokretanja).<br />Obavljeno istraţivanje je prevashodno analitiĉko deskriptivnog karaktera u okviru kog se dokazivanje postavljenih operativnih hipoteza vr&scaron;ilo po odgovarajućim radnim poglavljima koja nose njihove nazive. Takođe, u sklopu obavljanja istraţivanja data su odgovarajuća razja&scaron;njenja pojmova: vizija, misija, op&scaron;ti cilj, strategija ostvarivanja op&scaron;teg cilja, identifikovanje radne strukture i strukture radnih procesa, modeliranje poslovne strukture i strukture poslovnih procesa, i definisanje procesne organizacione strukture preduzeća sa uspostavljanjem novog baziĉnog marketin&scaron;ki orjentisanog organizacionog modela. Ostvarivanje ovakvog organizacionog poduhvata definisano je odgovarajućom specijalnom grafiĉkom interpretacijom. Na primeru jednog sloţenog preduzeća dokazano je, kroz poĉetne rezultate, da jedan ovakav pristup daje zadovoljavajuće rezultate.</p> / <p>The paper shows the need for the re-engineering of the company (RP), as performing a radical new process of organizing the total tendency of TQM implementation, called Enterprise Engineering (IE). It also provides an appropriate methodology for their performing and reflect the fact that the performance of each engineering and re-engineering enterprises, as well as the functioning of TQM, implies the existence of management in a company, that is constantly innovating.<br />The paper highlights the fact that in the process organizing the company we shoulddistinguish differ process selection approach (that is suitable for advanced enterprises in developed world economy) and totalistic approach (which mainly corresponds to other companies). The main criterion that determines when that approach should be used, is the quality of subsumed marketing organizational culture. If the marketing possessed organizational culture is satisfactory then for the process of organizing should be used selection approach, while in the opposite case, which is far distributed, should be applied totalistic approach, which this paper deals with.<br />The paper describes a model for identification the quality of the existing marketing organizational culture, of the company and shown the way to start re-engineering through example of a particular complex company and find way how to identify the benefits of its performance in the beginning phase (the first two years of its launch).<br />Conducted research has primarily analytical-descriptive character, within which is done proving the set of operational hypotheses through relevant chapters which take their names. Also, through research performing are given adequate clarifications of terms: vision, mission, objective, strategy for achieving public goals, identifying the labor structure and structure of work processes, modeling the business structure and the structure of business processes, defining process organized structure of the company to establish a new base market oriented organizational model. The exercise of such organizational enterprise defines appropriate special graphical interpretation.</p>