Development of a framework to support virtual review within Complex-Product lifecycle management

Abstract

New Product Development process requires increasing innovation in order to reduce time-to-market and cost and to improve product quality. Products are realized by following a lifecycle made of phases and activities, related to each other, managed by many actors inside and outside the company and characterized by moments of verification and review of the work performed. In this scenario, a critical activity is the Review of the work performed. One of the most critical aspects is the retrieving of the right data, at the right moment and as quickly as possible, in order to avoid wrong decisions. The paper proposes a methodological framework and a technological environment to support the integration of the different information sources of a company. The objective of the project is the development of an innovative Virtual Review process for companies that develops complex products. The specific objectives of the project can be summarized with three concepts: conceptualization, comparison and collaboration. An integrated and modular solution, named VIEW VIrtual Environment Workbench, has been designed and implemented adopting IC.IDO as DMU software and Exalead for dashboarding. The results is a workbench where users can retrieve all desired information by easily selecting the 3D ITEMs under review (components, assemblies, systems) and can require the visualization of information in the form of dashboards. The aggregation of all the product-related information, in a single environment, facilitates decision-making so that the fulfilment of the project requirements is reached; in this way it is possible to operate at the right time and in the most appropriate manner, with considerable reduction of the time and cost of development and industrialization.