Controlling Design Variants: Modular Product Platforms By Anna Ericsson and Gunnar Erixon, Ph.D. Society of Manufacturing Engineers Dearborn, Michigan
Copyright 1999 by Modular Management AB and Society of Manufacturing Engineers 987654321 All rights reserved, including those of translation. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced by any means, including photocopying, recording or microfilming, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing of the copyright owners. No liability is assumed by the publisher with respect to use of information contained herein. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Publication of any data in this book does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of any patent, proprietary right, or product that may be involved. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-072806 International Standard Book Number: 0-87263-514-7 Additional copies may be obtained by contacting: Society of Manufacturing Engineers Customer Service One SME Drive, P.O. Box 930 Dearborn, Michigan 48121 1-800-733-4763 www.sme.org SME staff who participated in producing this book: Millicent Treloar, Senior Editor Rosemary Csizmadia, Production Supervisor Frances Kania, Production Assistant Kathye Quirk, Production Assistant/Cover Design Cover photo: Christoph Eshenbach conducting the Houston Symphony, 1989. Photographer: Crossley and Pogue Printed in the United States of America iv
About the Authors Anna Ericsson and Dr. Gunnar Erixon are consultants in product development with Modular Management AB, Stockholm, Sweden. You may contact them with questions at www.modular-management.se. Anna Ericsson has a MSc degree in mechanical engineering from The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. Part of her engineering studies were also performed at Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy, France. In 1997, she joined Modular Management AB and is today project manager. She has vast experience from working on product development projects within industrial equipment, power transmission, construction equipment, and telecommunications companies. Dr. Erixon is a Senior Lecturer at Dalarna University in Sweden. He completed his Ph.D. in engineering in 1998 at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. Much of the material in this book is drawn from research performed in completion of his doctoral thesis. With more than 20 years experience at different Swedish companies, Dr. Erixon became one of the co-founders of Modular Management AB in 1996. In 1994, he received the Alde Nilsson ABB Prize for production engineering research contribution, and in 1999, the Karlebo Prize for the work behind his doctoral thesis. vii
Table of Contents Preface... xi 1 Introduction...1 2 Expanding and Deviating Demands on Product Design...9 Explosion of Variants... 9 Time... 11 Design Scope... 13 Design and Manufacture... 14 3 Product Modularity...17 What is Product Modularity?... 19 Module Drivers... 20 How are the Module Drivers Used?... 26 4 Modular Function Deployment...29 Step 1: Define Customer Requirements... 31 Step 2: Select Technical Solutions... 32 Step 3: Generate Module Concept... 34 Step 4: Evaluate Module Concept... 38 Step 5: Optimize Modules... 40 5 Illustrative Example: Vacuum Cleaner...43 Step 1: Customer Requirements... 43 Step 2: Select Technical Solutions... 46 ix
Controlling Design Variants Step 3: Generate Module Concept... 46 Step 4: Evaluate Module Concept... 52 Step 5: Optimize Modules... 54 6 Applying MFD in Practice...57 Volvo Car Corporation... 57 Atlas Copco Controls... 71 VBG... 76 Sepson... 88 7 Modular Product Platform Management...93 The Link between Strategy and Development... 93 Take and Keep the Lead... 96 Control and Manage Variety... 97 Structured Working Methods... 100 Building Small Factories within the Factory... 102 Appendix A: Evaluation of Module Concepts...107 Lead Time in Development... 108 Development Costs... 109 Development Capacity... 111 Product Costs... 112 System Costs... 116 Lead Time in Assembly... 118 Quality... 122 Variant Flexibility... 125 Service/Upgrading... 128 Recycleability... 128 Summary... 129 Appendix B: Glossary...133 Abbreviations... 135 References...137 Index...141 x
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