A co-operation framework for product–process integration in engineering design

✍ Scribed by Jean-François Boujut; Pascal Laureillard

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 281 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0142-694X
• DOI: 10.1016/s0142-694x(01)00044-8

✦ Synopsis

Many different studies have stressed the importance of co-operation in engineering design. This paper is based on an empirical study carried out over 18 months and based on fieldwork where the researcher worked in a design team as a mechanical engineer. The question of product-process integration is particularly critical in mechanical engineering and requires the development of specific co-operative procedures. Our results stress the importance of artefacts as intermediary objects in the design process and more specifically in the development of co-operative processes. We developed a framework centred on three conceptual levels:

ț At product level, where we developed specific artefacts within a CAD environment, referred to herein as co-operating features, ț At organisation level, where we stress the importance of developing organisational learning and a new interface role, ț At actor level, where we stress the importance of developing reflective practices.