EXPERIENCES OF SET BASED CONCURRENT ENGINEERING IN FOUR PRODUCT DEVELOPING COMPANIES

This paper describes experiences from implementation of Set-Based Concurrent Engineering in four different product developing companies. The objective was to investigate if the principles of Set-Based Concurrent Engineering can improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the development process in industrial cases, but also to identify barriers for its implementation. The study shows that set-based projects can be driven within an existing organization, given the proper support. The participants claim that a set based approach gives positive effects on development performance, especially on the level of innovation, product cost and performance. The improvements were achieved at the expense of slightly higher development costs and longer lead time. However, the positive effects are dominating and the companies involved intend to use Set-Based Concurrent Engineering in future projects when appropriate.