Research

Sector: Private

Industry: Construction

Domain: Tunnels

Describe

Organization. The design and construction of a tunnel involves a team of designers from seven different disciplines. In a tunnel engineering project, they produce seven partial designs of a tunnel, one for each discipline, together forming an integral design. When they find alignment conflicts in the integral design, they resolve them by modifying their partial designs.

Environmental factors. A tunnel engineering project is a tender project. In the preparation phase, the information needed for design is limited. During execution, time and money are limited.

Challenge. The more alignment conflicts in an integral tunnel design, the more effort, time, and money it takes to resolve them.

Formulate

Goal. Increase performance of the team.

Objective. Minimize the number of alignment conflicts in an integral tunnel design.

Benefit. Less development costs.

Estimate

Worthwhile.

Inventory

• Prepare a tunnel design
  • Manage a meta-model of construction designs
  • Manage a repository of construction designs
• Produce a tunnel design
  • Produce a partial tunnel design
  • Combine partial tunnel designs into an integral tunnel design

Discover

• Produce a partial tunnel design
  • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
  • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Classify

• Knowledge:
  • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
• Experience:
  • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Compare

• Stakeholders needs:
  • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
  • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Assess

• Equal advantage:
  • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
  • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Acquire

• System. Manage a meta-model of tunnel designs:
  1. Develop an ontology of tunnel designs
  2. Transform an ontology of tunnel designs into a meta-model of tunnel designs
• System. Manage a repository of tunnel designs:
  1. Develop a repository of tunnel designs
  2. Implement a meta-model of tunnel designs in a repository of tunnel designs
• System. Update the standard operating procedure for:
  • Manage a meta-model of tunnel designs
  • Manage a repository of tunnel designs
  • Produce a tunnel design

• Skills. Train staff in:
  • Manage a meta-model of tunnel designs
  • Manage a repository of tunnel designs
  • Produce a tunnel design

Sector: Private

Industry: Manufacturing

Domain: Series aircraft

Describe

Organization. A team of designers is tasked to design an extended version of an aircraft. The team consists of senior designers and junior designers. When confronted with new design issues, junior designers tend to invent new solutions, whereas senior designers tend to develop solutions with a higher chance of regulatory compliance. The latter is a requirement for an aircraft to be allowed onto the market.

Environmental factors. Competition with other aircraft manufacturers.

Challenge. Less access to the capabilities of senior designers results in a lower chance of regulatory compliance.

Formulate

Goal. Increase business performance.

Objective. Increase access to capabilities of senior designers for designing an extended version of an aircraft faster.

Benefit. Shorter time to market.

Estimate

Worthwhile.

Inventory

• Produce a series aircraft design
  • Retrieve the design rationale of a similar aircraft
  • Reuse the design rationale of a similar aircraft
  • Revise the design rationale for the new aircraft
  • Retain the design rationale of the new aircraft

Classify

• Experience:
  • Produce a series aircraft design

Compare

• Organization strategy:
  • Produce a series aircraft design

Assess

• Temporary advantage:
  • Produce a series aircraft design

Anchor

• System. Update the standard operating procedure for:
  • Produce a series aircraft design
• Skills. Train junior designers in:
  • Produce a series aircraft design