Manufacturing Business Processes Research Issues: • Legislation • Global positioning • Roadmaps • Time to market • Virtual enterprises • Productivity • Innovation • Business modelling • Lean manufacturing • Rapid prototyping • Security • Collaborative design Participating investigators: Dr Linda Newnes Dr Andrew West Dr John Lanham UWE Mr David Whalley Loughborough University Mr Darren Southee Brunel University Prof. Timothy Mason University Prof. Chris Bailey Greenwich University Prof Andrew Richardson

Introduction This research theme considers the Exemplar: Cost estimating for low volume, long-life products competencies that make for successful in electronic defence systems (Industrialists: DE&S & GE-A) response to changes, threats and Cost estimating is a business process area that is critical to many opportunities. The objective is to build industrial sectors, in particular the defence sector, where many products have low volumes and long life cycles (30-40 years). practical and industrially applicable This project focuses on defining a new methodology for costing models and tools for responsive design products of this nature by creating parametric cost prediction and manufacture in the electronics models at sub-system level rather than whole system level. sector. These tools need to provide Achieving this goal will assist UK manufacturers of electronic rules, which optimise agility and defence products to compete in the world market. This project will exploit the fact that these systems are invariably modular in responsiveness in managing novel design and production, are typically owned by a functional product development, multidisciplinary department and their costs can be estimated with greater team working and remote working precision. The deliverables from this research will be guidelines throughout the value chain and linking that build upon identifying appropriate sub-system levels and defining the decision rules that will enable industrialists to position strongly with the agile enterprise theme. their effort on key elements within these sub-systems. This may include maturity / competency models such as those for total Supply Chain cost efficiencies (e.g. SCOR) and the use of responsive design methodologies. In particular the holistic view of business processes from concept design through to in- service/recycle/re-use. The models will provide tools by which industry can respond and be proactive to the use of electronics in new and challenging environments, legislative changes and multi-disciplinary activities. The transfer and management of complex data, the DfX models and handling conflicts within the design and manufacturing environment are closely integrated with the proposed tools. The manufacturing business processes are integrated from initial concept design, where 70% of the costs are already built in, to the end of life of a product. The proposed tools would be required to encompass cost modelling throughout the value chain, enabling designers to make decision based on e.g. manufacturing sustainability and end of life, and regulatory constraints. In the context of lifecycle management, work will seek to provide a cost modelling framework for the financial prediction, evaluation and monitoring of new “sustainable” technologies for electronics manufacture. This is based on extensive research in other sectors, with not dissimilar characteristics in terms of life- cycle and global competitiveness pressures.

Vision The vision for the business processes theme was to link closely with the agility theme especially in terms of the agile value chain and the total-life-cycle cost efficiency. This is still the key vision of the business process theme. The overall focus has been re-emphasised towards the research and business drivers for ‘servitisation’ across many sectors, including electronics. The research activities in the last few years (from the TSB, EPSRC and the IeMRC) have highlighted that this vision of closing the loop from concept design all the way through to cost of ownership is paramount to meeting the future demands of the UK and worldwide market. Linking to the product- service paradigms being adopted across sectors, in particular the aerospace and defence communities, the proposed integration of the business process and agile enterprises theme will enhance the capability of the IeMRC to meet fthe future research needs of our industrial partners. The vision for business processes within the IeMRC is to address the aspects of managing products for life in particular the through life implications at the concept design stage through to in- service. This vision is applicable across all the themes of the IeMRC whether bluesky or researching into technologies for the future.

Strategy Throughout the first three years the Industrial steering group has requested projects in the area of business processes. To address this, the strategy to date has been in all the IeMRC calls to highlight the importance of the business process aspects and to encourage applications. However, articulating these into research projects has been both difficult for the industrial and academic communities.

Objectives • To build practical and industrially applicable models and tools for responsive design and manufacture in the electronics sector. • Provide rules for optimising agility and responsiveness in managing novel product development, team working and remote working through the value chain. • Encompass cost modelling throughout the value chain.

Collaboration For this theme the research activities have offered opportunities for collaboration with active industrial partners, Universities, other IMRCs and in particular within the core members of the IeMRC. The value added has also occurred where the research teams within these projects have shared ideas and views for the future. This is evident between the DISCOVER and Through-life costing in the electronic defence sector. Without the IeMRC it is unlikely that the teams would have been aware at the early stages of the others research activity. Review and future research priorities Business processes were identified in the original proposal as a key industrial need and throughout the duration of the IeMRC this has been re-iterated by the industrial steering group as one of their requirements for sustaining the UK sector. Business process tools are also integral to meeting the objective of agile enterprises. On review of the project portfolio agility has emerged as a key underlying objective for manufacturing competitiveness across a wide spectrum of projects. This review and guidance from the industrial steering group has prioritised for future research the integration of business processes and agile enterprises into a holistic theme. This reflects the real industrial sector where business processes encompass the whole value chain from concept design through to in-service/re-use and recycling. Integrating these two underlying and essential industrial requirements will achieve real industrial impact.

The industrial steering group has a very wide variety of company representation from throughout the value chain. Whilst they are unanimous in stressing the importance of business process improvement and innovation, there have been challenges in clear articulation of the research needs. To clarify the key industrial needs over the next two years we will establish a programme of activities including workshops, road mapping and industrial consultation. This will build upon the methodology for road mapping developed within the Power Electronics Flagship project, to focus upon business process issues with particular reference to low volume, specialist design and development markets which characterise the industry in the UK. In particular it will build on the ‘servitisation’ knowledge gained from the aerospace sector, which is driving future through life decision-making processes.

The future research priorities for this theme include tools and techniques for through-life design and operation of electronic products. In particular linking the business processes in terms of design, manufacturing agility and responsive value chains. Underpinning this will be the impact of legislation and the need to assess the whole-life impact of decisions made at the concept design stage.