A systems engineering approach to aero engine development in a highly distributed engineering and manufacturing environment

Abstract

Engineering and Manufacturing firms face increasing pressure to continuously improve product development performance in terns of time to market, development cost, and customer satisfaction. The product development organization continues to evolve, first from a strictly functional focus to a product centric focus, and currently to some middle ground between the two extremes, where the strengths of the functional organization are recognized along with the merits of product focused teams. Almost simultaneously, many firms are becoming more distributed geographically and culturally, driven by internal and external influences including: efficiencies of co-location and outsourcing, business partnerships, joint ventures, and offset agreements. As the product development organization becomes less centralized, the challenge of integrating components into the top level system becomes much more complex relative to the time when all the components were designed and built in a relatively central location. One approach to address the increasingly critical integration issues is to develop and execute a process that encourages a system level approach to product development, a process that complements the part- and assembly-level design process. This thesis outlines the definition and implementation of a systems engineering process for jet engine development and delivery at a large aerospace company. We assess how well systems engineering manages component integration issues and determine whether it sufficiently mitigates the inherent risks associated with product development in a highly distributed engineering and manufacturing environment. The Design Structure Matrix is used to critique the tasks identified in this process as well as the plan for integrating them. We then make specific recommendations regarding: a) process enhancements; and b) roles and responsibilities of the Systems Engineering Organization to help ensure the overall success of the enterprise.