~ SYSTEMS ENGINEERING METHODS ~

Systems engineering requires a disciplined approach, especially at the front end of the project, when the concepts are generated and the feasibility is evaluated.  During these early stages, it is important to resist the impulse to jump into the actual design work.

The Factory is a System
The manufacturing plant is like a machine.  It accepts inputs and produces outputs. Material and information are flowing.  Humans must interact with the system.  Some kind of software (MRP, ERP, WMS, and IMS) running on the IT infrastructure acts like a "nervous system" to control the factory, such that all of the mechanisms interact harmoniously with the flow.

The Product is a System
Most modern products are comprised of mechanical components, electronics, and software.  When properly designed and fit together, the components work together as a system.

Systems Analysis
Before a system can be modified and improved, it must first be understood. There are many methods of systems analysis, depending on the type of system. For example, Value Stream Mapping is used for analyzing the flow in a factory system, while DSM and FMECA are methods for analyzing a product or machine.

Systems Integration
Systems Integration is the act of getting all of the sub-systems and components to fit together and work as a system, functionally in conformance with the performance criteria.  Usually, newly designed components and sub-systems do not function exactly as intended in the system.  During systems integration, each component and subsystem is debugged and refined to get it to work as intended.

Modularity
A workcell is a module. A sub-assembly of the product is a module. The concept of modularity can be applied to just about anything in the product or the enterprise. Click here to learn more about modularity.