Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Information, as a specific commodity, sustains our knowledge production in every domain of human activities. But the Knowledge-based Economy (KbE), requires intensive information and Knowledge Management. The KM is the key-factor of enterprises competitiveness (LS- large scale enterprises; SME- small and medium size Enterprise ;μE- micro size enterprises). Even the e-workers, immersed in Professional Virtual Communities must use efectively both basic concepts, methodology, methods and techniques from concurent engineering science. To design the Complex Adaptive Systems, is our our long-term research target. The present paper is an ambitious attempt to initiate a global collaborative project for the DCCE scientifically foundation based on General Systems Theory holistic approach.

In the past, space design activities mainly emphasized the system requirements. The available methods focused on functional aspects only. The cost was estimated at the end of the process. Recently, new design methodologies have been proposed. Among them, the design-to-cost (DTC) method was developed to include the cost as a parameter. In this work we propose an extension of the DTC method for systems analysis and specification. In other work we applied it to the design of a reaction wheel. Its basic components are described. General information on system development is related. The object-oriented approach is used as a modeling tool. Performance indexes are defined. A set of algebraic equations describes the cost behavior as a function of system parameters. Reliability is evaluated secondarily. The proposed model embodies many approaches to solve and/or optimize a problem with any level of complexity.

In spite of the process of conception generation being essential to promote product innovation, it has not been effectively carried out by designers, due to the abstract nature of this activity. In order facilitate this process, Reverse Engineering (RE) has been suggested as a way to formalize the processes of identifying, purchasing and modeling design information in terms of functions and solution principles, in a continuous and systematic way. This paper presents a literature review of technical systems conception processes and of RE. The results of a technical visit to a leading RE company, and a preliminary methodological proposal for RE process modeling for technical systems, are also reported. This proposal is intended to support the concept generation process of technical systems. Finally, guidelines are proposed for the final version of the methodology.

This work presents an application of a reference model for product development: a ground support equipment for an environmental monitoring imager. MUX-EGSE is a product designed on demand to INPE (Brasilian National Institute of Spatial Researches). It is an equipment of electronic tests of a camera which will equip the CBERS3&4 satellite. This reference model was adapted to manage the development of this product, which is quite diferent from the products commercialized in other lines of the researched company.

The main focus of this paper is to evaluate the impact of standardization process in a R&D Institute of the Brazilian space sector. The research has tried to identify the several organizational changes associated to the implementation of NBR 15100:2004 (a specific standard for quality management systems for the aerospace sector) that have been implemented since the middle of 2005, in one of the institutes in charge of research and development in the space sector. In order to identify those changes, researchers that are participating directly in the NBR 15100 implementation were interviewed. The results of research have demonstrated a major impact on organizational, relationship and human resources.

Demands for various miniature mechanical parts and products such as mobile phones, medical devices and so on, will increase more and more. Contrarily, manufacturing systems for those devices are becoming larger and more complicated. AIST developed the first prototype of a machineable microfactory which consisted of miniature machine tools and robots in 1999 as a countermeasure for the situation. An expected advantage of the microfactory was that the microfactory can reduce environmental impact and costs of miniature mechanical fabrication. However, the effect of the microfactory in reducing environmental impact and costs, or enhancing system efficiency have not been quantified. So, an appropriate index to evaluate microfactories by considering environmental impacts, costs and system throughput, simultaneously, is necessary. In the paper, the authors propose an evaluation index, based on the required time for each process, machine cost, operator’s cost and environmental impact, using the microfactory as an example. The calculation shows that the proposed efficiency index is useful in evaluating the system configuration.

New technology introduction generally implies a change management plan as the adoption of advance technical capabilities comports information, cooperation and coordination restructuring. When planning for potential organizational developments the application of integrated design principals facilitates structure modelling. It enables to capitalize the perceived recommendations and constraints by the individuals impacted by change. Organizational structure design is considered as integrated product design where concurrent engineering principals are applied. The different professions concerned by process redesign, collaborate to its definition so as to ensure interoperability. This methodology allows considering the implied stakeholders at different level of the process and the needed resources to ensure readiness for a given technological change. As indicated by O.Poveda [9] even if the objective of this kind of methodology is clear, it remains complex to operate. The main difficulties are to translate the recommendations and constraints captured at the specifications phase to elaborate an optimal organizational structure supporting the new processes. In order to face these hurdles we propose a potential change maturity model so as to tackle the technical, social and strategic factors linked to organizational performance.

High integrated and complex systems are more and more scattered and common in people lives. Even without the exact feeling of this means, they hope for the best product. This desire implicate in system manufactures improve knowledge and create solutions with more advanced technologies to satisfy consumers expectations. Verification have been done at the end of process development, but it have resulted in difficulties to manufacturers because is very expansive and hard to implement any required modifications at this point of development process. Thus, many manufactures have started verification process at begin of development, decreasing erroneous implementations. This paper is intended to show an intuitive method possible to apply in any cases, using block diagrams, that assists generate test cases procedures, since when development starts, making relationship among system interfaces, subsystems and functions, enabling tests traceability and tests coverage analysis. In cases where manufacturer develops same kind of products, the block diagram will be easily reused to a new one, including or removing systems, subsystems and functions, adapting it to new features and project requirements. The propose is starting developments doing the things right earlier as possible.

Today, most of our products are combinations of hardware and software. we must remember software works on hardware. But the function of hardware is fixed, while that of software is evolving throughout its life cycle.

Hardware is an individual living. Once they are created, they start to degrade. Therefore, maintenance is a very important task with respect to hardware. But hardware functions are fixed so that it is relatively easy because the objective of maintenance is to restore the degraded quality to its original designed level.

Software, however, is a species. Each software, once born, grows in a different way to adapt to the situation. And many new portions are added on. Therefore, decommissioning becomes very difficult for software.

Since most of our products are combinations of hardware and software, we should pay attention to how we should work them together effectively and how we can decommission the system which is composed of both hardware and software.

This paper discusses this issue and suggests the possible solution.

The layout design problem is a kind of nesting problems that is naturally NP-hard and very difficult to solve. Layout designing of machine is even more difficult because of its nesting items are actually machine parts that have both irregular shapes and complex constraints. A feasible way to solve machine layout problem is to employ ameliorative algorithms, such as simulated annealing algorithm. But these kinds of algorithms are usually CPU-time thirsty, sometime the computing time is unbearable. In this paper, the authors advocate to parallel the simulated annealing algorithm on a multi-computer network (a parallel cluster). We have combined Message Passing Interface (MPI) with Visual C++ to integrate Simulated Annealing Algorithm based on Parallel Cluster and Engineering Layout Design Support System. An engineering example about vehicle dynamical cabin layout design is presented to test validity of the Algorithm. If appropriate temperature piece is chosen and seemly a number of nodes are used, the integration of Simulated Annealing Algorithm based on Parallel Cluster and Engineering Layout Design Support System definitely will improve the efficiency for engineer.