Concurrent engineering which is sometimes
called Simultaneous Engineering or Integrated Product Development (IPD). It was
defined by the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) in its December 1988 report
'The Role of Concurrent Engineering in Weapons System Acquisition' as a
systematic approach to the integrated, concurrent design of products and their
related processes, including manufacture and support. It refers to an approach
used in product development in which functions of design engineering,
manufacturing engineering and other functions are integrated to reduce the
elapsed time required to bring a new product to the market. This approach is
intended to cause the developers, from the outset, to consider all elements of
the product life cycle from conception through disposal, including quality,
cost, schedule, and user requirements.
The basic premise for concurrent engineering
revolves around two concepts. The first is the idea that all elements of a
product’s life-cycle, from functionality, producibility, assembly, testability,
maintenance issues, environmental impact and finally disposal and recycling,
should be taken into careful consideration in the early design phases.
