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This paper addresses the exchange of information between the design and manufacturing interface from both perspectives in order to ensure interdepartmental integration and improve the performance of new product development projects. Based on two in-depth case studies, this article illustrates that there are differences in the type of information transferred between design and manufacturing as well as how this information is shared. While design engineers ask for feedback to their work regarding both the product and the project, relies the production system designer heavily on feed-forward information concerning the product per se. For effective new product development, it seems however beneficial that design engineers also should give feedback to the production system concept. The implication is that project managers need to carefully consider how to improve the sharing of information upstream in new product development projects and what communication medium to apply to transfer the information between design and manufacturing.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the underlying design information and success factors for production equipment acquisition, in order to support the design of high-performance production systems. Design/methodology/approach - The research strategy employed was an in-depth case study of an industrialization project, together with a questionnaire of 25 equipment suppliers. Findings - The study provides the reader with an insight into the role of design information when acquiring production equipment by addressing questions such as: What type of information is used? How do equipment suppliers obtain information? What factors facilitate a smooth production system acquisition? Research limitations/implications - Limitations are primarily associated with the chosen research methodology, which requires further empirical studies to establish a generic value. Practical implications - The implications are that manufacturing companies have to transfer various types of design information with respect to the content and kind of information. More attention has to be placed on what information is transferred to ensure that equipment suppliers receive all the information needed to design and subsequently build the production equipment. To facilitate integration of equipment suppliers, manufacturing companies should appoint a contact person who can gather, understand and transform relevant design information. Originality/value - External integration of equipment suppliers in production system design by means of design information is an area that has been rarely addressed in academia and industry

When designing production systems, design information must be shared among functions at the manufacturing company and the external equipment supplier in order to integrate the various work activities. In this paper, factors facilitating the sharing of design information are analysed based on an in-depth case study of a supplier in the automotive industry. First, our findings show that the sharing of design information is promoted by formalisation. Second, informal coordination mechanisms are more crucial for internal integration between specialised functions than for external integration with the equipment supplier. Finally, our findings indicate that personal and language barriers appear more difficult to overcome than organisational bounds or geographical distance. Altogether, the findings provide strong evidence for the importance of sharing design information when designing more sophisticated production systems.

Although it has been argued that the design of production systems is crucial, there is a general lack of empirical studies analysing and identifying resources and capabilities required for an efficient production system design process. One of these resources is the critical role attributed to design information and one such capability is how the design information is managed. To address this research gap, this paper reports the results from two in-depth case studies in the automotive industry focusing on the management of design information in the production system design process. Our results show that design information management needs to be understood as a multidimensional concept having three dimensions: acquiring, sharing and using design information. By focusing on the three dimensions, six characteristics affecting the management of design information when designing the production system are identified. The characteristics are information type, source of information, communication medium, formalisation, information quality and pragmatic information. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

An effective management of information is vital for successful development of new products. However, knowledge is lacking about the management of information during production system design and its effects on innovation. This exploratory case study in the automotive industry furthers understanding of how management of information contributes to the design of robust and dynamic production systems that can handle changing production situations. The results from the case study indicate that the management of information should consider requirements of current and future production system generations facilitating a conscious planning of a production systems portfolio that corresponds to the product portfolio. This approach allows for new ways of designing production system concepts and production technology solutions, which also can accelerate the innovation capabilities of the manufacturing company.