Title: Concurrent engineering at Airbus – a case study

Authors: Roland Haas, Manoj Sinha

Addresses: DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology India, 137, Infantry Road, Bangalore 560 001, India. ' DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology India, 137, Infantry Road, Bangalore 560 001, India

Abstract: Global competition, short innovation cycles and cost pressure force companies to constantly increase the efficiency of their internal processes. The article starts with an introduction to the term Concurrent Engineering, gives an overview of the aircraft development process and briefly discusses the digital design and engineering processes. The main part of the article focuses on the Airbus Concurrent Engineering (ACE) initiative. The salient objectives, processes and the implementation framework are presented. Product Data Management (PDM) is a key enabler and the specific Airbus approach is discussed in some detail. Finally the importance of knowledge-based development and knowledge management is outlined.

Keywords: ACE; Airbus; CAX; concurrent engineering; simultaneous engineering; digital product creation; DMU; EADS; ENHANCE; design build teams; knowledge-based engineering; knowledge management; product data management; PDM; VR/AR; aircraft development; aerospace industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2004.005388

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2004 Vol.6 No.3/4, pp.241 - 253

Published online: 01 Oct 2004 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article