The Effects of Module-based Design on Design and Manufacturing of a Complex Product

The purpose of module-based design is to use previously designed and well-known units and modules in order to develop new products faster. The main aim is to design multiple new products with the cost-effectiveness of serial productions. Some companies, such as those in automotive industry, have used a platform design and modularity to achieve the benefits of economies of scale. The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on module-based design process of a complex product and its impacts on design schedule. The paper is based on constructive study method where benefits found in theory material will be analyzed through a case study. The case study presented here uses a large ship as an example of a complex product. Platform theories will be applied in order to build a module-based design process for the ship. The main findings concentrate on the effects on a design process. The main challenges of the current design process of a ship are the several changes in the design phase that are causing delays in the design process and furthermore possibly in the production phase. The main purpose for modularity design in this case is to reuse the information from previous projects to gain clearer and faster design process. The paper shows that an effective module-based design process requires commitment to the use of common modules and systems that are found in the product platform. This new way of working needs to be implemented on every level of organisation. In order to move from a modular product to a module-based product the company needs to define the common modules and interfaces in a ship. The analysis of the case study shows that the module-based design could shorten the design time and bring cost savings throughout the whole manufacturing process. The value of this paper is to concentrate on what are the benefits of building a module-based design process of a complex product.