An exploration of simultaneous engineering for manufacturing enterprises

With the increasing application of high technology in manufacturing enterprises, the traditional serial or sequential production approach has begun to be replaced by a parallel or simultaneous production approach. The functional balance of organisations of current manufacturing enterprises is decline. The organisation within manufacturing enterprises needs to be restructured and the functions need to be adjusted. Many production functions within an enterprise can be integrated by following the production information. This is the premise of this exploration of simultaneous engineering in manufacturing enterprises. A functional model of an enterprise is described in this paper. Some possibilities of functional integration within an enterprise are discussed. Finally, some related research activities are outlined to stimulate an open discussion on the point of view.