Applying systematic design: the flight refuelling probe project

This report is a product of close industry-academia collaboration between British Aerospace and the Cambridge Engineering Design Centre (EDC). British Aerospace designs and integrates some of the most complex systems in the world, and its expertise in this field has enabled the company to become the United Kingdom's largest exporter. However, to stay at the forefront of the highly competitive aerospace industry it is necessary to seek new ways to work more effectively and more efficiently. The Cambridge EDC has played a part in supporting these needs by providing access to the methods and tools that it has developed for improving the process of designing mechanical systems. The EDC has gained an international reputation for the quality of its work in this subject. Thus, the collaboration is between two organisations each of whom are leaders in their respective fields. The central aim of the project has been to demonstrate how a systematic design process can be applied to a real design task identified by industry. The task selected was the design of a flight refuelling probe which would enable a combat aircraft to refuel from a "flying tanker". However, the systematic approach, methods and tools described in this report are applicable to most engineering design tasks. The findings presented in this report provide a sound basis for comparing the recommended systematic design process with industrial practice. The results of this comparison would enable the company to define ways in which its existing design process can be improved. This research project has a high degree of industrial relevance. The value of the work may be judged in terms of the opportunities it opens up for positive changes to the company's engineering operations. Several members of the EDC have contributed to the project. These include Dr Lucienne Blessing, Dr Stuart Burgess, Dr Amaresh Chakrabarti, Major Mark Nowack, Aylmer Johnson and Dr Paul Weaver. At British Aerospace special thanks must go to Alan Dean and David Halliday for their interest and the support they have given. The project has been managed by Dr Nigel Upton of British Aerospace during a 3 year secondment to the EDC.

Unified modelling in support of organization design and change

The aim of this research is to provide a unified modelling-based method to help with the evaluation of organization design and change decisions. Relevant literature regarding model-driven organization design and change is described. This helps identify the requirements for a new modelling methodology. Such a methodology is developed and described. The three phases of the developed method include the following. First, the use of CIMOSA-based multi-perspective enterprise modelling to understand and capture the most enduring characteristics of process-oriented organizations and externalize various types of requirement knowledge about any target organization. Second, the use of causal loop diagrams to identify dynamic causal impacts and effects related to the issues and constraints on the organization under study. Third, the use of simulation modelling to quantify the effects of each issue in terms of organizational performance. The design and case study application of a unified modelling method based on CIMOSA (computer integrated manufacturing open systems architecture) enterprise modelling, causal loop diagrams, and simulation modelling, is explored to illustrate its potential to support systematic organization design and change. Further application of the proposed methodology in various company and industry sectors, especially in manufacturing sectors, would be helpful to illustrate complementary uses and relative benefits and drawbacks of the methodology in different types of organization. The proposed unified modelling-based method provides a systematic way of enabling key aspects of organization design and change. The case company, its relevant data, and developed models help to explore and validate the proposed method. The application of CIMOSA-based unified modelling method and integrated application of these three modelling techniques within a single solution space constitutes an advance on previous best practice. Also, the purpose and application domain of the proposed method offers an addition to knowledge. © IMechE 2009.