Managing Complexity in Aircraft Design Using Design Structure Matrix

Abstract

Modern aerospace systems have reached a level of complexity that requires systematic methods for their design. The development of products in aircraft industry involves numerous engineers from different disciplines working on independent components. Routine activities consume a significant part of aircraft development time. To be competitive, aircraft industry needs to manage complexity and readjust the ratio of innovative versus routine work. Thus, the main objective is to develop an approach that can manage complexity in engineering design, reduce the design cycle time, and reduce the product development cost. The design structure matrix (DSM) is a simple tool to perform both analysis and management of complex systems. It enables the user to model, visualize, and analyze the dependencies among the functional group of any system and derive suggestions for the improvement or synthesis of a system. This article illustrates with a case study how DSM can be used to manage complexity in aircraft design process. The result of implementing the DSM approach for Light Combat Aircraft (Navy) at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India, (in aircraft design) show primary benefits of 75% reduction in routine activities, 33% reduction in design cycle time, 50% reduction in rework cost, and 30% reduction in product and process development cost of aircraft.

Computer-aided definition of sizing procedures and optimization problems of mechatronic systems

“…A design structure matrix or dependency structure matrix (DSM) is the adjacency matrix of a N 2 diagram (an example is given in Figure 2(b)). The DSM, as its name says, is a matrix representing links or information exchanges, which can be used at various levels: working group, system level (Shekar et al, 2011) or component level focusing on modularity analysis (Qiang et al, 2012). In this representation, a perfect straightforward sequence is represented by a lower triangular matrix, while the upper non-empty box represents a feedback design loop.…”

A New Systematic Approach in UAV Design Analysis Based on SDSM Method

“…Using this method, rework cost, product and development could be investigated and optimized. For example The result of implementing the DSM approach for Light Combat Aircraft (Navy) at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India, (in aircraft design) showed primary benefits of 75% reduction in routine activities, 33% reduction in design cycle time, 50% reduction in rework cost, and 30% reduction in product and process development cost of aircraft [1].…”

Scheduling of Aircraft Design Project: A Comparison of Critical Path Method, Design Structure Matrix and Genetic Algorithm Approaches

“…The aircraft production in Indonesia establishes connectivity between regions, especially in remote areas. The aircraft project is a product development project that is influenced by uncertainty factors and requires high technology [2]. Currently, aircraft projects in Indonesia have never been completed and require additional time for the design and production process.…”

“…There are several methods used in project scheduling, including Critical Path Method (CPM), Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM), Design Structure Matrix (DSM), and metaheuristic methods such as Genetic Algorithm (GA). Some studies suggest that traditional methods, such as CPM, PERT, and CCPM, have limitations in project scheduling that have complex information flows [2,11]. This suggests that alternative methods should be proposed in addressing complex project information flow issues.…”