Abstract

This PhD defense presents the findings of a project with outset in an overall practical problem experienced by a manufacturer of consumer chemical products: the issue of how to efficiently deliver customized products through modular and platform-based product design principles. This problem is relevant to the company as it experiences market pressures of shorter product development lead times, diverse customer needs, and lower product costs. Indeed, similar challenges are experienced at large by manufacturing companies whether they belong to the discrete industry (products designed and manufactured based on assembled and fastened structures) or the process industry (products designed and manufactured based on e.g., mixed, separated or formed compositions).

Even so, while modular and platform-based product architectures have been exploited extensively in the discrete industry, this is not the case in the process industry, where literature and industrial examples are scarce despite the aforementioned market pressures being ubiquitous. Through analysis and adaptation of existing methods this research project has developed, and demonstrated application of, novel artifacts to support process industry manufacturers in developing modular and platform-based products. Based on instantiations of artifacts as well as reviewed literature, potentials and challenges like those reported in discrete industry were identified, further arguing in favor of this development approach.

Assessment Committee:       

Professor Frank Gertsen (chair)
Aalborg University
Denmark

Professor Frank Thomas Piller
RWTH Aachen University
Germany

Associate Professor Anders Haug
University of Southern Denmark
Denmark

Supervisor:
Associate professor Kjeld Nielsen
Department of Materials and Production
Aalborg University

The PhD defense will be hosted by Moderator Frank Gertsen.

The lecture constitutes a 45 minutes presentation by Rasmus Andersen followed by a short break and a discussion session with questions from the opponents and the auditorium.

After the defense the department host a small reception at Fibigerstræde 14 , common room.

Online participation via Teams

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