Standardization of layout routing using product development and process optimization: A concept study conducted at Quintus Technologies AB : Master thesis work 30 credits, Advanced level

Sammanfattning: Moving from a project-based to a product-based organization comes with its own challenges, which goes for most organizations when one business model is changed to another. These changes lead to uncertainties in the work for the engineers, where lead time increases and time for the projects. This master thesis aimed to evaluate the uncertainties' characteristics and set standardizations in the work process to optimize the workflow and reduce engineering hours spent per project. The goals set for this thesis formulated three research questions: RQ1: What characterizes a reduction of engineering uncertainties through product-based structures?  RQ2: How can current layout modules be converted into standardized product-based structures? RQ3: How can standardized layout modules ensure the reduction of engineering uncertainties throughout the product-development process? By examining a case company’s journey through this transition through a quantitative methodology, three cases that each follow the product development process were conducted to answer the three research questions. The results for this thesis indicated that the implementation of standards reduced lead time and overall inconsistency, thus contributing to a more efficient modelling environment for the engineers and consistent implementation of an adaptable model for PDM integration. Implementing a design for assembly methodology proved to be a successful choice in reducing the assembly time for the engineers. An evaluation of the results indicates that only 34% of the engineering hours currently spent on conducting customer-based layout routings for the case company would be necessary when utilizing the standardized modules.