ABSTRACT
In current engineering practice, be it concurrent or otherwise, documents are the central mechanism for communicating, informing and instructing. Any attempt to engender a greater uptake of concurrent engineering (CE) in the industry has to recognise the central role of documents in process re-engineering. The proper management of documents has the potential to greatly improve the design process in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. It is estimated (by document management system developers) that professionals in the industry spend 30 per cent, or more, of their time managing documentation in current paper-based management regimes, and the source of much litigation in the industry can be tracked back to improper management of documentation. IT-based approaches can greatly impact on document management; however, to date the various aspects of IT applied to engineering have developed independently, leading to stand-alone product, process and document management systems. This development path, though productive in each individual area, misses the major gains that can be achieved from integration of all aspects of IT usage. This chapter shows that the proper management of documents provides information about all aspects of a project. It is argued that, through careful management, documents can provide the means to effectively co-ordinate work on the activities required to complete a project, and to determine how processes can be managed to greatest effect using CE frameworks.
