ABSTRACT
Concurrent engineering is shown to offer a systematic framework of process design for production by integrating the best practices for obtaining robust manufacturing performance and product value. Product manufacture requires property models with physical interpretations that identify apparatus variables and their actuation with sufficient resolution and dynamic range, in order to describe processing sequences capable of realizing product composition and structure goals. Concurrent engineering provides for the joint consideration of product manufacture and its process design requirements. Process automation performance is accordingly advanced by these concurrent engineering process and control design linkages, as captured by the quality deployment. An essential component of this automation architecture is multisensor integration, which aggregates heterogeneous process measurements to achieve improved property characterization than is available from single sensors, for real-time product assessment and control actuation. Sensor-intensive process automation systems are multivariable information structures that benefit from data attribution beyond fundamental engineering units in achieving processing goals.
