Call for Papers

Concurrent Engineering: Research and Applications, An International Journal

Special Issue on

Managing Modularity and Commonality in Product and Process Development

Guest Editors

Jianxin (Roger) Jiao, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

John K. Gershenson, Michigan Technological University, USA

Jeremy J. Michalek, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Modularity and commonality have received much attention from both academia and industry alike. Managing modularity and commonality throughout product and process development has been recognized as crucial to produce a large variety of products while maintaining low costs and quick response to the market. This special issue is dedicated to reporting recent advances in modularity and commonality research. Of particular interest is a comprehensive view of modularity and commonality, encompassing design, production, logistics and organizational aspects. Original papers of both theoretical and practical nature are welcome, as well as state-of-the-art reviews and outlook for future research directions in the field.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Fundamental issues of modularity and commonality, including variety, adaptability, flexibility, reusability, substitutability, reconfigurability, granularity, etc;
Modularity and commonality measure, data models for modularity and commonality, methods of modularization and communization, product life-cycle issues of modularity and commonality;
Performance assessment, economies of scale and scope, valuation and cost accounting related to modularity and commonality, revenue related to product variety;
Modular architecture, interface management, module identification, commonality analysis, component/part sharing, product family configuration and modular design for configure-to-order products;
Impact of modularity and commonality on manufacturing and production, reconfigurable processes, coordination of product and process platforms for modularity and commonality;
Implications of modularity and commonality in supply chain management, early supplier and customer involvement in managing modularity and commonality, supply chain configuration with modularity and commonality;

Submission:

Please submit papers in electronic form to any one of the guest editors:

Dr. Jianxin (Roger) Jiao, jiao@pmail.ntu.edu.sg

Dr. John K. Gershenson, jkgershe@mtu.edu

Dr. Jeremy J. Michalek, jmichalek@cmu.edu

Papers will be reviewed by a committee in order to select papers for publication in the special issue. Those papers that rank well in quality, long-term reference value, originality, relevancy, and presentations will be considered favorably for the special issue.

Important dates:

Deadline for full paper submission	March 15, 2006
Notification and reviews to authors	July 31, 2006
Revised papers due	September 30, 2006
Final decision on acceptance	November 30, 2006
Final papers due to the Publisher	December 31, 2006

For more information, please visit:

Journal web site: http://cer.sagepub.com/

Special issue web site: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/mjiao/cera/