Concurrent engineering in small companies

In 1991, attainment of independence in Slovenia caused a drastic decrease in the domestic market for Slovenian companies. The companies which did not adapt to the new market conditions were destined for ruin. In this time several smaller companies were established which could adapt to new market conditions more easily. When these companies entered the world market they encountered several difficulties such as excessive flow times for development of new products. After a survey of available literature had been made it was found that those problems could be solved by transforming sequential engineering to concurrent engineering. The article presents the principles of sequential and concurrent product development processes. The market forces small Slovenian companies to a transition from sequential to concurrent engineering and as team work is the basic element of the concurrent engineering, special attention has been paid to workgroups forming in the loops of concurrent product development process in small companies. A survey of published works in the field of planning teams in big companies has revealed that a three-level team structure is recommended in big companies. Analysis of the three-level structure has led us to the conclusion that a two-level team structure and matrix organisation should be preferred in small companies. Presented are the results of planning a two-level team structure and matrix organisation of a small Slovenian company which produces mini-loaders.  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.