Editing Product lifecycle (section)

===Concurrent engineering workflow===
'''[[Concurrent engineering]]''' (British English: '''simultaneous engineering''') is a workflow that, instead of working sequentially through stages, carries out a number of tasks in parallel. For example: starting tool design as soon as the detailed design has started, and before the detailed designs of the product are finished; or starting on detailed design solid models before the concept design surfaces models are complete. Although this does not necessarily reduce the amount of manpower required for a project, as more changes are required due to incomplete and changing information, it does drastically reduce lead times and thus time to market.<ref>CE is so defined by the PACE consortium (Walker, 1997)</ref>

Feature-based CAD systems have allowed simultaneous work on the 3D solid model and the 2D drawing by means of two separate files, with the drawing looking at the data in the model; when the model changes the drawing will associatively update. Some CAD packages also allow associative copying of geometry between files. This allows, for example, the copying of a part design into the files used by the tooling designer. The manufacturing engineer can then start work on tools before the final design freeze; when a design changes size or shape the tool geometry will then update.

Concurrent engineering also has the added benefit of providing better and more immediate communication between departments, reducing the chance of costly, late design changes. It adopts a problem-prevention method as compared to the problem-solving and re-designing method of traditional sequential engineering.