Clement Fortin | Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (original) (raw)

Papers by Clement Fortin

Advances in Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering II, 2007

Abstract. In a design project, a great deal of information about the aspects of the product be-in... more Abstract. In a design project, a great deal of information about the aspects of the product be-ing developed and the progress of the project is exchanged during meetings. However, reports which constitute the formal records of meetings are often limited in the extent to which ...

Proceedings of the Design Society, Jun 19, 2023

Engineering design is typically a collaborative process, and in the era of digital engineering, o... more Engineering design is typically a collaborative process, and in the era of digital engineering, online collaboration platforms are increasingly being used to perform the work. Despite the development of ecollaboration technologies, there is a significant gap between actual collaboration and what is really needed. However, improving collaboration requires a proper measurement system. Yet, the common methods to measure and improve collaboration are challenging, usually not compatible with digitalized collaboration, and have limited scalability. This paper presents a new data-driven method for measuring, visualizing, and monitoring Active Engagement (AE) in web-based teamwork, which is a key element of effective collaboration. We applied the method in a case study of four engineering teams during a Technology Planning and Road-mapping course. The results suggest that measuring AE in web-based teams, with an available history log, is technically feasible and can meaningfully represent the team's collaboration. The presented approach can be used to upgrade e-collaboration platforms as a toolkit or for further investigation on improving web-based collaborative design and learning through monitoring dashboards and feedback systems.

This paper describes a new graduate-level educational initiative based on the modified CDIO sylla... more This paper describes a new graduate-level educational initiative based on the modified CDIO syllabus proposed by Crawley (Crawley et al, 2013) at the 2013 CDIO Annual Conference. The McGill Institute for Aerospace Engineering (MIAE), in collaboration with the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Québec (CRIAQ) and 4 other universities (École

WIT transactions on engineering sciences, Jul 2, 2003

Proceedings of the Design Society: DESIGN Conference, May 1, 2020

Whilst Concurrent Conceptual Design (CCD) has been performed for many years at facilities such as... more Whilst Concurrent Conceptual Design (CCD) has been performed for many years at facilities such as: the Concurrent Design Facility at ESA and the Project Design Center at JPL-NASA, the sequencing know-how resides in their communities of practice. This paper strives to explain how a sequencing algorithm based on Design Structure Matrices can be used as an instrument to facilitate the interaction between disciplines during CCD studies for Model-Based systems exemplified with two case studies.

IFIP advances in information and communication technology, 2023

The development of Cyber-Physical-Human Systems which are pervasive today as proposed by the Indu... more The development of Cyber-Physical-Human Systems which are pervasive today as proposed by the Industry 4.0 vision, requires an efficient integration of the systems definition which is modelled within the Model Based System Engineering (MBSE) applications with the models representing the detailed design and analysis of these products, which are generally embedded in Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) systems. In this paper, we are presenting an overview of some of the important initiatives on this topic across the IFIP 5.1 community, and also projecting a future outlook based on promising new approaches to this emerging problem of MBSE and PLM integration.

The paper describes the results of a recent project entitled "DOCET-EQF-CDIO Correspondence Model... more The paper describes the results of a recent project entitled "DOCET-EQF-CDIO Correspondence Model for the Recognition and Enhancement of Engineering Degrees". In Europe, the recent changes in the educational systems, as well as in the international macroeconomic contexts, bring about the need of enhancing engineering curricula as well as increasing their transparency. In this scenario, any tool able to help Universities revise "in real time" their programs and transfer innovation into courses will be an important support. A first prerequisite of such a tool is to be based on a "common language", shared by the higher education national systems and stakeholders (both within Europe and globally). The new European Qualifications Framework (EQF) aims to provide a common reference system to build qualifications readable across Europe, and not linked to any specific disciplinary areas of engineering. The CDIO Syllabus already represents a worldwide reference for the design of engineering programs and for their evaluation. Its development involved stakeholders from industry and so it could speed up the mutual transfer of innovation between Universities and businesses. Both the EQF and CDIO Syllabus are based on the same learning outcomes (objectives) based approach. Accordingly, the DOCET project aimed to build a correspondence model between CDIO syllabus and the EQF, mapping the CDIO outcomes onto the 8 EQF levels. The learning outcome-based descriptors the EQF provides for Knowledge, Skills and Competence at different levels (and its other qualifiers such as autonomy and responsibility, context, action verbs) have been combined with the engineering content provided by the CDIO Syllabus in a

Foresight and STI Governance

Modern Universities play increasingly important role in contemporary society, advancing frontiers... more Modern Universities play increasingly important role in contemporary society, advancing frontiers of science and transforming regional economies. As funding models of modern universities change, they adopt some features of a business organization. While their ability to attract funding becomes vitally important for universities, especially from private sources (industry), a balance between fundamental and applied research becomes vital. The current research investigates 5-years of activities of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) and particularly its research portfolio. It is based on the theory and practice of the Research Domain Portfolio Matrix (RDPM) approach considering a University to be a portfolio of R&D technologies in diverse scientific areas and at various stages of technology maturity. It is of utmost importance for Universities to find a balance between basic and applied research while making decisions on launching new projects/programs or modify...

Proceedings of the 29th International DAAAM Symposium 2018, 2018

This article is aimed to help teams that are involved in the development of modular products from... more This article is aimed to help teams that are involved in the development of modular products from scratch. Analysis reveals that a systematic approach to modular design is absent, although, different methods and tools to support modular product development are available on a case-by-case basis without generalization for further turnkey implementation. In general, these methods target a specific industry; most of them are aimed at big companies and require time-consuming adaptation. For these reasons, projects from scratch require significant time at the initial stage of product development to investigate various approaches and align them with project goals. To help teams to deal with the modular design from scratch and thus save time, we introduce a design technique based on setting the modular design guideline that enables the immediate launch of the development process, while applying specific modular design approaches in parallel. Through a case study, it has been demonstrated that the proposed modular design guideline methodology can provide the efficient approach to modular design and save time at the initial stage of development.

A soft-gaging approach using solid tolerance zones and three-dimensional alignment algorithms is ... more A soft-gaging approach using solid tolerance zones and three-dimensional alignment algorithms is proposed to verify various geometric and dimensional tolerances. The method is particularly well suited for the verification of position tolerances involving a possible datum shift which still requires traditional metrology techniques to be solved. The totally CAD based approach uses constrained and unconstrained alignment techniques in order to bring closer the measurement points relative to the toleranced features and the corresponding tolerance zones. The process can either deal, with structured sparse CMM data or unstructured dense data files generated by a manufactured part inspection process. A typical example is presented to illustrate the developed methodology applied to a datum shift problem, which is solved using a non-linear constrained optimization method.

Additive Manufacturing (AM)-one of several core digital technologies in "Industry 4.0"-is increas... more Additive Manufacturing (AM)-one of several core digital technologies in "Industry 4.0"-is increasingly being deployed in industrial-scale contexts. The successful serial production of end-use polymer and metal components has demonstrated the possibility of AM as a primary production process in several applications. However, one of the principal challenges to greater adoption is a lack of organizational mastery over AM's implementation in production contexts, and, more specifically, the absence of clear decision-making tools to facilitate exploration of implementation scenarios. To this end, this work proposes the use of a discrete-event simulation-based software modelling tool to investigate the influences of different facilitylevel planning decisions on techno-economic characteristics of serial production by AM. By changing key parameters, this tool enables users to observe variation in part cost, identify the contributions of individual system elements to part cost, and assess overall system throughput. The tool enables users to identify locally optimal solutions and make corresponding planning decisions, and to explore limiting cases of cost and lead time. In conclusion, we identify the limitations in the current modeling approach, and propose additional directions for future study.

… of the 16th …, 2007

Engineering design review meetings are unique opportunities for all the parties involved to share... more Engineering design review meetings are unique opportunities for all the parties involved to share information about the product and its related engineering processes. For product development teams, the knowledge and information transfer processes that take place during a design review are critically important; key design decisions, design experiences and associated rationale are made explicit. Useful work has been carried out on the design review process, but little has been said about the content of the activity itself. To this effect, an extensive research programme based on case studies in the aerospace engineering domain has been carried out. The research methodology adopted by the authors is based on an "action research" approach which allowed a naturalistic observation of engineering teams. A unique set of tools and methods used to analyse and characterise the design reviews recorded during the case studies is briefly presented in this paper. This meeting analysis "toolbox" includes a Transcript Coding Scheme, a Meeting Capture Template and an Information Mapping Technique. The work reported here focuses on the results generated by these new analytical approaches. They have been compiled according to three complementary perspectives: communication processes, information processes, and knowledge loss. The observations and interpretations made using the aforementioned set of meeting analysis tools have fostered a practical strategy for the knowledge intensive capture of design review contents. These pragmatic findings and their implications in terms of future research activities are discussed in the concluding sections of this paper.

Proceedings of the Design Society

A case study during pandemic revealed the major drawbacks of the traditional product development ... more A case study during pandemic revealed the major drawbacks of the traditional product development process for MedTech industry. Disruption of conventional manufacturing, urgent need for accelerated design and production, faster regulatory approval have challenged the industry. In this paper the conventional medical product development process is explored based on the intramuscular injector case study. The study revealed core areas for improvement of the medical devices development process. The paper proposes the Lean-Agile methodology with the incorporated elements of Concurrent Engineering.

2019 14th Annual Conference System of Systems Engineering (SoSE)

Currently the healthcare industry undergoes disruptive changes so that the design of medical prod... more Currently the healthcare industry undergoes disruptive changes so that the design of medical products requires much better speed, flexibility and inter-connectivity. Research and development of mobile health products require an intensive collaboration from cross-disciplinary teams. In order to succeed, healthcare product providers should adapt their engineering processes to the fast improving environment. This paper introduces a hybrid Lean-Agile approach for the medical wearable device development process with respect to the learning outcomes and quality management system.

International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 2021

Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C)

Manufacturing capability requirement : Continous trade off between cheap manufacturing process an... more Manufacturing capability requirement : Continous trade off between cheap manufacturing process and high quality product Features relationship : Garantee Product functions and assembly How to define these tolerances ? How to ensure tracability between function requirement and tolerance specification ?

2018 IEEE International Systems Engineering Symposium (ISSE), 2018

This paper describes a detailed use of Systems Engineering, Concurrent Engineering and agile desi... more This paper describes a detailed use of Systems Engineering, Concurrent Engineering and agile design methods and techniques applied within a High-Altitude Balloon (HAB) project, carried out within a time frame of 1.5 months from the mission statement draft and initial design tolaunch and recovery. The report outlines the advantages of systems thinking throughout the mission and provides a detailed guide for the use of Systems Engineering in future HAB projects.

The paper discusses the principles of human-centered design applied to the development of a medic... more The paper discusses the principles of human-centered design applied to the development of a medical wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) patch-like system. The following design issues are taken under consideration. Firstly, how to design wearable suitable for people of different size, gender and age. Secondly, how to ensure proper signal detection, both tactile and visual. Thirdly, how to provide reliable physical connections between the element of the hardware piece (electronics, adhesive base, housing). Fourthly, how to reach intuitiveness of the user-system interface. Fifthly, how to achieve appearance more of a consumer product rather than a medical device, as many people prefer such systems to be small, convenient, comfortable and give no indications about its actual function. Design decisions throughout the development cycle are based on analysis of several available sensors with analogous purpose.