| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R35162/01 |
| Title: |
Software sourcing in Manufacturing |
| Principal Investigator: |
Probert, Mr D |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Cambridge |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
24 September 2001 |
Ends: |
30 September 2001 |
Value (£): |
374,314
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Manufact. Business Strategy |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Electronics |
Information Technologies |
| Transport Systems and Vehicles |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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An increasing source of cost and risk for manufacturers now emanates from the software contained in products such as embedded systems. Examples of these products include: engines, washing machines, freezers, door security systems ,...etc. Manufacturers must make choices to either invest in the skills and resources to design these software-dependent systems and also support them over a potentially long lifecycle or to buy one or both of these from outside. These choices are complex and require the balancing of heterogeneous factors including: availability of skilled labour, potential for obsolescence in components, uncertainties in relationships with suppliers,... etc. A further consideration is whether it is more cost-effective to buy in at one stage of the system's lifecycle (e.g. design) yet invest in an internal infrastructure for other stages (e.g. operational support and version changes).This project will produce a methodology to guide manufacturers through the software make-or-buy decisions required at each stage of the lifecycle of a component containing embedded software. The aim will be to make clear the hitherto intangible factors on which such decisions may be based and arrive at an optimal point on the cost/risk curve that will allow manufacturers to invest and plan with greater confidence.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.cam.ac.uk |