Engineering re-invention in High Tech and Semicon where do we come from?
Where do we come from, where do we go? | The practice of engineering is evolving by the ongoing introduction of new technologies. Let us dive into the origin and evolution of the engineering practice in relation to the Dutch Semiconductor industry. Just by applying the two central questions of Dan Brown his novel ‘Origin’ we would like to dive into “Where do we come from” and “Where do we go?”
Dan Brown – Origin: https//danbrown.com/books/novels/origin
Core-Engineering | When you break it down there is engineering at the heart of every product design. Product design is driven by engineering activities which translate ideas into innovation, into product reality. When we speak about engineering in High Tech and Semicon, we refer to core engineering, the practice of developing high-tech systems essential for powering semiconductor design, manufacturing, devices, and equipment.
Engineering a brief history of time | Skipping the ancient engineering, medieval engineering, renaissance engineering and industrial revolution and categorize into a timeframe of 10 years:
Pre – 1980s: Traditional Engineering | Mainly mechanical, civil and electrical focused on manual process hardware design and product manufacturing.
1980 – 1990: Software and System Engineering | Electronics, embedded engineering and start of software systems. Organizations started to formalize engineering processes, creating standards for product lifecycle management (PLM) and engineering disciplines were introduced. Until this point system engineering was mainly focused on traditional / document-based system engineering. (siloed and manual updates were needed)
2000-2010: Digitalization and Automation | The practice of core engineering expanded to software platforms and enterprise IT systems. Tools were introduced as well as the integration of simulation and model-based system engineering. Model Based System Engineering (MBSE) adoption across the board, centralized and digital oriented models, focusing on unified traceable manner.
2010 – 2020: Journey to Platform and Cloud (J2C) | Core engineering is not limited to hardware but also includes software, platforms and cloud infrastructure. Focus shifts more towards DevOps and integration. Also engineering became a more central topic in certain industries when it came to digital transformation.
2020 – Now: Engineering Re-invention | We now see a pivot to the fact that engineering is not only about developing products / execution but became a strategic driver. Organizations focus on a clean (less customized) and lean digital core which is the foundation to enable (and position) data / digital thread, Agentic Ai / Gen AI, simulation / digital twin as strategic differentiators. MBSE is considered a strategic enabler and is taking on with fragmented engineering silos. If you are interested in the topic of clean core / digital core, please read on: “Building a high tech reinvention-ready digital core“)
Engineering goes beyond Engineering | What we see is that engineering is crossing borders driven by smaller components, les expensive, more powerful, better connected and more sustainable components which drives innovation across industries. Engineering is re-inventing itself towards modern product engineering powered by Cloud and Gen AI technology. (One of the next writings will be on AI in engineering and how it is impacting and transforming the Semicon and High Tech industries https://www.accenture.com/us-en/blogs/high-tech/semiconductor-innovation)Generative)
The value of Re-inventing Engineering | As a result of we are also reinventing the way of engineering contributes to value. Research and Development (R&D) and Development and Engineering domains are much closer to impacting the value levers and drivers and are able to better contribute to the companies end products. For example, If the objective is driving a better margin, improved sustainability and other benefits:
- Speed / reduced time to market: Early research and innovation which results in early data and a faster ideation process
- Efficiency: Improve development operations > Cost reduction in new product development due to better streamlines and optimized processes enabled by new technology
- Sustainability: Digital twins and predictive analytics minimize waste and energy utilization
Key question: In which ways are your R&D, engineering and engineering IT functions driving reinvention in high-tech and semicon?
In the next weeks I will share what i learn and experience in the Dutch High-Tech and Semicon industry with regards to engineering re-invention.