A better planning model. A new approach to maintenance. A digital tool that changes production. Solutions developed jointly by companies and researchers can also provide a starting point for new scientific knowledge. But how do you move from a solution in one company to knowledge that could be useful in other organisations?
Jon Bokrantz (on the left) with Mikael Öhman, Hanken School of Economics. Inserted image: Patrik Jonsson, organiser alongside Jon Bokrantz.
This was the central question when Mikael Öhman from Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki visited Chalmers University of Technology on 6 October for a seminar on Design Science Research, DSR.
The approach uses the development and testing of solutions as part of the research itself. By investigating what works, why it works and what conditions are needed, researchers can also develop or reassess theories. For industry, it offers an opportunity to put a concrete need at the centre of a research collaboration.
Ideally, it should be a fairly troublesome problem. Something complex, something that feels difficult, something that is even hard to talk about.
Mikael Öhman
Associate Professor at the Hanken School of Economics
The harder the problem the more there is to learn
Mikael Öhman often works with problem-driven DSR. The starting point is a company with a problem to solve. He is particularly interested in issues that are difficult to make sense of, where there is no clear explanation or obvious way forward.
“Ideally, it should be a fairly troublesome problem. Something complex, something that feels difficult, something that is even hard to talk about. To me, that signals that there is something here we can really learn from,” says Mikael Öhman.
This might involve developing a new way to plan maintenance or organise a production flow. The researcher needs to understand the company’s operations, develop a solution together with the company and investigate what happens when it is tested. The findings then need to be considered in relation to previous research: what do they add, and under what conditions might the conclusions be relevant to others?
A practical problem is one possible starting point. The work can also begin with a theory to be applied in practice, or an innovation that raises new questions.
When theories meet a demanding reality
Mikael Öhman has studied aircraft maintenance, among other areas. This involves considerable uncertainty and complex technology, alongside stringent requirements for safety and reliability. Unexpected faults must be dealt with in an operational setting where decisions need to be made within minutes, creating a different set of conditions.
“Aircraft maintenance is a demanding environment compared with the repetitive and predictable production on which many of our theories are based. When we try to apply these theories in practice, their limitations become clear,” says Mikael Öhman.
Developing a solution that works can therefore provide grounds for reassessing assumptions about how operations should be planned and controlled. But the choice of problem is crucial. Not every project that benefits a company automatically generates new scientific knowledge.
Öhman is therefore careful about which companies and questions he works with. Repeatedly applying the same solution is closer to consultancy, he argues. The research ambition is for the work to generate new insights as well.
Studying new phenomena as they emerge
Digitalisation, AI and new production methods are changing the conditions in which industry operates. DSR makes it possible to study new solutions and ways of working as they begin to emerge. Öhman highlights his collaboration with agricultural machinery manufacturer Väderstad as an example of how an innovation can open up opportunities for theoretical insights.
At the same time, he is cautious about describing research approaches as better or worse than one another. Design science research often requires long projects and close collaboration with the organisation involved.
“You have to immerse yourself in the context, understand the problems and develop a possible solution. Then implement it and measure whether it works. You do all of this in an organisational context where people have different views on what should or should not be done,” says Mikael Öhman.
The time invested can provide access to phenomena that would otherwise be difficult to study at an early stage. But there is uncertainty for both parties: the problem may prove impossible to solve, and the scientific contribution cannot be promised in advance. Even a solution that does not work as intended can, however, provide valuable knowledge.
We have close links with industry. We are interested in developing solutions, and we have the conditions needed for this type of research in Sweden.
Jon Bokrantz
Assistant Professor, Production Systems, Chalmers University of Technology
Strong foundations for close collaboration with industry
The day was organised by Jon Bokrantz, Assistant Professor in Production Systems at Chalmers, and Patrik Jonsson, Professor at the Department of Technology Management and Economics, with support from the Production Area of Advance.
Jon Bokrantz sees an approach that fits well with both the industry relationships and the research interests within the Area of Advance.
“We have close links with industry. We are interested in developing solutions, and we have the conditions needed for this type of research in Sweden and at Chalmers,” says Jon Bokrantz.
The initiative grew out of an opportunity to develop international relationships within the Area of Advance. Both Jon and Patrik saw a chance to use their connection with Mikael Öhman to enable more researchers to learn the approach, while strengthening scientific excellence within the Production Area of Advance.
“This approach should suit researchers within the Production Area of Advance. I think many are interested, but have lacked an opportunity to try it out and actually learn more about the method,” says Jon Bokrantz.
Both doctoral students and more senior researchers expressed an interest in learning the approach. The hope is that more will be able to use it in their research and contribute to both industry and academia, Jon concludes.
Design science research, DSR, is a research approach in which solutions are developed and tested to generate scientific knowledge. Here, “design” means deliberately creating or changing something, such as a work process, a planning model, an algorithm or a digital tool.
In simplified terms, the approach can be described as follows:
We develop a solution → test it → analyse what happens → draw scientific conclusions.
The development and testing themselves thus become a way of gaining understanding. The researcher investigates how and why the solution works, what its limitations are and what others can learn from it.
The work can begin with a problem that needs solving, an opportunity to be realised, a theory to be applied in practice, or an innovation that raises new questions.
Väderstad’s challenge was to manufacture customised agricultural machinery with short delivery lead times, while products were changing and components were needed in many variants. Manufacturing and purchasing in large batches required substantial inventories and manual handling. When a design changed, parts that had already been manufactured could also become obsolete and need to be scrapped. The company therefore needed to find a way to provide the right components for the right machine, with less inventory and greater scope to introduce changes quickly. The challenge involved the entire interaction between product development, manufacturing, material supply and assembly.
Together with Binar Solutions, the company developed a system in which tube and sheet metal components are laser-cut as needed and automatically grouped into kits for welding assembly. Digital counterparts of the parts control manufacturing and handling. The solution reduces the need for component inventory and manual picking, while assembly retains its more conventional production control.
The researchers followed the development through factory visits, observations, interviews and regular discussions with the design engineers. Together, they investigated how the solution worked and which mechanisms explained its benefits. The researchers identified principles underlying the solution that other companies could also use. They called the combination of digitally controlled component manufacturing and more traditional assembly hybrid digital manufacturing.
Väderstad’s innovation became a starting point for theory development. Working closely with design engineers from the company and its technology supplier, the researchers used a design science approach to understand how the solution worked and why it generated benefits. Together, they developed knowledge about how digital and conventional manufacturing can be combined, with relevance to other organisations as well.
Land et al. (2021): Inventory diagnosis for flow improvement—A design science approach. https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1133
Öhman et al. (2015): Measuring service outcomes for adaptive preventive maintenance. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.06.020
Öhman et al. (2021): Frontlog scheduling in aircraft line maintenance: From explorative solution design to theoretical insight into buffer management. https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1108
Stark et al. (2023): Hybrid digital manufacturing: Capturing the value of digitalization. https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1231
