A STRUCTURED REVIEW OF COMPLEXITY IN ENGINEERING-PROJECTS State-of-research and solution concepts for the plant manufacturing business

Abstract

The term ‘complexity’ has been present in academic discussion and industrial practice for many years. However, interpretations about its scope and content differ. While research focused on the product business, a common understanding and classification of complexity in the plant manufacturing industry are missing yet. Based on an extensive literature review and various analyses, this contribution aims to describe complexity from the perspective of plant manufacturing business. We found out that the differentiation of the dimensions multiplicity, variance, changeability and ambiguity, as well as elements and interactions seems to be an appropriate and suitable approach to structure complexity in an engineering context. Further this contribution identifies causes and illustrates consequences of complexity for a plant manufacturing company aiming for a better understanding of complexity in the plant manufacturing business.

Keywords

• standardization, research activities, systematization

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