Systems Engineering Challenges

The main challenge facing this analysis solution is that structural adhesive is a new technology.  Long-term risks include limited test information.  How will the product be performing in 10 years?  Short-term risks include the need for additional departmental training as well as customer acceptance.  Will a customer accept a “glued” cab?  Further analysis should include risk as an evaluation criterion and the added costs associated with additional training.

Upon examination of Tables 3 and 4, Optimization and Trade-Off Analysis, cost alone prevents molded fiberglass from being very comparable to structural adhesive.  Further analysis at higher purchased volumes may show this process to be quite competitive.