ABSTRACT
Companies that convert to an effective concurrent engineering environment must undergo change at a very basic and fundamental level. Fundamental is defined as the essential level or foundation. It can be considered the basic principles upon which all other parts are formed. This level of change in an organization takes years before it is fully realized, and it can be derailed at almost any stage of the process. Therefore, a long term plan and a long term commitment by management is needed. This commitment requires investment, organizational change, new skills and enabling technologies. This chapter identifies some of the fundamental changes required for effective conversion. However, without the commitment to fundamental change, companies will not achieve the level of concurrent development 33that will be a requirement to stay competitive in the decades ahead.
