Design: what is and where it is used. Definition and main types

The organization of enterprises in many sectors of the economy involves the implementation of design. What are the features of this procedure? What components can it represent?

What is design?

What can be understood by the term "design"? What is the documentation for it? If we consider the interpretations of the corresponding concept widespread among the experts, we can conclude that design is first and foremost a type of human labor activity. It can be carried out by people representing a variety of professions. Designing can deal with builders, programmers, economists, legislators. In each case, they will develop a project, which is a set of different algorithms, properties or parameters that can be applied for various purposes.

The project can be part of a larger system, business plan, strategy. In this case, it is intended to contain algorithms that allow solving specific tasks in order to ensure the functioning of this system. The result of the design is the development of documentation that allows to organize the production, construction of an object, its implementation in another required form - for example, in the form of a computer program or regulatory legal act, when it comes to designing legislation. Thus, the term in question is universal, applied in a wide range of legal relationships.

What is included in the design process?

Studying the basics of design, it makes sense to pay attention to what components can be represented by its process. In accordance with the prevailing expert approach, it can consist of:

• Algorithm of designing;
• Intermediate design decisions;
• Result.

Under the design algorithm, it is customary to understand a certain list of prescriptions and schemes, according to which competent specialists should conduct their work. It can be created for several objects, as well as for a single component of the system.

Following the design algorithm, competent experts can issue intermediate design decisions - descriptions of an object that are needed to effectively implement those schemes and regulations that are defined in the first stage of the process in question. At the same time, specialists, when designing systems, can apply both standard solutions and those that are published in the course of work directly above the current project.

After the intermediate schemes have been properly studied, the result of designing is formed on their basis: it will be presented with a set of documents necessary for the production of the product, the construction of a building or structure, the implementation of some other scheme for the useful use of the object in the farm.

Thus, the purpose of the design, presented in the framework of the process considered by us, is the development of technical documentation necessary to ensure the economic use of an object. Within the framework of this process, an active feedback is possible between the customer and the contractor on the coordination of individual elements of the design algorithm, the order of making certain decisions, and the formulation of the result.

In turn, after the transfer of design documentation to the plant or to other production infrastructure, the feedback between the recipient of the relevant documents and their developer will be minimal. In fact, it is initiated only in the event that the customer will have tangible difficulties in implementing the schemes proposed in the documentation, in practice. But here speech, as a rule, is about the suspension of the project in terms of its implementation in the form of production and the direction of the project documents for serious revision.

Therefore, the main task of the design organization is to prepare the most complete and objectively reflecting the customer's needs for a set of documents. The solution of this problem requires, first of all, high qualification of the specialists of the executing company, as well as a responsible approach to work on their part.

Despite the fact that the design of systems can be carried out in a wide range of areas, it is common practice to apply the term in question in construction. Let's find out how this process can affect the functioning of systems in the relevant industry.

Designing in construction

Designing in the field of construction is the most important line of activity of competent specialists, implemented for the purpose of preparing documents, on the basis of which the implementation of the construction plan is expected. It is about the formation of project documentation, which in some cases can be supplemented by sources related to engineering developments.

There are standards of design adopted at the level of legal acts, which must correspond to documents developed by specialists in the field of construction. The evaluation of the quality of these sources according to the marked criterion is carried out in the order of state or private examination. The most important component that is part of the design process in construction is construction. Let's study its specifics in more detail.

Designing as part of design in construction

Designing in this case should be considered as a direction of activity of competent specialists, which is connected with the creation of drawings, sketches, full-scale or computer models of building objects. We are talking about the formation, thus, of the constructions of a particular object. For example - related to the infrastructure of capital construction.

We will study in what varieties design can be presented, what is it in the context of common approaches to the classification of the term in question.

Varieties of design

The type of activity in question can be represented by design, in particular:

• Engineering infrastructure;
• In the field of architectural and construction developments;
• In the field of solving urban planning problems;
• In the field of design;
• In the field of software.

There are a large number of other criteria on the basis of which design can be classified. So, the approach is widespread, according to which it can be:

• Functional;
• Optimal;
• System.

Consider the features of understanding in the relevant contexts of the term "design": what is each of the noted varieties of this type of human activity.

Functional design type

The specified type of process assumes consideration of the object as the carrier of a separate function. At the same time, its development and introduction into one or another sphere of the economy are caused by the impossibility of performing the corresponding function by another object. Thus, the ventilation system in the structure of the building can not effectively replace any other type of infrastructure. Therefore, the design of the relevant objects will be carried out taking into account that only they are able to perform the required function.

This approach to understanding design allows you to effectively place the emphasis in the sequence of building the infrastructure of the system. First of all, the development of project documentation for key facilities is carried out, after - designing for secondary components.

Optimal design

The type of process considered is the development of documentation taking into account the interests of different groups of citizens. For example, it can be tenants of a commercial facility, intending to deploy in it after its construction different types of industrial infrastructure. As an option - different types of ventilation. For the first firm it will be more profitable, relatively speaking, the supply system, for the second one - the exhaust system. The contractor will have to find a compromise, one way or another, before implementing a technical design of ventilation and offering partners an optimal model for implementing the function for airing the premises in the building.

System design type

The specified type of process involves combining the first two in cases where it is possible. In practice, this situation does not always exist, but if the necessary conditions have been created for this, the introduction of a system approach to design may be desirable. Let us consider in what cases.

System design of objects can be realized if:

• There is a fundamental opportunity to provide the required functionality of a particular component of the system's infrastructure through solutions that suit each of the parties to legal relationships;
• If the project developer has the necessary resources to provide this functionality in practice.

In this case, the implementation of system design is possible, and it makes sense for the contractor to pay attention to the qualitative elaboration of each of its stages. These can be quite a lot. It will be useful to consider the essence of the corresponding stages in more detail.

Stages of Design

It is worth noting that the list of stages in question is regulated by the standards of design approved by the Russian legislator. These are:

• Pre-project researches;
• Creation of a technical assignment;
• The formation of a technical proposal;
• Implementation of outline design;
• Implementation of technical design;
• Development of working documentation.

Let's study the features of the corresponding design stages in more detail.

Execution of the study

Within the first stage - pre-project research - the competent specialists primarily analyze the objective requirements of the developer and the customer interacting within the project. The main character in the study is the customer. He independently or with the involvement of competent specialists determines his needs, the desired characteristics of the object created by the project or, for example, upgradable in order to bring it in line with the optimal parameters.

Technical task

The technical task for designing is also more often formed by the customer. The main source of data for it can be the documentation obtained at the previous design stage. The corresponding task can already reflect the exact parameters of the object, which must be made according to the project. In some cases, the performer, that is, the designer, can specify the customer's particular characteristics of the product. In many cases, this interaction between partners can be implemented in the format of a technical proposal.

Technical Proposal

This document, in turn, is developed by the executor of the project. It can initiate the formation of a technical proposal in the event that it finds, for example, that the design calculation in accordance with the original task contains inaccuracies. The customer can accept or reject the offer from the performer. In the first case, documents can be drawn up that confirm the consent of the parties to make any adjustments to the project.

Sketch Design

After the technical task is ready and in it if necessary changes are made, sketch designing is carried out. What is unusual contains this stage?

Such a procedure assumes the implementation of the simulation project by the contractor, as well as visualization of the key characteristics of the object, its appearance , and its movement algorithms on the ground. That is, a model is created. Based on the results of the preliminary design, the characteristics of the object are formed, as close as possible to those described in the terms of reference in terms of their practical applicability, based on modeling and calculations.

The result of the design can be the development of a model of a product, if possible full-size.

Technical design

The next stage is the formation of the functional diagram of the product, that is, the production of its prototype. The documentation, formed in the framework of technical design, allows the customer to make a decision on the launch of the product in production. If it is positive, then the next stage of communications is realized - the formation of a working project.

Running a production project

In this case, we are talking about the development of a complete set of documentation, which is necessary for the organization of production facilities. If this is an industrial product, the documents can be adapted to transfer drawings and diagrams to an automated infrastructure that is involved in production. If the design of the structure of a building, a full-fledged real estate object is carried out, the documents, in turn, can be adapted to the involvement of competent specialists - engineers, managers of a construction company.

Application of design systems

The implementation of these design stages in practice can be carried out within the framework of specialized systems. We will study what they represent. The design system is the environment in which the participants in the development of design documentation, competent employees of specialized enterprises or private developers carry out their interaction and solve the tasks assigned.

The components of the corresponding systems can be adapted to solve specific problems. For example, if technological design is to be carried out in production, then the infrastructure accessible to specialists will, firstly, have the necessary technical solutions, programs, testing tools, and secondly, the organizational resources needed to interact with colleagues, Management, partners in the study of certain issues in the development of projects. The systems in question can consist of separate subsystems that have a special functional purpose, but are interconnected.

Specificity of automated design systems

At modern enterprises, CAD systems are actively used, or CAD, representing a complex infrastructure through which the development of certain projects can be carried out on the basis of algorithms implemented largely autonomously, that is, with minimal human participation. Of course, if we are not talking about the stage of their development and implementation at the level of program code. Here the role of specialists will be significant. Effective automation of the development of project documentation requires competent people to perform quality work in the field of debugging the basic algorithms that ensure the functioning of the systems in question.

CAD is used not only as a tool for organizing the work of specialists in a single production, but also for the purpose of efficient scaling of production processes. If it is a question of opening a branch or a second factory, the transfer of production processes from the central office or from the first factory can be carried out using the systems in question. In this case, the competent experts will have proven algorithms for the development of project documentation, as well as schemes for organizing interaction with other employees of the enterprise and third-party firms on various issues. The design of enterprises within the framework of scaling with the use of CAD can be carried out in the context of ensuring the development of their various structural divisions - engineering, manufacturing, those responsible for legal support of business, especially with regard to the standardization of the output of a product.