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Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Analysis of institutional authors

Urueña, AAuthor

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January 8, 2026
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Article
Hybrid Gold

Why the quantification of modularity effects remains an issue for modular product families

Publicated to: Production Engineering. 20 (1): 27- - 2026-02-01 20(1), DOI: 10.1007/s11740-025-01412-4

Authors:

Gronvald, Jakob Meinertz; Norgaard, Morten; Christensen, Carsten Keinicke Fjord; Mortensen, Niels Henrik; Uruena, Alberto
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Affiliations

Tech Univ Denmark, Dept Civil & Mech Engn, Koppels Alle 404,207 Kgs - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Ind Engn, Business Adm & Stat, ETSI Ind, Calle Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2 - Author

Abstract

This study examines the challenges regarding the quantification of modularity effects, focusing on data quality, availability, and management practices within four industrial production companies in Denmark. While the literature identifies many effects of modularity, a substantial gap persists regarding data availability and quality for accurate and practical quantification. This study reveals that less than half of the modularity-related effects have sufficient data for analysis. Furthermore, critical data such as bill-of-material have observed frequent inconsistencies with far-reaching consequences that further undermine data reliability. Silo effects also hinder knowledge sharing and limit holistic assessments of modularity effects. Traditional cost accounting methods often overlook indirect costs, leading to underestimations of modularity's economic impact, while this study finds that even direct costs lack accuracy and consistency. The results in this paper imply that the Danish industry, and likely other sectors too, may benefit from more rigorous data practices, including tracking time expenditures in overhead departments, to facilitate modularity quantification. Future research may include how accounting systems impact data management, developing structured data management frameworks, including artificial intelligence, to enhance data quality, improve quantifiability, and encourage knowledge sharing within and across departments. Ultimately, these advancements would support informed, data-driven decisions regarding modular product development and support bridging the gap between research and successful industrial application.
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Keywords

CommonalityComplexityData qualityData-driven designDecision supportDesignImpactIndustry, innovation and infrastructureLife cycle analysis and designModularityPerformanceStateSystemTime

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Production Engineering due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2026, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q4 for the agency WoS (JCR) in the category Engineering, Manufacturing.

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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-24:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 4 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/93043/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 32
  • Downloads: 13
Continuing with the social impact of the work, it is important to emphasize that, due to its content, it can be assigned to the area of interest of ODS 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure, with a probability of 55% according to the mBERT algorithm developed by Aurora University.
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Denmark.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: Last Author (URUEÑA LOPEZ, ALBERTO).

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Project objectives

El presente estudio persigue los siguientes objetivos: analizar los desafíos relacionados con la calidad, disponibilidad y gestión de datos en la cuantificación de los efectos de la modularidad; evaluar la suficiencia y consistencia de los datos modulados, incluyendo la factura de materiales; identificar las limitaciones impuestas por los efectos de silo en el intercambio de conocimiento y la evaluación integral de la modularidad; examinar las deficiencias de los métodos tradicionales de contabilidad de costes en la estimación del impacto económico de la modularidad; y proponer la mejora de prácticas rigurosas de gestión de datos, como el seguimiento del tiempo en departamentos generales, para facilitar una cuantificación más precisa y apoyar decisiones informadas en el desarrollo modular de productos.
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Most relevant results

El estudio aborda las dificultades en la cuantificación de los efectos de la modularidad en cuatro empresas industriales danesas, centrándose en la calidad, disponibilidad y gestión de datos. Los resultados más relevantes son: menos del 50% de los efectos relacionados con la modularidad cuentan con datos suficientes para su análisis; se detectan inconsistencias frecuentes en datos críticos como la lista de materiales, afectando la fiabilidad; la existencia de efectos de silo limita el intercambio de conocimiento y la evaluación integral; los métodos tradicionales de contabilidad de costes subestiman el impacto económico al omitir costes indirectos y presentan inexactitudes incluso en costes directos; se recomienda mejorar las prácticas de gestión de datos para facilitar la cuantificación precisa de la modularidad.
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