From left to right Prof. Francisco Hernandez Abad, Prof. Antonio Lanzotti, Prof. Khalid Kouiss,

Prof. Gianmaria Concheri, Prof. M. Luisa Martinez Muneta and Prof. Sergio Rizzuti

Dear Colleagues,

      on behalf of the Organizing Committee, I am really pleased to welcome you here in S. Servolo for the International Conference on Innovative Methods in Product Design – IMProVe 2011. 

Welcome to ADM and INGEGRAF members, whose strong commitment allowed this event to take place, welcome to AIP-PRIMECA members, who gave this event the opportunity to grow, and welcome to all other international guests, encouraging us on this way. 

I bring to you also the regards and good wishes of the Chancellor of the University of Padova and of the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of Padova. 

Just few words to introduce the Conference theme: Why IMProVe?

This acronym perfectly synthesize the challenges facing today both the mechanical/aerospace and building industries.

For decades in both industries the focus has been set on “process innovation” = how to produce more efficiently the same product.

Nowadays, however, operating in a global market, only a deep rethinking of each product, starting from their function, usability and ergonomy, efficacy and efficiency, eco-sustainability, etc. etc. may allow the western countries to keep the pace of eastern competitors: “product innovation” = how to better satisfy the same function. But product innovation is not random. It implies also “innovative methods” able to stimulate and support it. To better understand this relation, just give a look at the Conference Proceedings. You will find this concept demonstrated and exemplified in many different fields, both in industrial and architectural applications. And here is another peculiarity of this event: “product” is not just “industrial product”, but also “biomedical device”, “building”, “design”, “architecture”, “cultural heritage”, etc.: different fields share the same methods to build innovation.

This is IMProVe 2011.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I apologize in advance for any fault in the organization, but I am sure that the next days will be a challenging opportunity for everyone. 

Now, let me introduce Prof. Khalid Kouiss, assistant Director of AIP-PRIMECA, for his introduction to the Conference. 

Then I will ask Prof. Francisco Hernandez Abad, president of INGEGRAF, and Prof. Antonio Lanzotti, president of ADM, to open the Conference.

Gianmaria CONCHERI, IMProVe 2011 Chair

Dear participants, ADM and Ingegraf members, AIP-Primeca representative, Scientific Committee and Organizing Committe,

       We know that ADM is a scientific society founded in 1974 with the aim to promote, develop and coordinate teaching and scientific researches in product design, technical communication and innovative design methods. Now our Society has more than 200 members from Universities, High School and professional field. Our members are from al1 Italian regions except Valle D’Aosta where there is not a Faculty of Engineering.

We know that the most important activity that we organize is our international conference, Our work started on 1976 with the first Italian conference in Sicily on Engineering Drawing of Machines, improved on 2003 in the first joined conference with Ingegraf, and today we celebrate in Venice 2011 our fifth joined conference with Ingegraf organized by University of Padua with partnership of AIP-Primeca and IJIDeM journal.

Thinking about the evolution of our conference I would point out the five main improvements that we introduced in the last editions and acknowledge peoples that contributes to realize them:

1.   IMPROVE COMMUNICATION WITH ENGLISH - starting from the first ADM-lngegraf joined conference in Naples, English language has been introduced as official language in spite of our natura1 feeling to listen Latin languages. In this edition, 100% of papers are in English and 26% of the Scientific Committee is Italian, 36% is Spanish, 30% is French, 8% is from UK, USA and D.

2.   IMPROVE STANDARDs - starting from the Perugia conference on 2007, we introduced, thanks to prof. Alfredo Liverani, webmaster of ADM, a conference management system that has some pitfalls, but that is a good way to standardize the WEB interfaces of our conferences for authors and reviewers. This process has been managed thanks to the cooperation between scientific societies and local Chairs so thanks to prof. Maria Luisa Martines Muneta and prof. Sergio Rizzuti for Ingegraf and ADM and prof. Paolo Conti in Perugia 2007 and prof. Eduardo Zurita de La Vega in Lugo 2009, we have structured a peer review process better than in the past.

3.   IMPROVE REVIEW PROCESS - New generations of researchers are more trained to criticism and more open-minded than the older ones. We believe that ADM and Ingegraf have contributed to the growth of these new generations of researchers and have stimulated people to do and receive reviews for papers presented a t our conferences.

4.   IMPROVE EVALUATIONS AND AWARDS - for the best conference papers both presented by young researchers or overall, we introduced awards, that are really appreciated by authors.

5.   IMPROVE INTERNATIONALIZATION - starting from Venezia:

i) the cooperation with French network AIP-Primeca for the dissemination of the conference and for the recruitment of new members of the Scientific Committee.

ii) the involvement of ADM and Ingegraf members into the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Interactive Design and Manufacturing, edited by Springer. For the first time, we have the opportunity to publish thematic issues of the Journal inviting the authors of best papers selected and presented during the conference. To this end we ask the cooperation of chairman to add their evaluations both for oral and poster presentation to the evaluation collected during the review process in order to select papers, The journal will start an autonomous process of revision on the revised version of the paper, so we believe to reach higher quality levels than in the past and higher dissemination of results.

Taking into account these 5 improvements we should say (paraphrasing Donald Deming, father of continuous improvements philosophy): this is Innovation, not just improvement.

About the cooperation with AIP-Primeca, we started some years ago to establish relationships. After the organization of invited sessions, the pa rticipa tion to Virtual Concept conferences from 2006, invitation to be part of Technical Committee of the International Journal, we tried to cooperate with AIP-Primeca and French colleagues to built an European space of Research, opening ADM-lngegraf conferences first of al1 to colleagues from France and then to colleagues from other countries. So in Bordeaux, after a profitable meeting (and I add thanks to excellent red wine and entrecotes too) with the Director of AIP-Primeca prof. Patrick Martin and the responsible of international relationship and chair of Virtual Concept-IDMEE conference, prof. Xavier Fischer and prof. Maria Luisa Martines Muneta on behalf of the President of Ingegraf prof. Francisco Hernandes Abad, we officially launched the French involvement as partner to our conference and the possibility to plan future joined conference. The aim is to promote in Europe less conferences on design topics, increasing quality and dissemination of results. The last point can be reached by supporting IJIDeM journal. The involvement of a large group from ADM and Ingegraf as Members of the Editorial Board from 2011 to 2013 is another step in the internationalization process of our conference and scientific societies. Of course the integration process is long and require strong commitment. It is useful to remember that the integration between italo-spanish conference has been reached in 2003 after 5 editions of the italo-spanish seminars starting from 1996 thanks to the work of prof. Francesco Caputo and prof. Xoan Leiceaga Baltar.

An increasing participation to italo-spanish seminars and cooperation about common research topics, justified the birth of the joined conference. So we are really proud that after 15 years our relationship are really improved. We hope that the research exchange on Design Method among French, Spain and Italy could be supported by our societies building an operative network, improving relationship during next years. For these reasons I thank prof. Martin and the directive of AIP-Primeca to promote our conference, to contribute to the work of the Scientific Committee and to announce future common activities. I thank prof, Hernandes Abad now and prof. Fernando Brusola as past-president and Ingegraf directive for the helpful cooperation to realize al1 the improvements that I have just described. For these reason I believe that when in Lugo 2009, prof. Roberto Meneghello on behalf of prof. Concheri officially announced the conference in Padua-Venice on 2011, probably he was not fully aware of the huge amount of work to fulfil his mission. Newertheless, the well chosen name of the conference, IMPROVE, gives us the feeling that al1 is possible and we can reach more advanced result than in the past.

The conference addresses the Innovative Method in product design and I believe that the same feeling of innovation has characterized the action of the Organizing Committee and of the Scientific Committee.

Starting from the choice of the conference venue ending to the way of management of national and international relationship, I thank the local Chair of the Conference prof. Concheri with all members of organizing committee. In particular, I thank prof. Andrea Giordano that has favoured a large participation of researcher from civil engineering area. Further I thank eng. Gianpaolo Savio, that is the factotum of the conference, for his precious work carried on during the day and, above all, during the night. ADM is really grateful to al1 of them for their commitment for the success of the conference.

Finally for the ADM Society I hawe to thank prof. Rizzuti, that with the wisdom and the composure of a philosopher of the ancient Greece in the South of Italy the so-called Magna Grecia has accompanied the Scientific Committee in i t s work, facing both the complaints of reviewers for short time deadlines and the complaints of Authors for too severe or poor reviews received. Further for ADM Society I thank the general secretary prof. Massimo Martorelli for his punctual support for the management of events organized by our Society.

Finally I thank al1 members of Scientific Committee and anonymous reviewers for their help during the reviewing process.

So as ADM President I am proud to announce the official opening of the IMPROVE Conference, fifth joined conference of ADM and Ingegraf societies, with for the first time the partnership of AIP-Primeca and IJIDeM Journal.

Our best wishes to have profitable scientific discussions and to enjoy your stay in Italy.

The conference must-be a re:

IMPROVE design methods!

I M P ROVE knowledge !

IMPROVE our international cooperation!

Thanks,

Antonio Lanzotti, ADM President