THIS PAPER WILL SHOW THE BENEFITS OF MECHATRONICS BY LOOKING AT SUCCESSES RESULTING FROM A CHANGE IN PROCESS AND USE OF NEW TOOLS. IT WILL SHOW THAT USING CURRENT TECHNOLOGY TO FACILITATE CONCURRENT DESIGN PRODUCES HIGHER QUALITY PRODUCTS AND DECREASE TIME TO MARKET. THIS PAPER WILL FOCUS PRIMARILY ON THE WIRE HARNESS DESIGN PORTIONS OF MECHATRONICS. IT WILL FIRST EXAMINE THE PROCESS THAT MOST COMPANIES USE TO DESIGN HARNESSES AND THE ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS. IT WILL THEN LOOK AT SUCCESSES THAT SOME COMPANIES HAVE ACHIEVED BY CHANGING THEIR PROCESSES. THE PROCESSES DEFINED IN THIS PAPER REFLECT PROCESSES OF SEVERAL UNNAMED COMPANIES IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES.
