5896b Definingplm2b Wp En

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PTC.comPage 1 of 7 | Defining PLM: Critical must-have capabilities

Abstract

Over the past ten years, more and more discrete manufacturers have deployedProduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions to optimize product developmentand enhance bottom-line performance. Paradoxically, however, there is still wide-spread confusion and disagreement concerning the essential capabilities and func-tionality of PLM. Ultimately, PLMs potential as a game-changing technology willnever be fully realized until a single, comprehensive definition of PLM is formu-lated and universally accepted. The fact is, manufacturers will be able to experi-ence the complete range of PLMs benefits and choose the best PLM solution only when they fully and implicitly understand what PLM is, and what it can (and

should) do for them.In this second of a three-part series of papers, PTC provides a definition of theseven must-have capability components of PLM and the related benefits that canbe achieved by implementing them.

Part 2: Defining PLM Critical must have capabilitiesTHE KEY CAPABILITIES OF A PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT NEE DED FOR A BEST-IN-CLASS SOLUTION
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Table 1. Each of the seven highlighted must-have capabilities will be discussedin more detail in this paper.

PLM SOLUTION CAPABILITIES Must-have capability Extended capability

Document Management Embedded Visualization

Work ow Distributed Collaboration Multi-CAD data management Complete BOM management (i.e., combined MCAD,ECAD software content in a single product structure)

Change and Con guration Management Manufacturing Process Management (MPM)

Requirements Management Program Portfolio Management (PPM) Quality Lifecycle Management (QLM) Product Analytics Component and Supplier Management (CSM) Service Information Communities of Practice

The seven must-have capabilities of PLM

Although the definition of PLM may still be somewhat murky ten years after the term was first coined, today theres nodoubt about the exact components that make up a successfulPLM solution. Without exception, there are seven capabilitiesthat are mandatory if a PLM implementation is to deliver ex-

A note on definition validation

The PLM market is currently in a state of transition one in which the capabilities and characteristicsconsidered essential in a PLM solution are being reevaluated, yielding some results that are already apparent. For example, two major PLM vendors recognizing the importance of database consolida-tion and a single architecture platform are evolving their offerings accordingly. Developments likethese seemingly serve as third-party validation of PTCs PLM definition.

pected results. Any PLM software that lacks even one of thesecapabilities should immediately be questioned as a viablealternative. The table that follows identifies the seven must-have capabilities as well as the extended-capability compo-nents covered in more detail in part three paper of this series.


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PLM capability #4: Distributed Collaboration

If youre like many of todays manufacturers, not only are yourcustomers and competitors located worldwide, but so, too, areyour employees, suppliers, contractors and partners. Whilethe emergence of such widely dispersed product stakeholdersnaturally raises a host of communication- and process-relatedconcerns, the phenomenon, in fact, creates far more opportu-nities than challenges.

For instance, by successfully executing a Global Product De-velopment (GPD) strategy the foundation of which is Dis-tributed Collaboration manufacturers are able to accelerate

time-to-market, while reducing product development costs,enhancing product quality, driving innovation, easing entry into new markets, and streamlining business operations.

Accordingly, the ideal PLM software will enable geographically distributed individuals and groups to work collaboratively onthe same products and product development processes. Suchdistributed collaboration must include the capabilities to:

Enable concurrent work on separate design elements andsynchronize those collective efforts through appropriateproduct architecting

Ensure that information flows smoothly to all designstakeholders through a seamless, integrated data-sharingsource

Ensure that the security of proprietary information ispreserved through intellectual property (IP) protectioncontrols

Improve visibility into program status through standardiza-tion of program management processes and establish-ment of key performance metrics

Ensure all changes are shared expeditiously with affected

stakeholders through a standardized, automated changeprocess

Enable fast, global access to the most current productdata through a distributed server network

PLM capability #5: Multi-CAD data management

The ultimate goal of product development is to manage allCAD data, so the design team can generate a single, accurateproduct definition a single source of truth that can be con-fidently released to manufacturing. However, todays product

PLM capability #3: Workflow

According to the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC),workflow, by definition, is the computerized facilitation orautomation of a business process in whole or in part. Usedto manage both manual and automated tasks as well as todrive and maintain content through its lifecycle workflow sys-tems determine and prescribe who does what task and when.

With a tightly managed workflow, organizations can experi-ence:

Increased productivity and reduced time-to-market, by

incorporating standardized work practices a prerequisiteto process automation and minimizing efforts associatedwith work distribution

Decreased costs, by eliminating routing expenses; by optimizing workload distribution among resources; by minimizing the need for management supervision; and by reducing the demands on project leaders

Improved quality, by ensuring all required task-relatedsteps are taken; by eliminating rush project orientationand practices that compromise product integrity; andby incorporating process monitoring for closed-loop

feedback that captures metrics, identifies bottlenecks, andfixes problems

As a mandatory component of a complete PLM software solu-tion, workflow technology provides a web-based automationplatform that helps manufacturers to:

Optimize task assignment and delegation in waysconducive to product excellence and streamlined taskcompletion

Minimize labor-related inefficiencies, and eliminateerrors by synchronizing the commencement of tasks with

workflow status, such as conducting the final review of aservice manual only when triggered to do so by a partrelease event

Manage changes to existing content and publish updatesthat incorporate those changes

Automate evaluation and commercialization of new ideas

Ensure compliance with approval processes and quality-control standards

Automate both publishing of content and its routing to allrelevant decision-makers for review and approval


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development environments often involve multiple CAD appli-cations, spanning both electrical and mechanical design dis-cipline tools. This multi-CAD phenomenon is due to a variety of factors, such as design outsourcing, companies acquiringlegacy CAD systems through mergers and acquisitions, or de-signers insisting on maintaining preferred tools for specific el-ements of a product structure (e.g., one preferred design toolfor an automotive chassis and a different preferred tool forthe power train assembly).

Otis needed a PLM system that would give allour product stakeholders the ability to access,

work on and share the most updated informa-tion on our extensive product lines. Windchillprovides the flexibility and broad capabilities weneed to manage heterogeneous CAD data, im-prove concurrent engineering worldwide, andstreamline data delivery to our manufacturingsites in a global development environment.

Tom Saxe, Vice President Worldwide Engineering,Otis Elevator Company

Managing such multi-CAD environments can be difficult par-

ticularly when distributed work groups are designing complexproducts. Whats more, attempting to resolve these challeng-es, using methods like manual synchronization of disparateCAD applications, often adversely affects data integrity andcycle times.

To prevent such occurrences, PLM solutions must provide ca-pabilities for easy Multi-CAD Data Management. Ideally, man-ufacturers need a unified database framework for accessing,loading and designing with heterogeneous CAD content, sodependent relationships can be accurately managed in theevolution of an integrated BOM. This framework would alsofacilitate synchronization of ongoing design changes acrossvarying CAD systems thereby maximizing a manufacturersinvestment in disparate or legacy CAD tools. In its most ef-ficient form, a multi-CAD data environment would enable de-signers to identify and use components from one CAD tool toprovide contextual design in another CAD tool.

In short, heterogeneous CAD data management can ensurehigh-quality, single-product definitions, faster collaborativedevelopment, and fewer data management errors.

To deliver maximum benefit in a multi-CAD environment, PLMsoftware should, from a single system, enable:

A complete digital product definition to be developedusing multiple CAD systems

Easy search, retrieval, assembly and delivery ofheterogeneous data to design teams throughout thelifecycle

Engineers to collaborate seamlessly with familiardevelopment tools, using the correct version of data toaccelerate the overall product definition

Secure, scalable, collaborative visualization of multi-CADproduct data for continuous feedback to enable efficientdesign review preparation, execution and follow up

Dynamic access to as well as reuse and synchronizationof cross-discipline design data across CAD systems toefficiently and accurately advance the overall design

Automated synchronization across MCAD systems, sosource information in one CAD system can be easily reused in another

A data management and collaboration environment forthe exchange of incremental design changes betweenelectrical and mechanical domains

PLM capability #6: complete BOM management

Products being manufactured today incorporate more ad-vanced electronics and software technology in more complexand smaller mechanical packages than ever before. Conse-quently, facilitating electromechanical product developmentrequires that manufacturers successfully manage and inte-grate their electrical, mechanical and software design devel-opment data and teams an environment known in certainindustries as mechatronics.

This process can be a complex undertaking, however, as moreand more manufacturers are now managing geographically dispersed team members working across different languagesand cultures and using a myriad of tools and applications. Whats more, traditional technologies do not facilitate effec-tive collaboration across the electrical and mechanical en-gineering silos. Failure to resolve these issues can result in ahost of difficult issues, including lengthy review cycles, ram-pant miscommunication, productivity-sapping rework, delayedproduct launches, and expensive product recalls.


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To be capable of combining ECAD, MCAD and software do-mains in a single product structure as well as synchronizingthe concurrent development of the associated designs, so thatthere is successful management and evolution of the entireproduct definition (i.e., the products BOM) across all disci-plines, manufacturers require Complete BOM Managementcapabilities. PLM software, therefore, must have all these ca-pabilities in order to improve electromechanical design re-use, identify potential problems early, minimize downstreamchanges, reduce product costs, enhance product quality, andaccelerate time-to-market.

Rather than being dependent on the PCB de-signers to locate components and nets, electri-cal engineers and others can now easily find any item. This means that they can complete muchof the review process on their own, leaving themore critical and complicated jobs for the review meeting. The time required for review of a new layout has been reduced from several days to afew hours.

Kathleen Walsh, Powertrain Core Electronics Design, Visteon Corp.

As a critical component of PLM software, complete BOM man-agement helps manufacturing organizations:

Streamline electromechanical design collaboration pro-cesses, thus reducing time-to-market and decreasing cost

Give mechanical engineers better insight into the potentialimpact of changes on electrical designs and softwarecode before the changes are proposed

Track and manage what versions of the software areassociated with what versions of the product

Provide a consistent communication methodology ofchanges across disciplines enabling mechanical, elec-trical and software engineers to communicate morefrequently, with less disruption

Save cycle time by enabling concurrent development ofthe mBOM while the eBOM is being developed in thedesign phase

Enhance traceability of the design IP and softwareconfiguration for knowledge capture and reuse

PLM capability #7: Change and ConfigurationManagement

Just as change is inevitable in the product development pro-cess whether driven by evolving customer requirements, newmarket opportunities, technological innovation, cost-savingmeasures, or updated compliance regulations so, too, is theneed to manage it. Given the serious consequences of poorchange management practices, including everything from sky-rocketing redesign costs to impaired product quality as wellas such sobering analyst observations as An efficient changeprocess can cut up to 33% off of the typical product develop-ment cycle time 5 the vital importance of change and config-uration management is readily apparent.

The goal of Change and Configuration Management is toprovide a well-defined, orderly process that controls how in-formal and formal changes to product configurations areproposed, analyzed, planned, implemented and released. By ensuring that changes are effectively communicated, trackedand documented from product conception through retire-ment and thereby enabling stakeholders to instantly accessall necessary data and assess impacts of proposed changes such a process minimizes repetition of mistakes, synchroniz-es engineering and manufacturing BOMs, and coordinates

multi-disciplinary content. Ultimately, typical benefits includegreater purity of product definitions, improved decision-making, heightened innovation, and significantly enhancedproductivity.

An efficient change process can cut up to 33% of the typical product development cycle time. 4

Its imperative that your PLM software provides change andconfiguration management capabilities that enable manufac-turers to:

Capture digital data content in a single, secure

environment in effect, creating a single source oftruth for all product information so that any updates,upgrades, or milestones in a products configuration (i.e.,any evolution of the complete product definition) can besystematically managed and traced over time

Structure a standardized, repeatable and automatedprocess that facilitates rapid and accurate communicationof changes regardless of their level of complexity


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