ED19P31 - PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

UNIT-I HISTORY, CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY OF PLM

Product?

products that can be owned,

Tangible
(Goods)
traded, and distributed to different
places at different times without
changing their identity

What is a Intangible
piece of software, a
product? piece of knowledge or an
algorithm or a formula

Experience of
Services
something

PLM vs PLM(Marketing)
PLM – Product Lifecycle Management
Describes engineering aspect of the product
PLCM – Product Life cycle Management (marketing)
Refers to commercial management of life of a product w.r.t costs and sales measures

Different views of PLM

Engineering Data Management (EDM),

Product Data Management (PDM)

Collaborative Product Definition Management (cPDm)

Collaborative Product Commerce (CPC)

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

EDM and then PDM emerged in the late 1980s as engineers in the manufacturing industries
keep track of the growing volumes of design files generated by CAD
EDM (currently the appropriate acronym would be PLM)
EDM is a systematic way to design, manage, direct, and control all the information needed
to document the product through its entire lifespan: development, planning, design, production,
and use.
cPDm is another American acronym for product lifecycle management
It is a business approach to adapt electronic systems to the management and definition of
product data in the company network (including the customers and suppliers) for the whole life
cycle of the product
CPC - especially to the adoption of the principles of product lifecycle management in
networked businesses, utilizing the possibilities brought by the Internet.
Here too, cooperation between customers, subcontractors, suppliers and partners is
considered, with the product as the factor connecting the whole network
The term CPC is used mostly by companies and consultant organizations that deliver
PLM/PDM software
CPC Example
International consultant organization Accenture, according to their Internet home page, defines
CPC as supporting three key areas of operation in companies,
Processes of product development
Internal cooperation
External cooperation
Product Data Management?
PDM is mainly a set of tools and methods aimed at efficiently managing product data,
PDM allowed
 to standardize items,
 to store and control document files,
 to maintain BOM’s,
 to control item,
 BOM and document revision levels,
 and immediately to see relationships between parts and assemblies.
What is PLM?
Product Lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a
product from its,
CONCEPTION

through

DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE

to

SERVICE AND DISPOSAL

What is a good PLM?
A good PLM-concept is never static; it keeps evolving in tune with the business and its
requirements.

PLM/PDM tools

Oracle Agile
Teamcenter
PLM

Arena Windchill

SAP PLM ENOVIA

Aras PLM

Scope of PLM
PLM is a “holistic business concept” developed
 to manage a product and its lifecycle including not only items, documents, and BOM’s,
 but also
o analysis results,
o test specifications,
o environmental component information,
o quality standards,
o engineering requirements,
o change orders,
o Manufacturing procedures,
o product performance information,
o component suppliers,
o ETCETERAS….

1. Managing a well-structured and valuable Product Portfolio

2. Maximising the financial return from the Product Portfolio
3. Providing control and visibility over products throughout the lifecycle
4. Managing products across the lifecycle
5. Managing product development, support and disposal projects effectively
6. Managing feedback about products from customers, products, field engineers and the
market
7. Enabling collaborative work with design and supply chain partners, and with customers
8. Managing product-related processes so that they are coherent, joined-up, effective and lean
9. Capturing, securely managing, and maintaining the integrity of product definition
information. Making it available where it’s needed, when it’s needed
10. Knowing the exact characteristics, both technical and financial, of a product throughout its
lifecycle

Modern PLM system capabilities include

o workflow,
o program management,
o and project control features that standardize, automate,
o and speed up product management operations.
Web-based systems enable companies easily to connect their globally
People Centric PLM targets the design phase

PLM – Background

Benefits
 Reduced time to market
 Improved product quality
 Reduced prototyping costs
 More accurate and timely request for quote generation
 Ability to quickly identify potential sales opportunities and revenue contributions
 Savings through reuse of original data
 A framework for product optimization
 Reduced waste
 Increase product revenues by 30% and decrease product maintenance costs by 50%.

Area of Benefit Examples of Benefits

Financial increase revenue with earlier market introduction; reduce
Performance product development costs
Time Reduction reduce project overrun time; reduce engineering change time
Quality reduce manufacturing process defects; reduce the number of
Improvement returns; reduce the number of customer complaints
increase the innovation rate; increase the part reuse factor;
Business
increase product traceability; ensure 100% configuration
Improvement
conformity

Areas of PLM
The five primary areas are
1. Systems Engineering
2. Product and portfolio management
3. Product design
4. Manufacturing process management
5. Product data management
Phases of Product Lifecycle
1. Imagine
2. Define
3. Realise
4. Use/Support
5. Retire/Dispose

BEGINNING OF LIFE MIDDLE OF LIFE END OF LIFE

(Imagine/Define/Realise) (Support/Maintain/Use (Retire/Dispose)

1. During the ideation phase, the product is just an idea in people’s heads.
2. During the definition phase, the ideas are being converted into a detailed description.
3. By the end of the realisation phase, the product exists in its final form (for example, as a
car) in which it can be used by a customer.
4. During the use/support phase, the product is with the customer who is using it.
5. Eventually the product gets to a final phase in which it’s no longer useful. It’s retired by
the company, and disposed of by the customer.

In each of these five phases, the product is in a different state

Problems across the product lifecycle

Imagine Define Realise Support/Use Retire/Recycle

Projects late/ Incorrect
Ideas pirated Pollution costs Upgrades ignored
failing identification
Poor factory
Lack of ideas Costs too high Missing applications Poor documentation
layout
Uncontrolled Poor
Ideas lost Scrap Low recycle rate
changes communication
Suppression of
Unclear processes Rework Data out of control Materials wasted
ideas
Missing
Needs not clear Costly prototypes Little feedback High disposal costs
applications
Supplier
Culture of sterility Design faults Customers lost Fines
problems
Application High material
Failure punished Liability costs No training
Islands costs
Long time to
Bureaucracy Excess inventory Missing services Lack of control
market
Limited part re-
Priority, #1 CYA Data silos High service costs Missing applications
use
Unknown cost Culture of risk Slow ramp-up Processes unclear Processes undefined
Project status
No training Safety problems Product recalls Lack of procedures
vague
No process Wrong data
Too many projects Product failures Costly disassembly
defined versions

Managing the product across lifecycle

1. WHEN IT'S AN IDEA. For example, making sure the product idea isn’t lost or
misunderstood
2. WHEN IT'S BEING DEFINED. For example, making sure that the development project
for the product meets its objectives
3. WHEN IT'S BEING REALISED. For example, making sure the correct version of the
definition is used during production
4. WHEN IT'S IN USE. For example, making sure the product is correctly maintained, taking
account of its serial number, production date, previous upgrades, changes in the market and
technical evolution
5. WHEN IT'S BEING DISPOSED OF. For example, making sure poisonous components
and toxic waste from the product don’t get anywhere near sources of drinking water
Some reasons for things going wrong with products

PROBLEM AREA ISSUE(S)

Products Incorrectly, or unclearly, defined products

Data out of control; data in silos; different definitions of data; incorrectly structured
Data
data
Processes Processes not defined; unclear processes; conflicting processes
Islands of Automation; missing applications, ineffective application interfaces;
Applications
unaligned applications leading to manual data re-entry and errors
Projects Project status vague; unclear project objectives; too many projects
Equipment Machines and software licences under-utilised or not used
People Specific skills missing; lack of training
Working methods not defined; Differences between the organisational structures on
Organisation
different sites

Managing Product
A product must be managed in all phases of the lifecycle to make sure that everything works
well, and that the product makes good money for the company
Pre-PLM Environment
 Within a company, the responsibility for the product is often different at different phases
of the lifecycle.
 At one time it may be with Marketing, at other times with Engineering or Service.
 Maintaining a common coherent approach among these organisations, which may have
different objectives, working methods and applications, can be difficult and time-
consuming.
 The issues are then no longer just cross-functional but also cross-enterprise
Pre-PLM Environment Three Letter Acronym (TLA)

ABC BPM CAD CAE

CAM CM DFA DFM
DFMA DFE DFSS DMU ECM EDM EMI ERP
FA FEA FMEA GT HQ ISO 9000 ISO 14000 JIT
KPI LCA MM MRP NPD NPI NPDI OD
PBS PDM QFD R&D RPS STEP S&G TQM
TRIZ UML VA VE
WBS XML YTD ZB
Alphabet soup for managing a product

 Each of these helped manage a product at a different moment in its life.

 Each had technical objectives, not business objectives.
 With this piecemeal approach, organisations didn’t manage products in a joined-up way
across the product lifecycle.
 For example, product development and product support were often carried out in different
parts of the organisation even though they addressed the same products
 The subject of how products were managed across the lifecycle hadn’t been explicitly
addressed by company management.
o It wasn’t planned.
o It wasn’t documented.
 In such a situation, often nobody in the company could describe in detail how the products
were managed throughout the lifecycle.
 The end result was reduced revenues and higher costs.
PLM Grid

PLM is holistic

Products Services Structures Activities Processes

People Equipment

Skills PLM Standards

Applications Practices

Systems Data Information Knowledge Techniques

Before PLM, activities were unconnected

Product Development Product Support Project Portfolio Management Disassembly

Product Infancy Developer sustainable Development Product Liability
CAD, PDM Product Definition Product End-of-Life Customers
Development Product Development Product Portfolio Management Environment
Assembly Innovation Disposal Mature products

Product Development and Product Support

Product Infancy and Product End-of-Life
CAD, PDM and Project Portfolio Management
Product Development and Product Disposal
Product Assembly and Product Disassembly
Product Development and Product Liability
Product Developers and Customers
Product Definition and Environmental Issues
Product Development and Sustainable Development
Product Innovation and Mature Products
Project Portfolio Management and Product Portfolio Management

KPIs in the PLM environment

number of new products per year % of product data in electronic form cost of rework ($)

cost of IS as % of company sales new product revenue (% of total) number of patents

Return On Innovation % of business processes defined number of customers

number of NPD projects
value of product portfolio ($) Time To Market (months)
completed per year
number of defects per product
R&D spend (% of revenues) level of part reuse
family
service revenue ($, or % of total) recall costs ($) % products recycled
Importance of PLM

NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Mechatronics
World Wide Web
REGULATIONS MARKET
Health New Customers
Environment Product
THE PRODUCT Customisation
Safety New Markets
COMPETITION
New C ompetitors
Low-cost Competitors

PLM Initiative
The PLM Initiative of a company is an initiative with two objectives:
 To improve the product-related performance of the company
 To put in place, or to improve, the capability to manage products across their
lifecycles
Main steps in a PLM Initiative

Launch the PLM Initiative

Carry out a Feasibility Study

Understand the Current Situation

Develop the PLM Vision and Strategy

Develop the PLM Implementation Strategy

Develop the PLM Implementation Plan

Implement the Plan

Typical activities in a PLM Initiative

plan the Initiative report progress map the current process manage the Planning phase
define product data define new business
select team members migrate product data
KPIs processes
create workflows manage project risks mentor executives align change expectations
model the future
define new roles plan roll-out strategy maintain PLM applications
process
coach Team Members define Initiative KPIs plan roll-out activities develop a process glossary
implement a PDM
define process KPIs plan training activities define Use Cases
system
plan OCM activities harmonise applications restructure product data manage Initiative start-up
develop an OCM communicate about
select a PDM system create new job descriptions
glossary changes

All PLM Initiatives are different. There are thousands of different PLM Initiatives in thousands
of companies.

A New Way of Thinking

Before PLM With PLM

Think Product Manufacturing Think Product Lifecycle
Think vertically about the company Think horizontal
Think functionally about the company Think lifecycle
Think about one activity of the company Think about several activities
Think product development Think cradle-to-grave
Think Focus on the customer Think Focus on the product and then the customer
Think Listen to the Voice of the Customer Think Listen to the Voice of the Product
Think going forward in time Think forwards and backwards
Think Customer Survey Think Customer Involvement
Think product portfolio & project portfolio Think Integrated Portfolio
Think bottom-up, starting with a part Think top-down starting with the portfolio
Think about the product lifecycle bit-by-bit Think about PLM in a joined-up, holistic way
Think PLM is for the techies Think PLM is a top management issue
Think profit Think profit and planet
Think ourProcesses Think standard processes
Think ourData Think standard information
Think ourApplications Think standard applications
Think Product Manufacturing to Think Product Lifecycle
Thinking PLM, it’s clear that,
 in developed countries, companies’ future profits won’t come from Manufacturing and
Assembly of commodity products.
 Companies where wage costs are 10% will be able to carry out those Manufacturing and
Assembly activities at a much lower cost
Think vertically about the company to Think horizontal
Before PLM,
 when thinking about a company in simple terms, people broke it up into functional
departments. with reference to those functions
Thinking PLM,
 people view the company in terms of product lines.
 They look to build the best design chain and supply chain for that product line
Think functionally about the company to Think lifecycle
Before PLM,
 people thought functionally about the company.
 A Marketing VP, an Engineering VP and a Manufacturing VP would report to the CEO.
Managers of product lines would report in through a matrix.
Thinking PLM,
people first think about the product lifecycle.
 A Chief Product Officer (CPO) has the responsibility for all the products across the
lifecycle.
 The CPO reports to the CEO.
 So do the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO).
 Product Managers report to the CPO.
Think about one activity of the company to Think about several activities
Before PLM,
 people would think about one activity in a company at a time.
 In the Engineering Department, without considering the needs of other people in the
lifecycle, design engineers would buy new application software to design products faster
With PLM,
 people think about more than one activity at a time.
 They think about the product across its lifecycle.
 Engineers designing a product take account of how it will be manufactured.
 And how it will be disassembled and recycled.
Think product development to Think cradle-to-grave
Before PLM,
 Product development, in particular, was often seen as a separate island, disconnected
from the other activities.
 Design engineers seemed to have problems communicating with people in other
functions, so were left to work alone.
With PLM,
 people think about the entire product lifecycle, from cradle to grave.
 Product development is one of many activities in the lifecycle, and is closely integrated
with the others.
 Design engineers talk to people in other functions
Think Focus on the customer to Think Focus on the product and then the customer
Before PLM,
 the rule was ‘‘focus on the customer’’.
With PLM,
 the rule is ‘‘first focus on the product’’, then focus on the customer.
 Customers buy great products.
 they won’t get a sale without a competitive product.
Think Listen to the Voice of the Customer to Think Listen to the Voice of the Product
Before PLM,
 the rule was listen to the ‘‘Voice of the Customer’’.
With PLM,
 the rule is ‘‘listen to the Voice of the Product as soon as possible’’.
 Get the product to report back about how it’s working.
 And, of course, don’t forget to listen to the ‘‘Voice of the Customer’’
Think going forward in time to Think forwards and backwards
Before PLM,
 people thought towards the future: first came product development, then manufacturing,
then support.
 Time goes forward.
 One thing comes after another.
With PLM,
 not only are there flows, such as time, going forwards.
 There are also flows going backwards.
 Information comes back from product operation to be used in product development.
Think Customer Survey to Think Customer Involvement
Before PLM,
 people would carry out a Customer Survey to find out what customers thought of existing
and future products.
With PLM,
 people think Customer Involvement. Using technologies such as
o mobile telephony,
o GPS,
o Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology
o Web,
 and they exchange information directly with a customer who is using the product
Think product portfolio & project portfolio to Think Integrated Portfolio
Before PLM,
 people in Marketing and Sales would refer to the product portfolio.
 This was the portfolio of existing products.
 Meanwhile, people in Engineering would refer to the project portfolio.
 This was the portfolio of new products in the pipeline.
With PLM,
 everyone in the lifecycle refers to the Integrated Portfolio which contains both the
existing products and those under development
Think bottom-up, starting with a part to Think top-down starting with the portfolio
Before PLM,
 people would think bottom-up, starting with parts and building up to the product.
 After parts were developed, it would be found that they didn’t fit into assemblies.
 So they were redesigned
With PLM,
 people start by thinking about the Integrated Portfolio, then work down through product
families, platforms, and modules, to products, and then to parts.
 PDM systems manage the information about a product across its lifecycle.

Think about the product lifecycle bit-by-bit to Think about PLM in a joined-up, holistic
way
Before PLM,
 the many product-related issues weren’t considered together.
 For example, Product Recall, Product Development and Product Liability would be
addressed separately and independently.
With PLM,
 all the product-related issues are united under PLM and are addressed together in a
joined-up way.
 The approach is holistic.
 PLM is seen as the way to address all the product-related issues.
Think PLM is for the techies to Think PLM is a top management issue
Before PLM,
 product-related issues weren’t considered to be a subject for management.
With PLM,
 top managers understand and can formulate the need for effective product lifecycle
management.
 They define the key metrics.
 And how the activity will be managed.
Think profit to Think profit and planet
Before PLM,
 companies often put profit before the planet.
 They fouled the air, the water and the land
With PLM,
 companies think profit and planet.
 They take more account of nonfinancial issues, such as the environment, social issues,
health, education and sustainable development.
Think our Processes data, applications to Think standard Processes, information,
applications
Before PLM,
 companies thought about our Processes, our Data, our Applications.
 In the extended enterprise environment, each inter-organisation interface was a source of
chaos, adding costs and slowing down lifecycle activities.
With PLM,
 companies think of the standard processes, standard data and standard systems
 that they, and their numerous suppliers, customers, and partners in the extended
enterprise environment,
 can use to save an enormous amount of time and money.

Product data or product information

 Product data refers to information (broadly related to the product)
 Product data can be roughly divided into
o Definition data of the product
o Life cycle data of the product
o Metadata that describes the product and lifecycle data

The definition data of the product

 determines physical and/or functional properties of the product
o i.e. form, fit and function of the product
 describes the properties of the product
o from the viewpoint of a certain party (e.g. customer or producer)
o and connects the information to the interpretation of the party in question.
 This includes very exact technical data as well as abstract and conceptual information
about the product and related information.
The wide spectrum of information and the difference in the contents of definition data can easily
cause problems, owing to different interpretations and contexts.

The life cycle data of the product

 is always connected to the product and the stage of the product or order-delivery process.
 This group of information is connected to technological research, design and to the
production, use, maintenance, recycling, and destruction of the product, and possibly to
the official regulations connected with the product.

The Meta data

 it describes the product data:
o what kind of information it is,
o where it is located,
o in which databank,
o who has recorded it,
o and where and when it can be accessed?

Product lifecycle management concept

The product lifecycle management concept covers at least the following areas:
o Terms and abbreviations used in this field (definition of product, lifecycle,
lifecycle phases, etc.)
o Product information models and product models
o Definition of products and product-related information objects (items,
structures, product-related documents, definition of product information, etc.)
o Product lifecycle management practices and principles used and applied in the
company (how products are managed throughout their lifecycle, identification of
information management principles such as versioning principles, information
statuses, etc.)
o Product management related processes
 Product information management processes
o Instructions on how to apply the concept in everyday business

The core processes and functional verticals of an industrial enterprise

• It shows how the core processes are cross functional and cross organizational.

PLM system is positioned as a common and central databank within the field of operation
of the process oriented manufacturing enterprise
Product lifecycle management entities

PLM entities include

1. Item management
2. Product structure management and maintenance
3. User privilege management
4. Maintenance of the state or status of documents and items
5. Information retrieval
6. Change management
7. Configuration management
8. The management of tasks (messages), a k a workflow management
9. File/document management
10. Information loss during updating is avoided
11. Backup management
12. History/System log
13. File vault (electronic vault)
System architecture
 Commercial PLM systems typically have many features in common.
 All systems contain certain features, functions and techniques, which are functionally
identical irrespective of the system. Such system-independent functional units include:
o The file vault
o The metadata base
o The application
Example of a PLM system architecture
High Level Agile PLM Architecture

Understanding the PLM architecture

 We can divide the main components of a PLM architecture stack into three main
categories:
 PLM applications, core systems and business intelligence platforms.
o Core systems consolidate and enrich the data that PLM applications create.
o PLM applications are usually discipline- specific and involve 3D modelling and
simulations.
o Business intelligence platforms are used to present data and extract insights.

Are all the PLM Architecture the same?

 There are considerable differences between various systems and system architectures.
 The reasons for these differences are:
o The properties and requirements brought by differences in the scope and
scalability of the systems.
o The different types of functions required within different branches of industry due
to different priorities and emphases.
o System suppliers approach the whole PLM concept from different directions.

Different applications can usually be connected to the PLM system by links of different levels.
The following four different levels are distinguished:
 Encapsulation: Reference information for the file identifies an application that
can open it (e.g. e-mail attachments or files selected in Windows Explorer)
 Information exchange between systems: File-based data transfer
 Database integration: Different systems use a common databank
 Platform or middleware integration or EAI (enterprise application integration)
use of a separate software layer (middleware) that transmits and moves the
required information between different systems
UNIT-II PLM/PDM FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES

Functionality of the systems

 How do the systems cope at a practical level with
o set objectives,
o staff wishes and
o the demands of the business environment?

 This success depends on several factors, but

o mainly on how well the user organization has defined its own needs and goals
o and on how the commercial software available on the market is fitted with these
demands.

 In the following, let us take a look at the

o Properties of product lifecycle management systems and their development
potential in their deployment.
PLM entities include
 Item management
 Product structure management and maintenance
 User privilege management
 Maintenance of the state or status of documents and items
 Information retrieval
 Change management
 Configuration management
 The management of tasks (messages), a k a workflow management
 File/document management
 Information loss during updating is avoided
 Backup management
 History/System log
 File vault (electronic vault)

1. Management of the status/state of files

 Check out puts a flag in PLM Software that a file has been downloaded for modification
and no one else may modify the file while it is checked out, Well they can but their
changes would be outdated after you check in.
 Check in is the process of uploading your modified checked out files back to the
common space on the PLM Software so others may see your changes, it also removes the
flag so others may check now the file for further changes
 These functions are usually called the check out and check in functions of the system.
 The designer prepares a CAD drawing, completes the planning work on his own PC or
workstation and saves the finished file to the management of the PLM system.
 He notifies the system of the attribute information (Meta data), related to the file so that it
can be classified in the desired standard way and placed in a suitable location in the
system.
 Alternatively, this attribute information can be retrieved from the heading field of the
CAD drawing and automatically copied to metadata.

2. Creating an item
 The version is given a number or letter mark, for example A, B, C, D.
 Usually only checked and released files are recorded in the file vault, in which case the
PLM system keeps a log about the history of events related to the document,
o in other words the system traces the items and documents for:
 Viewing
 Copying
 Changes
 Commenting
 ECR (Engineering Change Request)
 ECO (Engineering Change Order)
 Printing

 An object version is composed of two elements: the character to the left of the decimal is
the revision, and the character to the right of the decimal is the iteration.

3. Distribution management
 Approved documents are distributed in a process utilizing workflows.
 The PLM system takes care of the distribution automatically according to the workflow
processes and principles defined to the software.
 The product structure allows other related documentation to be enclosed with a document
when a reference is needed.
 This helps PLM system users to handle larger amounts of information when necessary.
4. Searching and browsing information
 Information searches are made possible through the classification of the information
and are facilitated by creating attributes or help information, which describes each
item and helps the system to analyze the information on each item (e.g. document,
component, etc.) in the system.
 Engineers expend 15–40% of their working hours in searching and retrieving routine
information

What is the status of each drawing in a certain project?

What has changed in a certain document? Who made the change and when?

What changes have been made in documents related to a given project within
the last two months?

List all the resistors used in production, of which the resistance is greater than
5 Ω but less than 10 Ω

List all allowed suppliers for 20-Ω resistor RES123456

 Using Simple Search

 Using Advanced Search
 Using Advanced Search - Type Section
 Using Advanced Search - Context Section
 Using Advanced Search - Criteria Section
 Using Advanced Search - Nested Queries (AND , OR)
 Using Advanced Search - Related Object Search
 Advanced Search Report Template
 Search Results Table
 Faceted Search Results
5. The management and maintenance of product structures
 Some Properties of
o Version management,
o structural presentation of information,
o Change management, as well as
o configuration management,
 are typically based on product structure management
 Same product structure is examined from different viewpoint – in different views – in
different circumstances.
Product structure from the engineering point of view.

Bicycle

Tire Body Saddle Handlebar

Fender Pedals Chain Stickers

Product structure from the manufacturing point of view.

Bicycle

Fender Tire Saddle Body Handlebar Stickers

Pedals

Chain

 Modern PLM can handle several product structures for the same product. However, can
become impossible in practice.
 Complex products, consisting of thousands of components, become nightmares if
information is maintained at too exact a level, so a suitable level of precision should be
defined beforehand.
 Attribute information can be of three kinds:
o Individual product based information such as the serial number of a sourced
component in a certain product
o Generic – regarding generic products, product, assemblage, parts
o User-specific – remarks and notes
Attribute information for the product structure.

Properties of product lifecycle management systems

 Management of the status/state of files
 Creating an item
 Distribution management
 Searching and browsing information
 The management and maintenance of product structures
6. Management of changes in documents, items and structures (Change Management)
 It Provides
o Change processes for products in all those parts of the organization
o Product process traceability for engineering changes made to the design
 The change processes usually resemble the previously described management item status.

 The change management tool brings

o Controlled changes – the change process takes place in controlled manner.
o Information on completed and forthcoming changes – the information
distribution tool can be e-mail, for example.
o Electronic system – streamlining and significantly accelerating the change
processes.
o Well-controlled and timed changes to items already in distribution and
production (components/documents) become possible in a wide extent.
o Relations between the various pieces of product information are retained in
change situations. For example, the impact of any design change to a sub-
assembly in all products

 The reason for the change can be,

o a perceived mistake in the design,
o an idea for a better functioning solution, or
o customer demand.
 The person presenting the ECR defines the subject of the change, the items affected by
the change, and a description of the reasons for the change.
 An ECR can contain valid electric document with comments and redlining.
 The ECR is delivered to the persons responsible for the changes
 The change can be carried out without any change requests, i.e. the ECO is made directly
Product structure and version history of the bicycle

7. The transfer of files and file type conversions

 User or reader of the file does not need to know its actual location because the usage
environment can be LAN, WAN or the Internet.
 The system fetches the file, converts it, and automatically opens it in a suitable
application.
 The information has been often recorded in a general standard format (for ex PDF) for
examination and viewing.
 Conversions of file type or saving format often arise from the use of separate CAD and
CAM programs.
8. Communication and management of tasks or messages
 It form a foundation for Concurrent Engineering.
 All its users get the relevant information about all those actions.
 The system provides a communication forum for daily working.
9. Adopt PLM
 One can adapt PLM systems to the management of (raster) image information.
 Companies often have a large archive of paper drawings and paper documents from old
manufactured and maintained products, and from production devices and facilities.
 These can be easily scanned into electronic form and the management of the scanned
information can be moved to PLM systems.
 This greatly improves the controllability of the archives and the distribution of the
documentation.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING

PRODUCTION
AFTER SALES
SALES AND MARKETING
SUB-CONTRACTING
SOURCING AND PROCUREMENT
PLM SOLUTIONS
Use of product lifecycle management systems in different organization verticals
 Used by a wide variety of organizations, including companies, communities, and
government institutions.
 Main stress in product lifecycle management systems has long been in the area of
planning, design and engineering functions for the manufacturing industry
 However evolution of PLM system has increased their utilization also in sales, marketing,
and, especially, after sales.
 Information about components and parts to be sourced and procured is delivered from the
product design to sourcing and procurement.
 Applicable configuration rules and structures are also usually communicated very early
from design to sales
 Changes to the product design are transferred to production,
 Product and spare part documentation to after sales, during the maintenance phase of the
life cycle.
Product development and engineering
 Management of documents - so that the desired information is easily available and
quickly distributed
o This increases the effectiveness of the engineering and reduce mistakes.
o Functional change management is also an essential part of the flexible
engineering organization,
 Right information about changes goes to production or to the contracting parties
involved.
 The third general task in this area is to ensure the updating of the right document version

Production or manufacturing
 It has often been claimed that the possibilities for utilizing PLM systems in production
are limited.
 Interface b/w engineering and production can be quite problematic from the
organizational, geographical and esp from the information flow points of view.
 Change management tool – inform changes
 Integrated production – integrate the different manufacturing systems with the
engineering tools.
After sales
 Significance of this business has increased quite noticeably.
 When products develop quickly, new product versions are always appearing on the
market. This sets great demands on spare part sales, etcetera..
 In global markets, maintenance services are often offered by local contracting parties and
they must have secure access to information.
 information PULL – distribution functioning on the pulling principle: people finding and
retrieving the information they need.
Sales and marketing
 Modular customer-specific product configurations are always created with the help of
preset configuration rules
 Accelerates the creation of tenders, because the necessary information can be quickly
accessed.
 When customized products are sold to customers, the product configurations are built by
choosing from the features wanted by the customer and from property alternatives
available in the sales configurator so that the product matches the wishes of the customer.
o meets the customer’s requirements
o Supplier has a faultless product structure
Sub-contracting (OEM)
 The needs of engineering sub-contracting naturally differ from those of manufacturing
sub-contracting.
 The management of documents, conversion are required (many s/w systems were used)
 Management of user privileges can be used to give subcontractors direct access to the
principal’s information processing systems, to certain document classes or work, so that
they will have selected rights (viewing rights)
 DXF, STEP, CALS, IGES, SGML and XML standards.
Sourcing and procurement
 The life cycles of products and components are shortened.
 80% of the cost of the product is determined during the product development phase
PLM Business Objectives
PLM Limitations
UNIT- III DETAILS OF MODULES IN A PDM/PLM SOFTWARE

MET

 BICYCLE HELMET INNOVATOR REDUCES PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

BY SIX MONTHS WITH NX
 By integrating computer-aided design with structural analysis, MET significantly
improves collaboration with subcontractors, streamlining production of tooling and molds
 MET S.p.A is a global leader in the production of helmets for professional cyclists.
 The MET name has become a synonym for accuracy, reliability, efficiency and
sustainable development.
CHALLENGES
 Develop products that combine elegance and safety
 Optimize helmet construction in the early stages of the development cycle
 Manage intricate surfaces with many complex nodes
KEYS TO SUCCESS
 NX for the 3D modeling of concept sketches drawn by designers on paper and for
complex surface modeling
RESULTS
 Reduction of product development cycle from 12-14 months to 6-8 months
 Rapid prototyping of full-scale models with centesimal accuracy, built directly from 3D
CAD model geometry
 Ability to check production tooling feasibility in the virtual domain and perform virtual
tests for certification purposes
 One of our greatest concerns is surface complexity; each model has a huge number of
surfaces, with plenty of changing curves, intersections and fillets.
 A big plus of using NX is its capacity to handle our sophisticated surfacing needs.

NISSAN MOTOR

Continuous improvement – design through delivery

 Automotive industry is now engaged in “one of the greatest engineering competitions in
history.
 To ensure that Nissan is one of the winners, the company is now building on the success
of a program Ghosn initiated in 2001. Called V-3P (Value Up for Product, Process and
Program Innovation),
 Quality has improved significantly as well under the V-3P program.
 This was determined in two ways
 One was a reduction in design changes, which ranged from a 60-percent to a 90-
percent decline.
 The lower figure was achieved on a vehicle program that included a significant amount of
new technology.
 The 90-percent reduction was found on a follow-up vehicle program based on an existing
platform.

 The other way that quality was measured was in the number of problems reported after a
vehicle was released to the market.
 By this measure, the V-3P program excelled, reducing this number by 80 percent.
Business initiatives
 New product development
 Commonization and re-use
 Enterprise data management
Business Challenges
 Ongoing time-to-market pressures
 Consumer mandate for more environmentally friendly cars
 Global customer base and supplier network
Keys to Success
 Re-use of validated design data and concepts
 Virtual validation replaces all but one physical prototype
 Production requirements addressed earlier in the design process
 Single source of vehicle data
Results
 Development cycle reduced from 20 months to 10.5 months
 80 percent fewer problems after vehicle release
 Design changes reduced by 60 percent to 90 percent
 Better-than-expected ROI
Valeo

 Valeo is structured around four business units

o Comfort & Driving Assistance Systems
o Powertrain Systems
o Thermal Systems
o Visibility Systems
Business Challenges
 Reduce CO2 emissions in all market segments
 Develop technologies that enable smarter and safer driving
Keys to Success
 Use Simcenter Amesim to perform rapid evaluation of new technologies
 Reduce CO2 emissions primarily by modifying the powertrain system
 Create, test and validate new concepts within a restricted time and cost framework
 Enhance presence in Asian emerging markets
Results
 Facilitated rapid decision making when evaluating new projects
 Reduced the required number of physical test sessions
 Optimized costs by standardizing the use of mechatronic system simulation
 Played a central role for the Powertrain Innovation Department in the entire development
process
Simcenter Amesim
 In order to optimize costs, Valeo, through its innovation departments, tries to standardize
the use of mechatronic system simulation to assess the efficiency of systems and concepts
to validate them in the end.
 Simcenter Amesim enables Valeo to better understand the behavior of systems and
subsystems, accelerating innovation while reducing costs

How Siemens PLM Software solution does helps Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle in
investigating the Rankine cycle concept to boost truck fuel efficiency?
Physical layout of the Rankine cycle

1. Pump, 2. Boiler, 3. Turbine, 4. Condenser

 The Rankine cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle of a heat engine that converts
heat into mechanical work while undergoing phase change.
o Process 1-2 is [Isentropic compression]
o Process 2-3 is [Constant pressure heat addition in boiler]
o Process 3-4 is [Isentropic expansion]
o Process 4-1 is [Constant pressure heat rejection in condenser]
DONGFENG MOTOR CORPORATION
Founded – 1969 (51 Years ago)

 Leading truck manufacturer optimizes engine cooling controls strategies with Simcenter
Amesim
 As a leading transport service partner in China, DFCV is currently working on engine
fuel efficiency to optimize freight transportation patterns.
 Siemens Digital Industries Software solution helps Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle
investigate the Rankine cycle concept to boost truck fuel efficiency
Business challenges
 Cut truck development costs and time
 Reduce the number of prototypes and the use of test benches
 Maintain a competitive edge by implementing energy recovery concepts
Why to boost truck fuel efficiency?
 In 2010 heavy-duty trucks represented only 4% of registered vehicles in the United
States,
 but accounted for approximately 25 percent of on-road energy use and greenhouse gas
emissions.
 Currently (2017) nearly 60 percent of the energy contained in the fuel of a heavy-duty
truck is wasted in the engine through
o pumping,
o friction,
o cooling and exhaust losses.
 The payback period for energy-efficient technologies is sometimes less than one year,
which is 5 to 10 times faster than for cars.
 Thus, heavy-duty truck manufacturers, are accelerating their efforts to develop efficient
energy recovery concepts.
Using Simcenter Amesim helps DFCV validate advanced controls strategies of the modern
diesel engine’s cooling system.
 One of the most promising approaches for the truck industry is the exhaust heat recovery
technology with a Rankine cycle system.
 In a closed Rankine cycle loop, the working fluid, heated by exhaust gases, turns into
vapor.
 Then the fluid vapor runs a turbine, which can be directly linked
o either to the crankshaft of the engine
o or to an electric generator.
 In spite of controls and design complexity, there is rising interest in this technology
because it would allow truck producers to improve overall fuel efficiency by
approximately 5 percent.
Conquering the largest market
 Due to its rapid economic growth, China - the world’s largest heavy-duty truck market,
representing more than 40 % of the global share.
 To gain access to the promising Chinese market and share development costs of new-
generation engines, European and American truck manufacturers are establishing joint
ventures with local truck producers.
 At the same time, this cooperation allows Asian truck original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) to reinforce their technical expertise and worldwide presence.
 In January 2013,
o Dongfeng and Volvo (the Swedish auto manufacturer) agreed to form a China-
based medium
o heavy-duty truck manufacturing joint venture,
o Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles, with 45% ownership by Volvo.
 As part of the transaction, Volvo will pay 5.6 billion yuan to Dongfeng
Overcoming Business Challenge (No 2)
 With Simcenter Amesim, we have reduced our development costs significantly because
we no longer need to use a test bench to validate our controls strategies
Enhancing diesel engine control strategies
 What is the best way to optimize fan controls to save fuel while maintaining cooling
performance?
 How could a controlled thermostat or water pump improve the cooling system
performance?
 We (DFCV) needed a simulation tool that would allow us to understand all of the
technical issues of a complex system such as an engine,
 by modeling its combustion,
 cooling,
 lubrication subsystems
 and then integrating these subsystem models into the entire vehicle model
The lubrication circuit is one of the engine subsystems that DF CV models with Simcenter
Amesim in order to integrate it into the entire vehicle model.
DFCV models the Rankine cycle loop using the two-phase flow library of Simcenter Amesim.
Engine Development Department
 The Engine Development Department turned to Siemens Digital Industries Software for
help, following a benchmark
 Using Simcenter Amesim, we now assemble all engine subsystems in one model in order
to test controls strategies to assess fuel consumption via co-simulation between an
Simcenter Amesim and Simulink models.
 We can not only analyze the fuel efficiency of our existing architectures, but also
capitalize and re-use the same model to optimize current designs.
Taking the lead with energy recovery concepts
 Our research and development activity around the Rankine cycle technology wouldn’t be
possible
o without the two-phase flow library of Simcenter Amesim
o as well as other predefined and validated multi-domain Simcenter Amesim
components,
 which allow us to analyze the effect of this innovative approach under real driving
conditions before the first prototype has been produced.
Performing co-simulation with models utilizing Simcenter Amesim and the Simulink®
environment allows DFCV to save testing time.
Keys to success
 Design an efficient engine cooling system with advanced controls strategies
 Optimize existing diesel engines by considering different design options
 Analyze the impact of the exhaust heat recovery technology under real driving conditions
Results
Optimized engine cooling controls strategies
 Analyzed behavior of the combustion, cooling and lubrication subsystems in the context
of the entire vehicle
 Studied Rankine cycle technology before the first prototype was available

PLM CASE STUDIES IN JAPAN

BUSINESS STRATEGIES AND KEY INITIATIVES
 This case study introduces PLM business scenarios of three Japanese manufacturing
firms.
o Case 1—“Implement PLM Prior to ERP”
o Case 2—“PLM as Working Space for Designers”
o Case 3—“Don’t Customize, but Use PLM as It Is”
 They come from three different kinds of business situations.
PLM History in Japan
 In Japan, PLM as a technical term was first seen in about 1995.
 At the time, concurrent engineering using 3D CAD data was booming, but the product
design engineering style of Japanese firms was more focused on 2D drawings than on a
3D model data centric approach.
 Therefore, PLM was often positioned as a drawing data management system
 Bills of Materials (BOM) managed by ERP/MRP systems rather than PLM systems.
2007 Problem
 Millions of veteran engineers would retire by the year 2007.
 So PLM as not only a simple product information management system, but also as a
knowledge management system
2011 Earthquake
 Business strategies of Japanese firms became focused on the life-and-death problem of
continuing operations rather than innovation in product development.
 Strengthening SCM and ERP systems had higher priority than PLM and CAD initiatives
 Interest in PLM declined.
2020 Tokyo Olympics
 Has encouraged many Japanese companies to express their concerns about their current
PLM systems not being able to cope with operational changes.
 As of December 2018, there is an increasing need in Japan to replace or rebuild aging
PLM systems.
 Japan is facing a rapidly aging society; one in four people is now over the age of 65.
 The Japanese government is encouraging digital transformation, with drastic reforms to
the working practices of white-collar workers.
 Presently, an increasing number of companies are working with product development
systems that make development highly productive, even with fewer people.
 Japanese manufactures are increasingly pursuing PLM systems combined with internet of
things (IoT) technologies.
CASE 1—“IMPLEMENT PLM PRIOR TO ERP”
 Company “A” is an industrial machinery manufacturer.
 Recently, the company decided to renovate its aging PLM system.
 INTENTION – to support the design of similar products that account for more sales
efficiency.
 AIM - speedy response to new product development.
Issues Faced
 Major issues with creating a bill of materials (BOM) in the drawing work of the design
phase.
 This work was time consuming
 There was no data connectivity among BOM, 2D drawings, 3D models, and technical
documents, as each of these was managed in disparate IT systems.
 ad hoc basis
 No integrated work management
 Balancing of design work burden
Awareness
 Head of the factory Mr.X (who had spent most of his career on the shop floor earlier
days) was aware of this problem.
 He believed that implementing an ERP would lead to improvements but data connections
between design and manufacturing were extremely poor.
 Break in workflow when a designer was on long leave.
 Presently, Company A is riding a booming economy and aims to use this opportunity to
expand its business as much as possible.
 Sharing linked information between design and manufacturing would be too time-
consuming.
 He began to wonder if the cause of this issue was a lack of functionality in the company’s
existing PLM system
 He still believed that the ERP system was the most important IT system, but ERP alone
was not good enough
 He accelerated the decision to renew the PLM system before addressing ERP.
Why was it necessary to implement PLM before ERP?
 Various issues and troubles were beleaguering (Annoy persistently) the factory.
 Product design related mistakes were commonplace.
 For example, despite a design change, the drawings held by the manufacturing
department were often obsolete
 In addition, it was discovered that some components used by the company were no longer
being manufactured.
 The designers tended to keep their own product drawings of the products for which they
were responsible, but it was difficult for others to locate those drawings

 “The situation is no good. If we don’t integrate and manage design data properly in
a PLM system, we will not be able to do design work. Our current management
methods are at a breaking point”
 His conclusion was that “ERP alone will not work. The upstream design processes are not
sending down proper data. This means that we need PLM before ERP!”
Results
 First, data searches became faster
 All design data were integrated within a single PLM system, allowing all necessary data
to be found in one search
 PLM’s access control function played a role in reducing the risk of mistakenly losing
other people’s data.
 In the future, it is expected that expanding the rollout of new PLM functions will
rationalize design work for similar designs, making sure sufficient labor is available for
designing new products.
 Concerning design drawings, the PLM system promotes the distribution of 3D model
data.
 reduce manufacturing rework requirements and associated costs.
CASE 2—“PLM AS WORKING SPACE FOR DESIGNERS”
 Company B designs, manufactures and sells highly creative products for various types
of urban office buildings and public facilities.
 In the last decade
o faced severe competition regarding product development
o challenging to generate products with fresh designs and functionality
Situation in the year 2000
 The product designers
o were geographically dispersed,
o and none have experienced the digital engineering, using 3D CAD and PLM
 Working at a manufacturing site had a positive result in product designs that showed an
understanding of manufacturing requirements.
 However, these people were located far from the metropolitan areas that contained the
company’s target markets and customers.
Mr. X and his Idea
 Mr. X (head of product development) worked for a long time in the sales division.
 Though he had no knowledge of product technology,
o he was appointed so that products developed would be competitive from a sales
perspective.
 First decision
o product designers work near big city markets, because he felt they should work
close to the sales department.
o Therefore, Mr. X decided to move the designers to Tokyo.
What is an ideal work environment for product designers?
 Mr. X began to feel the need for the kind of infrastructure favored by designers who seek
to be creative.
o Infrastructure - IT foundation
 For designers, the space must be comfortable or else good ideas are simply not created.
 Earlier when they worked in the factory, they create product prototypes with complete
freedom to move around.
 However, the Tokyo office space was congested.
 The product development done in that cramped and stressful place led to delays,
generated higher costs, and worsened teamwork with the factory.
 These problems were later solved almost instantaneously by moving to a more spacious
design-studio office.
 This meant that providing an open physical space was extremely important for the
company’s designers.
In order to produce hit products, is it good enough to only provide the right physical space?
 The members of the design team spent more time creating documents on word processors
than they did with the CAD systems.
 With his sales background, Mr. X was doubtful that his designers were really able to
focus on their design work.
 In addition, the version of CAD software was out of date, and nothing was being done for
product data management.
 Mr. X noticed that, “Designers need more than just a physical space. The work of design
revolves around digital data, and a digital space is needed to manage that digital data!”
 This was a recognition that the design division needed the IT infrastructure of product
information management.
PLM and its value
 Mr. X began to study PLM seriously and came to understand its value.
 Management team agreed on PLM’s value by calculating it based on the management
metrics
 The company defined a key performance indicator—“Net Creative Time”.
 Mr. X came to believe that there was a need not only for a
o “physical space” but also a
o “digital space” in the form of PLM to really bring the talents of designers to full
bloom.
Results
 In practice, the first step in implementation of PLM were CAD data management and
linking BOM with the ERP system.
 In other words, by rationalizing unnecessary work in detailed design, the company could
focus on creating “Net Creative Time” for designers.
 In addition, assigning lots of people to create two dimensional drawings by hand was
extremely inefficient.
 One of the benefits of PLM is automatic generation of product variants.
Future Scope
 A plan to create a decision system to give further feedback to the management team.
CASE 3—“DON’T CUSTOMIZE, BUT USE PLM AS IT IS”
 Company C - manufacturer of metrology equipment and related solutions.
 Mr. M (executive for company-wide IT)
 Mr. M always instructed his managers, “Use the standard functionality of packages as
much as possible.”
Why Customization?
 He emphasized that work tasks that do not contribute differentiation of the company,
from others should be adapted to off-the-shelf IT packages to ensure that the package
functions efficiently.
 Of course, whatever work that does enable company differentiation may indeed
require customization,
o but Mr. M recommends first using standard functionality provided by IT vendors
for ERP and PLM systems in particular.
Is customization leads to problems
 In the past, Mr. M had accepted many proposals by external system integrators to
customize systems when implementing systems.
 However, he was not able to back away from those customizations, which ended up being
expensive in terms of system development and maintenance.
 If there is sufficient IT budget for investment, companies are better off rather
o investing in things that add value,
 such as technology development for product innovations, or production
process innovations
o and not customization of software.
 Mr. M was successful without customizing the ERP system, using standard functionality
as much as possible.
o standard functionality would be used when implementing the PLM system.
 PLM is used in development and design to generate product innovation and it was said to
be difficult to standardize.
 PLM implementation is targeting lean engineering.
Results
 Company C’s PLM projects went live after an implementation period of 12 months.
 Afterward, the use of standard functionality in the company’s PLM was still kept at 99%.
 This PLM system is clearly positioned as one piece of a company-wide IT strategy.
 Company C aims to create a single “trinity” system comprising PLM, ERP, and MES.
 This will be critical in helping them achieve their aim of becoming a leading smart-
factory company in their industry.
UNIT-IV ROLE OF PLM IN INDUSTRIES
PLM Vision
A PLM Vision represents the best possible forecast of the desired future PLM situation and
activities. It outlines the framework and major characteristics of the future activities. For some
companies, one step in the Initiative will be to develop and communicate a PLM Vision for the
future environment.
A PLM Vision communicates the fundamental “what’s, why’s and where’s” of PLM for the
company. It provides a Big Picture to guide people in the choices they have to make, when
strategising and planning, about resources, priorities, capabilities, budgets, and the scope of
activities. There’s a saying, “a ship without a destination doesn’t make good speed”. Without a
PLM Vision, people won’t know what they should be working towards, so won’t work
effectively.

Development and maintenance of the PLM Vision is a 17-step activity

1. Start the Visioning activity
2. Clarify the objectives
3. Identify the factors to be addressed
4. Identify the questions to be answered
5. Get information to answer the questions
6. Develop some drafts of the Vision (scenarios)
7. Document the scenarios
8. Test the scenarios to see if they answer the questions and meet the objectives
9. Unless there are at least three reasonable scenarios, return to Step 3
10. Carry out SWOT analysis on the reasonable scenarios
11. Identify the preferred scenario
12. Add the strengths of the other scenarios to the preferred scenario
13. Test the scenario to see if it answers all the questions and meets the objectives
14. If there are doubts about the scenario, return to Step 3
15. Document the Vision that answers all the questions and meets the objectives
16. Write the PLM Vision Report
17. Maintain the Vision

Title : The PLM Vision Report

Table of Contents
Executive Overview
Section 1 The PLM Initiative
1.1 Recommendations from the PLM feasibility study
1.2 Driving forces for PLM
1.3 Critical issues for PLM
Section 2 - The Company
2.1 Company objectives and strategy
2.2 Key success factors for the company
2.3 Key issues : markets, customers and competitors
2.4 Key issues : products
Section 3 - The PLM Vision Development Approach
3.1 Data gathering
3.2 Scenario development
3.3 SWOT analysis
3.4 Scenario selection
Section 4 - The PLM Vision
Appendices
1. Team Members
2. Interviews
3. Details for each specific area

PLM Strategy
The future PLM Strategy describes how PLM resources will be organised, managed and used to
achieve the objectives

Developing the future PLM Strategy is a 9-step activity

1. Start the activity to develop the PLM Strategy
2. Clarify the reporting requirements
3. Create the report structure
4. Gather information about the Future Situation
5. Develop Candidate Strategies (scenarios)
6. Select the Preferred Strategy
7. Finalise the PLM Strategy Report
8. Present the report
9. Communicate the Strategy

Title : The PLM Strategy Report

Table of Contents
Executive overview
Section 1- The company
Company objectives and strategy
Critical issues and key success factors for the company
Strengths and weaknesses of the company’s competitors
Section 2 The surroundings
Recent changes in the environment
Current environment
Expected changes in the future environment
Section 3 - The activities in the lifecycle
PLM objectives
Current situation of PLM activities and resources
Future situation of PLM activities and resources
Brief description of the selected PLM strategy
Analysis of the selected PLM strategy
o strengths and weaknesses
o response to opportunities and threats
o fit to company strategy
Section 4 - Detailed description of the PLM strategy. Organisation and policies;
products and services; portfolio; customers; activities, processes;
facilities; human resources; technology; practices; information;
information systems; standards; relationships with other activities;
interfaces; operations; metrics; planning and control; quality; finance
Section 5 - Change strategy
Section 6 - Outline strategy implementation plan
major projects: objectives timing, resources, costs, benefits;
project dependencies, priorities, organisation
Section 7 - Outline first year operating plan
Appendix 1 Detailed information about the Future Situation
Appendix 2 Detailed information about Strategy development and selection
PLM Implementation Strategy
The PLM Implementation Strategy shows how resources and activities will be organised to
achieve the future PLM Strategy. It shows the activities that have to be carried out to get from
the current use of PLM resources to the future use of PLM resources.
10 steps to develop the PLM implementation strategy
1. Start the activity to develop the PLM Implementation Strategy
2. Clarify the reporting requirements
3. Create the report structure
4. Gather information about the Current Situation and the Future Situation
5. Understand the factors that may influence timing and priorities
6. Develop Candidate PLM Implementation Strategies (scenarios)
7. Select the Preferred PLM Implementation Strategy
8. Write the PLM Implementation Strategy Report
9. Finalise the PLM Implementation Strategy Report
10. Present the report

PLM Implementation Plan

Once the PLM Implementation Strategy is known, an Implementation Plan, built up of
manageable and prioritised sub-projects, should be developed. This should show how the overall
vision will be achieved over the Initiative timeline. It should address the long term and the short
term.
For the long term, the plan provides executives with the information necessary to understand
activities, resources and timelines. The more specific the plan, the better. It should define an
overall implementation timetable. It should show how the PLM implementation will be split into
manageable phases
UNIT-V BASICS ON CUSTOMISATION/INTEGRATION OF PDM/PLM SOFTWARE

Integration of the PLM system with other applications

Different ways to integrate PLM systems

 In a PLM project, it is necessary to decide what kind of information will be updated in
each system.
 The central question to be examined is the ownership of the information in various life-
cycle phases.
 A reasonable objective is that information should always be updated in one place.
 Other systems can read information directly from the PLM databases, and if necessary,
the required information can be replicated on the databases of other systems.
System integration and related problems are often the most difficult and most laborious parts of a
project.

It is not necessary to integrate the PLM system with all other systems in the company.
1. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
2. Document management systems
3. Mechanical or electronic CAD systems
4. Other design applications, image editors
5. Applications for cost accounting and bookkeeping
6. Customer relationship management (CRM) or other sales applications
7. Reporting systems
8. e-Mail programs
9. Office applications
10. Viewers
11. Internet browsers

 The level of integration can vary considerably.

 Information can be moved between PLM and other applications in several different ways,
o from the manual transfer and copying of files to sophisticated database or
middleware integration between systems.
APPLICATION - TWO OPPORTUNITIES
 An application has two opportunities to acquire the information it needs:
o information transfer
o information sharing
 Information transfer involves copying the information prior to moving it.
 Shared information involves the use of one common database.
 Many different applications have access to a single database, if necessary at the same
time.
Three commonest ways to integrate systems
1. Transfer file integration
2. Database integration
3. Middleware integration

 It is often easier to transfer information than to share it,

 because sharing information requires an exact knowledge of the basic mechanisms of the
software in use and sometimes involves application specific tailoring.
 However, the problem with information transfer is that it is often extremely difficult to
ensure the harmony of information after copying and transferring files.
 Later changes in moved information are not necessarily updated in the original database.
 One could say that the transfer of information is suitable for communication between
separate companies and organizations.
 The sharing of information is a good solution inside a company, where applications can
be more tightly integrated.
Transfer file
 Information is usually moved as a so-called transfer file, which is created either manually
or automatically in the application from which the information is exported.
 The generated transfer file is read, manually or automatically, by the application into
which the information is imported.

 As always in integrating applications, common terms and concepts must be clarified

carefully
 There must be exact agreements on:
o What information is moved?
o How is the information moved?
o In which file format is the information moved?
 The transfer file can be,
o for example, a *.txt or *.csv-type text file in which the fields to be moved are
distinguished from each other using a separator character, such as “;” or “|”.
 The example might create the following line in a transfer file:
 465259; ; PLATE; S=20; pieces; P004310; A;
465259; ; PLATE; S=20; pieces; P004310; A;

Database integration
 This is still a case of transferring information, but the method used is database integration
instead of a transfer file.
 Database integration is often carried out through a so-called API (Application
Programming Interface).
 A PLM application could offer, for example, the following API functions as services to
other applications:
- Retrieval of information, for example searching for documents or items with a
certain code
- Free text-form search of information using AND/OR/NOT functions
- Retrieving the structure of a certain item
- Adding information to the database
- Editing information in the database
Advantages of transfer file integration
■ Easy to implement
■ Inexpensive solution
■ Easy to make changes
Disadvantages of transfer file integration
 Slow, does not operate in real time
 Information has to be replicated over several databases
 Timing/launching of the transfer file often involves manual work
 Management of several transfer files can be difficult
Advantages of database integration
■ Speed
■ Ability to use common databases for several applications
■ Information in one place
■ Automatic
Disadvantages of database integration
■ Implementation can be quite heavy
■ Making changes is more difficult
■ Expensive
EAI - Middleware integration
 Many companies began to develop large-scale integration for transferring information
between systems.
 However, this development led to a huge amount of work due to the large number of
specialized systems and to the ineffectiveness of tailored integrations.
 Integrations have to be built individually in the form of tailored links from system to
system.
 Maintenance of these integrations is quite laborious
 Enterprise Application Integration - process like data transfer and distribution possible
between different applications in a company’s data network.
 Helps in moving information more effectively within and between companies.
 It integrates different systems with each other with the help of a common generally
functioning layer.
 Instead of separately integrating specific systems,
o the EAI adds to the IT architecture of companies a software layer (middleware)
that transmits and moves the required information between different systems
 Advantages
o The need for integration between the systems decreases
o Reduce the amount of work needed for the maintenance of the integration

 EAI is multiform and still a little open.

 The exact nature of the concept can therefore vary in different connections
 Many people said definitions for EAI, but is simple it is
o Middleware (EAI) software can be used to reduce the number of integrations and
make them easier to manage
SYSTEM ROLES
 When integrating information systems with each other, it is necessary to think profoundly
about the roles of the systems in the first place.
 The properties of new systems have perhaps not been used to the maximum possible
extent.
 Example –
o A Company acquired new ERP application to manage spare part items
o The focus of the project might be elsewhere
o Long term infrastructure planning
o lack of skilled people
o The company’s few experts cannot always participate in every development
project.
o From an overall viewpoint, the result is not always perfect.
ERP

Traditionally,
PLM ERP
Used for product development process Used for production process
for product data producers for product data consumers

 The PLM system manages product items and item structures,

o but seldom the stock levels for warehouse items.
 This information is controlled with the help of ERP systems but the basic information on
items may be read into ERP from the PLM system.
 ERP developed from MRP (Material Requirements Planning) systems
 MRP - used for calculating material needs for production

 Modern ERP are module based; different modules have different user interfaces and
different user groups
o Manufacturing module
o Procurement module
o Logistics module
o Financial module
o Maintenance module
o Sales module
 Different modules manage different operative functions within their particular fields,
covering all kinds of issues needed daily
o customer data,
o purchases,
o backlog of orders,
o warehouse items,
o bill of materials,
o delivered products,
o billing,
o procurement control data,
o sub-contracting data, and so on.
 However, much of the necessary basic information, and the updating of that information,
may be located in the databases of a PLM system.

 The ERP system must often be integrated with a PLM system.

 Depending on the databases and the needs of the company, the link can be by transfer
file, database or middleware integration.
 Organizations that work largely with
o purchase transactions,
o orders,
o inventories,
o deliveries and
o similar operations (production, purchase and maintenance)
 will probably work more with ERP systems.

 For those involved in

o producing product information,
o such as product development and marketing,
 the system is more likely to be PLM.
CAD
 Many PLM systems have developed from software intended for the management of CAD
drawings.
 Modern PLM systems are no longer CAD system additions, it operates very widely with
all kinds of applications.
 information that has been produced by a CAD system is controlled by a PLM system
 The PLM does not contain any features related to the actual modeling and engineering
work.

 At its simplest, a PLM system can serve as a file vault for documentation produced by a
CAD system
 CAD system connected to PLM so that the created documentation is saved directly into
PLM without any intermediate stages.
 The PLM user interface can be integrated into the CAD user interface.

 Integration is not restricted to drawings; it can cover all other created information
including:
o Individual 3D-models
o Structures of models: Assemblies and subassemblies
o Items
o Item structures
o Drawings: workshop drawings, assembly drawings, exploded drawings, etc.
The information lines of a workshop drawing have been filled in from the PLM system
database

.
Configurators
 Configuration is a method of arrangement.
 In the view of IT - Configurator is an application that manages the structure of a product
and its variations,
 When speaking configurators – terminology – different suppliers & IT consultants can
interpret the term differently

 The following applications

o which differ very clearly from each other in their operation and content
o are often mixed up:
 Sales configurator
 Product structure configurator
Sales Configurator
 A sales configurator controls the sales properties of a product and the rules relating to
sales properties.
 The rules define the allowed combinations of sales properties and prevent the choice of
forbidden combinations

For Example,
 A car factory may have decided for technical or other reasons that a car equipped with a
70 kW engine is not available with an automatic gearbox.
 In other words,
o if the sales item, engine power, has a value of 70 kW,
o then the sales item, transmission, must not have the value automatic.

 A sales configurator can also control other kinds of customer information, such as market
area or customer-specific price lists for different sales properties.
 The sales configurator produces a so-called sales structure,
o in practice a group of features that determine the technical structure of the
product.

 The following properties, for example, could be configured for a car:

 Here, the sales configuration for the selected car on the feature level would be as follows:

CHASSIS OF THE CAR: a three-door coupe

ENGINE: 50 kW

GEARBOX: automatic

COLOR: red

 A sales configurator can be integrated with PLM software, when the configurator uses
sales items that are managed by the PLM.
 In addition, based on a chosen sales configuration, a physical product structure can be
created in the PLM with those items and item variations that fulfill the selected product
properties defined in the sales configuration.
 This requires that the PLM system have product structure configuration features.
 Not all PLM applications support the configuration of the product structure very well yet.
A PRACTICAL SALES STRUCTURE

Product Structure Configurator

 A product structure configurator can be part of a PLM system or it can be an independent
application that is integrated with PLM.
 For the product structure, the configurator is fed the sales configuration as an input value
after which it produces a product structure matching the sales configuration in question as
an output value.
 Management of the product structure with a configurator is programmatically challenging
because it is possible quickly to accumulate thousands of different variations of the
product.
 If all possible combinations of the four different features in the car example were
allowed, the combination of
o three different chassis,
o three engines,
o two transmission and
o four colors
 would alone be enough to produce 72 different configurations.
 Usually a product contains many sales properties that affect the product structure.
 The number of different structures can easily rise to thousands or even hundreds of
thousands.
 For a configurator automatically to create a product structure for all these thousands of
different variations requires a carefully designed product model that combines sales
features with physical item structures.
 The configuration software must also have a very advanced user interface for the
maintenance of the product model.