ADftP > May/June 2010 > FEATURE > PLM: What You Need to Know > Lawrence S.

Gould >

lsg@lsgould.com

WHAT YDU NEED TD KNOW

Here are some of the key elements and considerations relevant to PLM implementations.
by Lawrence 5. Gould >
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

PLM is about /product, /ifecycle, and management. Products are the raison d'tre of manufacturing, so naturally the basis of PLM is integrated computer-aided design/manufacturing/ engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE). Other applications manage and otherwise monitor other aspects of a product's Ufecycle-those aspects beyond product design and manufacture, such as sales, service, and retirement. Last, PI,M is all about the management of data and, equally imponant, the management of collaborations that go on throughout the supply chain, These are the interactions between people, business entities, production sites, and information technology (IT). "How do you manage all of these data and workflows into developing, manufacturing, and distributing producs?" asks Ken Versprille, partner and PLM research director for Collaborative Product Development Associates, LLC (cpd-associa tes. com). The answer: PLM. That's the high-level view of things to know. Here's a handful of other things.

for ClMdata (cimdata.com). "PLM is an evolving issue, Just like your business is evolving. Is PLM enahled with technology? Absolutely. But it's as much about tbe process and how you do things as it is about whai you build. While you can operate more efficiently with enterprise resource planning fERP], and customer relationship management [CRM] lets you interact effectively with your customers, what makes a difference to the bottom line is the products that you can sell and deliver and support. That's what PLM is all about." Allusions to ERP are rampant when discussing PLM. Both started as several department-specific applications coalescing into an enterprise-wide business management system. However, explains Eric Sterling, senior vice president of marketing for Siemens PLM Software (siemens.com/plm), PLM closes the loop between the information from manufacturing execution system (the AS-BUILT) and from CAD/CAM/ CAE and ERP (the AS-PLANNED). Tracking and understanding this digital definition of AS-BUlLT-what has actually happened on (he plant floor-is becoming increasingly important in this age of govemment regulation, green design, safety, and liability. Manufacturing's deep, dark, dirty secrei for years has been that while somebody engineered something, what actually

got built might be something else. Nobody really knew if the theoretical engineering information lined up with what actual product. Sterling says PLM provides the feedback loop that declares, "Okay, you didn't build what we engineered, but we are able to test what you built and te!! you that it meets the [customer] requirements originiilly laid out." In short, PLM is the glue between upfront planning and everything else: detailed product design, manufacturing, and retirement. That glue becomes especially critical in the global environment, where, says Sierling, verhal collaboration is generally not p()S.sil)ic. "You need an infrastructure to see change, manage change, and automate change across the globe." Or PLM. These days, much of the focus in PI,M is in additional functionality, specifically product and portfolio management, requirements management, business analysis, warranty management, and compance management (green initiatives and government regulations). Coming to the fore, says Versprille, is the management of software revisions and CAE data. The hot buttons here include product design, test, reliability, and safety as they relate to life, death-and warranty exposure. A PLM strategy should include saving data from all product simulation trials. What's yet to be fully addressed is what CAE data to save.

PLM goes beyond CAD

PLM is not a static concept, technology, or strategy. Once "just" a set of applications on an engineer's desktop, PLM is a "strategic element of your business," says Ken Amann, director of research

PLM is not generic

As is so often the case in anything computer related, industry requirements drive software, which in turn drives the selection of compute infrastructure, IT implementation, and vendors. PLM is no different, siarting with aligning an enterprise's business strategy with the PLM vendor's pedigree (engineering, I'mancial, or information management) and industry niche. Beyond that, PLM must be tailored by industry because the applications that matter most in an enterprise, beyond the core PLM applications, vary by industry. For instance, points out Al Bunshafl, managing director for Dassault Systmes Americas {3ds. com), styling, designing, and safety are critical in automotive. Safety, product traccabiliiy, and product lifecycle tracking are critical in pharmaceutical. Pharmaceutical also uses styling and design applications, bul only lor designing the packages that appear on the shelves in stores, Component traceability is growing on automotive.

migration/data-cleansing problem particularly when you're bringing information out of old systems. Frankly, a lot ofthat data is not very good." The news is generally good, though. Plenty of examples exist of fast PLM deployments, companies up and running with PLM quickly, and speedy returns on investments. While industryfocused (a.k.a., prepackaged) PLM systems with built-in best practices (a.k.a., templates) havr helped, more important is the Business Management 101 stuff: understand what you're trying to do, manage expectations, track metrics relevant to your business, prove you're beneftting and, if you're not, where to make corrections ASAP.

wide software: software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing. These are both pay-for-what-you-use models. The big stumbling block in both-and this applies to everything, not just PLM-is that data is off-site, outside the corporate firewall. "A lot of companies are afraid ofthat," says Versprille. That fear is changing. Increasing numbers of people and companies are backing up Ihcir computers to web-based services and are using web-based office programs, such as those hosted l)y Google and Microsoft. "As smaller enterprises wish to collaborate and participate in larger product developments, the cloud may be a viable way to i'acilitate supply chain collaboration and coordination hetween OEMs and their distributed sci of suppliers," says Bunshaft. "Also, cloud computing will become important as PLM starts to penetrate new industries. These new delivery methods make very sophisticated applications available to those who really can't afford, build, and maintain these applications themselves." Also consider social computing. Here is "this notion of collaboration with much wider audiencesnew types of communities being formed that let others outside traditional designers

Executive support is necessary

One basic aspect of cntcrjirisc management systems needs highlighting: "Enterprises that don't have a unified PLM strategy risk fragmentation, increased complexity, and much higher costs. Senior executive support is required to drive PLM. It's not something that an engineering department can stand up and substantiate," says Bunshaft. "This is where lots of PLM efforts break down."

PLM implementations are less an issue

For companies surviving F.RP implementations, PLM can be daunting, even scary. However, points out Sterling, PLM is "a single unified sel of domain solutions thai work together. You don't have to buy them all. PLM can grow as your maturity level grows." Sterling urges "organic growth" Ibr successful implementations, "You eat part ofthe 'elephant,' gain success, and then grow from there." Compared to PLM implementations even two years ago, today's PLM implementations arc taster, data captures easier, and the workflows and l)usiness analytics arc more relevant to the target enterprise. Out-of-thebox, template-based approaches |)rovide fairly good "standard" PLM process flows. (Customization is still required through for"nuanced" business practices.) But, warns Amann. i\ "business issue that most people underestimate is the whole data-

PLM is all about the management of data and, equally important, the management of collaborations that go on throughout the supply chain.
PLM deliveiy methods are changing Once upon a lime, software required building an infrastructure of computers and data networks, loading in tbat software, testing and deploying the entire system, then running and maintaining the whole kit-andcaboodle. In the past decade, fewer major companies run their own IT infrastructure. They outsource it. In the last few years, many large companies have adopted two compute models for running critical and enterpriseand engineers provide design input," continues Bunshaft. Facebook, Twitter, and similar technologies can be stimulating. They can motivate potential customers to experience products before fhose products exist. These people will provide feedhack about those products. But social computing brings up new challenges, says Bunshaft. "Collaboration outside the traditional ecosystem of the OEM and its supply chain, is, frankly, something the rest of the PLM world hasn't gotten yet."

Copyright of Automotive Design & Production is the property of Gardner Publications, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.