Upper Iowa University – Madison, WI Campus

Technology and Information Management

Senior Project October 17, 2008

Table of Contents

3.0       Introduction

            3.1       Company Profile

5.0       Telecommunications Network, Graphic

6.0       Proposal

            6.1       Product Lifecycle Management and Collaborative Product Commerce

8.0       Product Lifecycle management, Graphic

10.0     Synchronous Collaboration Systems

11.0     Collaborative product Definition Management

12.0     Configuration Management

            12.1     Configuration Management II Model

13.0     Role in Engineering

            13.1     Importance of CM

            13.2     Documentation of Product Changes

14.0     Product Development

            14.1     The Changing Environment of a Global Enterprise

15.0     The Need for Adaptability

            15.1     Product Innovation in a Diversified Enterprise

16.0     Evaluation of the Proposed Solution

            16.1     Agile 7.5

17.0     Teamcenter

            17.1     Recommendations

19.0     References

Introduction

            Getting a product to market is more than designing, manufacturing and selling it to customers.  It encompasses a wide array of strategic business plans, processes and applications.  In an engineering and manufacturing enterprise the most important application used is the database that implements and maintains changes made to the products.

            In a large corporation a one application does all will not work.  Its function is too broad and does not fit the detailed needs of both engineering and operations.  Two separate databases are needed, one for business and operations and another for engineering, both of which need to allow the flow of data and information between each other.

            In this paper I will discuss the processes and strategic plans used in implementing an engineering change management system.  Included is the understanding of Product Lifecycle Management, Collaborative Product Definition Management, the global enterprise environment and the comparison between two Product Lifecycle Management solutions, Agile 7.5 and Teamcenter. 

Company profile

Emerson – Corporate Office is in St. Louis, Missouri

            Emerson (NYSE: EMR) is a diversified global manufacturing and technology company. It offers a wide range of products and services in the areas of process management, climate technologies, network power, storage solutions, professional tools, appliance solutions, motor technologies, and industrial automation. Recognized widely for its engineering capabilities and management excellence, Emerson has more than 140,000 employees and approximately 265 manufacturing locations worldwide.  Sales for 2007 were more than 22 billion. (Emerson Electric)

            The division I work for is Emerson Network Power, Embedded Computing, formerly known as Artesyn Communications located in Madison, WI.   Its product portfolio, ranging from communications servers, application-ready platforms, blades and modules to enabling software and professional services

            I work in Engineering as an ECO Specialist and am one of the administrator’s for the Product Lifecycle Management of our products.  I write the Engineering Change Orders and am responsible for editing, coordinating, and facilitating product changes for Emerson Embedded Computing.  I also act as a liaison between Engineering and other departments regarding change control, using the product data management system (Agile). In addition, I also ensure that appropriate and accurate information is transferred into the enterprise management system (Oracle).

            The graphic on the next page depicts all the areas in which Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing has products in the Telecommunications Network.

Figure 1

Source:  Emerson Network Power, Embedded Computing

Proposal

        The Proposal for my Senior Project is to either continue to use our current Engineering Database Agile 7.5 to manage PLM or to use a new tool which is Siemen’s, Teamcenter.

Product Lifecycle Management & Collaborative Product Commerce

            Within an Engineering department there are many processes involved to design, develop, test and manufacture a product.  Two of these processes which are essential in Engineering are Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Collaborative Product Commerce (CPC)

            Collaborative Product Commerce is used to improve the management of a product’s     entire lifecycle while reducing the time from concept to market.

            Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the management of all data relating to the        design, development, product and support for all lifecycles of the product from planning          to end of life or obsolesces.  This includes the management of documents, manuals, user          guides, assembly instructions, requirements, data sheets, cad/cam drawings, components,     configurations, Bill of Materials (BOMs), software, and all changes implemented for       those products. 

            (Product Lifecycle Management)

            CIMdata defines PLM as;”[a] strategic business approach that applies a consistent set of business solution in support of the collaborative creation, management, dissemination and use of product definition information across extended enterprises from concept to end of life – integrating people, processes, business systems and information.”(CIMdata, Product Lifecycle Management ,Empowering the future of Business, p1)

            The changes implemented include;

• ECO’s - Engineering Change Orders is a formal document to implement a change.  The change of the product is written in detail usually within a form that is maintained on a database.  The purpose of the ECO is to document changes that occur to a product.  These changes can include releasing configurations to various lifecycles such as Planning, Prototype, Pilot, Production, Design Out or Obsolete. They also are written to document any changes to the configurations such as design changes, component changes, and software changes.  ECO’s are then distributed to certain key people for approval.  Once this document is approved it is then released for implementation.
• ECR’s or Engineering Change Request are a used as a checklist for a future change that is desired but does not necessarily need to occur immediately.  Usually several ECRs are lined up before an ECO is written.
• MCO’s or Manufacturing Change Orders are used to move a part or component through all the lifecycles and to make changes to a part.  Like ECOs these are approved by key personnel.  This area of PLM is sometimes maintained by the Purchasing department since they relate to buying parts.
• Deviations are temporary one time changes to configurations or products.  These are usually implemented as a quick fix or when a part becomes unavailable and another part can be used in its place.  These go through an approval process with key personnel.
• Product Holds are implemented when a product or configuration cannot be built or shipped due to quality issues.

            All of these changes are maintained in a database that is used to store, monitor, and document all of the data.  This database is available to those involved with these changes.  PLM has evolved with technology, in the past it was just Product Data Management.  All of the changes in the database are usually stored all of the changes in a database. With the advancement of technology and globalization it has become more than that.  To make the most out of a widely distributed worldwide organization PLM has become more complex.  As a result, it needs to be available 24 x 7 with no boundaries. 

            By increasing the databases’ flexibility PLM allows companies to deliver innovative products and services quickly while reducing cost, improving quality while achieving a positive return on investment (ROI).

            A strong PLM process will improve enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) which are necessary in today’s competitive market.

Product Lifecycle         

            A product lifecycle has three interacting lifecycles, a product lifecycle, a production lifecycle and an operational lifecycle. These lifecycles are tightly knitted together, encompass the processes, information, business systems, and resourced involved to deliver their related function.

            The Production Definition not only defines the design and customer requirements from engineering but also defines;

                        1)  Whether or not Purchasing can buy the parts and can the parts vendor deliver                                   them.

                        2)  Can the equipment that manufacturing has product the product?

                        3)  Can the software needs be met for the product?

                        4)  Moving beyond production – Can the product be maintained?

                        5)  With all the environmental regulation in place can the product be dismantled,                                     recycled and disposed of safely?

            Product definition is an intellectual capital and must be updated and maintained so that it remains a viable asset.

                        The fundamental concepts of PLM are:

1)  Universal, secured and managed access and use of product definition information.

                        2)  Maintaining the integrity of the product         definition and related information                                   throughout the life of the product.

3)  Managing and maintaining business processes used to create, manage, disseminate, share, and use the information.

(Product Lifecycle Management “Empowering”  p.5)

            Businesses have found another revenue generating avenue which goes beyond the manufacturing of a product and that is in Services.  This works well with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and business to business vendors that sell highly technical electronic equipment.  They can charge their customers for maintenance of the equipment some of which include, repairs, upgrades in both hardware and software and 24 x 7 technical field services.

Source: ISA

The above graphic is a representation of all the processes PLM encompasses.

Synchronous Collaborative Systems

            Synchronous collaborative systems is a tool that uses the Internet and Web based technology to allow people located in different facilities all over the world to work together online.  With Synchronous Collaborative Systems different perspectives and expertise can be utilized in the product development process and problems can be resolved quickly without the hassle of traveling or sending files and documents back and forth.  A good example of this is when I was working with a designer located in the Philippines.  I needed him to change a part number in a schematic.  We communicated through emails and it was difficult to understand what each of us needed.  He would update the schematic and I would review it.  Since both of us were opening and closing the same file on the server it became locked up.  I couldn’t see the changes he had just made.  It was evident that we both became frustrated because we could not see and update the schematic in real time.  That along with the 12 hour time difference where it was early in the day for me and very late in the day for him.  If we would have had a synchronous collaboration system were we could work on the same design data at the same time I would have been able to see the changes he was making as he was doing it and an issue that took almost two days to resolve could have  been accomplished in 15 minutes.

Collaborative Product Definition Management (cPDm)

            Collaborative Product Definition Management (cPDm) is another layer under Product Lifecycle Management.  It contains the foundation technologies which include; data translation, data transport, system administration and notification, visualization, collaboration and enterprise application integration.

            cPDm functions allow users to store, retrieve and manage data.  These functions fall under five categories.

                        1)  Program Management

                        2) Classification Management

                        3) Product Structure management

                        4)  Workflow and Process Management

                        5)  Data Vault and Document Management

            The applications that cDPm use focus on the requirements that Product Definition Lifecycle Management needs.  Such as Change Control (ECOs, MCOs, Deviations and Product Holds) and Configuration Management which will be discussed later in this paper.

Typical cPDm solutions use a database management system to maintain meta-data, product configuration, processes, and administrative information.  The majority of cPDm solutions use relational database management systems (RDBMs) today.  Users are sheltered from the database system and its query language – with the exception of system implementers’ and administrators who may benefit by knowing and working with underlying database technology.  However, the evolution of cPDm data management is an object-oriented paradigm.  This is delivered either by using a object-oriented database management system (OODBMS) or by the inclusion of object technology within a RDBMS.

 (Collaborative Product Definition management (cPDm)  “An Overview “Aug 2001, CIMdata, p 13)

Configuration Management (CM)

            Configuration Management was introduced by the U.S. department of Defense (DOD) in the 60’s.  It defined what was built and delivered.  It is used to identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration of a product throughout its lifecycle.  CM is used to control change to the product through documentation. These changes are then approved by the appropriate personnel and customers.

Configuration Management II Model (CMII)

          In 1994 the DOD set new standards in place, CMII (Configuration management II).  This new standard;                      

1)  Accommodates for change

2)  Accommodates for the reuse of standards and best practices.

3)  Assures that all requirements remain clear, concise and valid.

4)  Communicates the above three points to users promptly.

5)  Assures conformance.

            These process improvements are measured by the ability to make changes quickly and document those changes better.

Role in Engineering

            Configuration Management’s (CM) role in Engineering encompasses documentation control, change management, product releases, lifecycle management and product traceability.  CM closes the gap between Engineering and the rest of the manufacturing and business functions.

Importance of CM

            Improvements in configuration management is driven by time to market, quality and cost in both product development and in direct product cost that affect margins.  CM is the basis by which products will be designed, produced and serviced.  An accurate and clear product definition is critical in getting a concept to market faster while meeting cost and quality targets.

            Maintaining BOM accuracy is difficult. With frequent changes can produce errors.  If a single super BOM were created for the same product line allowing for subassembly BOM variants to fall under it would make changes easier to manage with less configurations to control.  This super BOM would contain the configuration rules and constraints so the changes made to it would keep the original product definition.

Documenting Product Changes

            By formalizing and controlling the Configuration Management Process and developing standardized business processes an organization will be able to manage changes smoothly.  It is important to set standardized processes for analyzing and approving changes both upstream and downstream.  When individuals need to know what is needed at each level of the approval process while making changes to a product they are less likely to omit that requirement.  This will enable the changes to be released faster. 

Product Development

          The Configuration Management Benchmark report states:

Companies that are best in class at Configuration management (CM) hit each of the product development and lifecycle cost targets that drive product profitability 89% more of the time, on average.  These targets include product quality, launch dates, product development cost, direct product cost, product revenue, and product lifecycle cost.  Best in class companies are overcoming the challenges of configuration management by educating their organizations on the importance of CM, by providing tailored visibility to central product information by role, and by extending configuration management beyond the bill of material (BOM) to include richer product definition.

(The Configuration Management Benchmark Report “Formalizing” February 2007, p.6)

The Changing Environment of a Global Enterprise

            More and more companies are finding that to get a competitive edge organizations must expand to lower cost countries.  China and India together produce 8 times more engineers than the U.S.  This along with the high demand to develop and deliver more innovative and cost sensitive products a corporation depends on growing globally.  Creating a global engineering team gives these companies a competive advantage.  “As we have developed products for global markets we have placed more and more engineers around the world.  Today about on-third of all Emerson’s engineers are outside the United States working on products for global markets.  To do that, being able to design products 24/7, to chase the sun, if you will, is extremely important to us.  As an example, when we started our engineering center in India, we were able to get our software tools up and running in less than a day and a half.  This is a tremendous advantage for Emerson.” (Ledford, October 2007, p.2)

The Need for Adaptability

            To meet product development demands while cutting cost supply chains work with multiple vendors and demand responsiveness and flexibility.  To address this, the new trend is to move towards Global Innovation Networks.  This business model fosters collaboration and informed decision making at every stage of the product lifecycle. Collaboration and visibility around the world is a necessity.

Product Innovation in a Diversified Enterprise

            PLM-enabled Global Innovation Networks drive innovation by supporting better decisions across the value chain.  Because decision makers can always view the right information in consistent and contextualized formats, they can harness the power of corporate-wide knowledge and can innovate far more effectively that their competitors.

To continue to win in their markets, machinery and industrial product companies must:

Be faster to market through accelerated new product development

Synchronize their value chains

Leverage knowledge and intellectual property wherever it develops to optimize resources and control costs

Proactively re-use parts, assemblies, equipment and processes through modularization and re-use

Facilitate production readiness and design for manufacturability with manufacturing process optimization

(Strategic Initiative Build “Global” October 2007, p13)

            An open solution environment allows for and exchange of information and synchronization across heterogeneous systems.  Collaboration with virtual teams around the world is doable; they don’t need to have the same CAD application.

Evaluation of the Proposed Solution

References

Aberdeen Group (February 2007). The Configuration Management Benchmark Report,            Formalizing and Extending CM to drive Quality

CIMdata (August 2001). Collaborative Product Definition management (cPDm), An overview of           a Collaborative Approach to Managing the Product Definition Lifecycle,           

CIMdata (2002). Product Lifecycle Management Empowering the future of Business

Emerson Electric (October 17, 2008) Emerson Investor Relations, Retrieved October 17, 2008 from             http://gotoemerson.com/en-US/about_emerson/investor_relations/Pages/Home.aspx

Emerson Network Power, Embedded Computing Retrieved October 1, 2008 from             http://www.emersonembeddedcomputing.com

Guess, V. C. (2006). CMII for Business Process Infrastructure, 2^nd Edition, Scottsdale, AZ, CMII       Research Institute

ISA, Retrieved October 1, 2008 from http;//www.isa.org

Matykowski, George Information Technology Manager, (September 2008) Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing, Interview

Product Lifecycle Management, Retrieved September 24, 2008 from http://www.product-        lifecycle-management.com

Siemens PLM Software (June 2008). Dynamic Documents and PLM

Siemens PLM Software (October 2007), Strategic Initiative Build Global Innovation Networks             in the Machinery and Industrial, Products Industry

Watts, Frank B., (1993). Engineering Documentation Control Handbook, Noyes Publications