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2PLM John Stark Associates |
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- Welcome Page 2 - Update Page 3 - News Page 4 - Brief lines | Welcome to this issue of 2PLM, an e-zine distributed every two weeks on a free subscription basis. This week's article "PLM Users" is from Menno Huijben of Technia. But first, a few words about the PLM Interest Group. * PLM Interest Group * As mentioned in the previous issue of 2PLM, we are running two inaugural meetings of the proposed PLM Interest Group. This is to enable representatives of all members of the PLM community to provide their input for the creation of a Group that will support the development and use of PLM. The first meeting was held in Oxford, England on September 23. The second meeting will be held on September 30 at the same location. To participate at the September 30 meeting, contact Roger Tempest. * PLM Users * A happy PLM user community is a sign of a successful PLM system implementation. What are happy users and who are they? Let us start with the term 'users'. This is an abstract word, probably invented by IT system developers. It is a euphemism for people, real human beings like you and me, who are expected to use the system that is implemented. PLM system users really are people. People who would like their PLM system to support them in their daily work by making it easier and more fun. What kind of people are these users? They are bright engineers, smart marketing people, clever manufacturing persons, knowledgeable service staff, and they represent the major part of a company's intellectual capital. Perhaps we could even say that the average IQ of the user community is as high as, or some might say even higher than, that of the PLM project team. So, why is it that PLM projects often deliver systems with functionality which severely depreciate the knowledge and skills of the people that are going to use it? The 'Human Factor' is often forgotten as a design parameter in the requirement specifications and designs of PLM systems. An explanation might be that PLM project teams consist of engineers (I may say so, as I am one myself). Engineers like to capture and model reality, preferably in an Excel-sheet, or, even better, in a fancy PLM system. Their vision is to succeed in creating this perfect model, in order to control reality. This 'perfect model vision' is, to a certain degree, always present in PLM projects. Sometimes this vision is expressed in requirements to model the complete product with all (and really all) options, configuration, dependencies, rules and physical laws, or sometimes in requirements aiming to capture all the design procedures, transactions and processes in a workflow model. Naturally, the user represents an uncertainty factor in such a model and has to be eliminated, or standardized as much as possible. There are at least two aspects where forgetting the 'Human Factor' will result in unhappy users.
These people are almost certainly not interested in 'task-boxes', work-lists, and - 'Please, review', and - 'Please, for your notification' type of messages, 20 times a day. They handle this type of communication in short design review meetings, while discussing lots of other useful stuff. In this example case, implementing extended, fancy workflow functionality will be a waste, as the functionality will be neither accepted nor used. Rather, the implementation effort should be spent on understanding the designers' product navigation requirements and on providing support for this. That will make them happy and thus more effective in their work. When implementing a PLM system, take the Human Factor into account. Identify routine and boring tasks as the first opportunities for PLM functionality support. Use usability design methods to improve user acceptance. And remember, users are people of knowledge. For questions and comments, please contact me by mail or call +358 424 722 1. Menno Huijben is a consultant at Technia, a leading supplier of PLM solutions in the Nordic countries. He has 13 years experience of using, consulting, developing, managing, and providing PDM/PLM solutions. |
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News |
Aras Corporation announced that it has secured $4.2 million in series B funding. Details Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. announced it has completed the acquisition of substantially all the assets and liabilities of USDATA Corporation. Details * Financial * Staffware plc announced interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2003. Total revenue increased by 15% to £21.0 million. Details * People * CoCreate Software, Inc. announced the creation of a new position, Director of Strategic Alliances. Irv Christy, formerly Director of Marketing for CoCreate, was named to fill the position. Details Delta International RTM Limited announced it has appointed Tim Illingworth as director. Details  Imaginestics, LLC announced that Bill Lemen, an industry sales veteran in PDM and CAD, has joined Imaginestics as Vice President of Sales. Details Verity Inc. announced the promotion of John Y. He to vice president of development. Details 3D Systems Corp. announced that it has named Abe Reichental president and chief executive officer and director effective immediately. Details * Implementation * Autodesk, Inc. announced that Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation has purchased several hundred more licenses of Autodesk Inventor Series software. Details Documentum announced that CDM, a global, full-service consulting, engineering, construction and operations firm, has selected Documentum 5, the latest version of the Documentum ECM platform. Details FileNet Corporation announced that Consolidated Edison, New York, has implemented a FileNet Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution to automate and streamline the processing of business communications between its Compliance Department and the New York Department of Transportation. Details Intergraph Corporation announced that Statoil has signed a contract for a corporate-wide license for SmartPlant Foundation. Details Mentor Graphics Corporation announced Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. has adopted the Mentor Graphics TestKompress embedded deterministic test tool for high-quality manufacturing test of its upcoming microprocessor designs. Details MSC.Software Corp. announced that Mitsubishi Motor Sports has chosen MSC.Patran and MSC.Marc. Details Polyplan Technologies announced that Bombardier Transportation has selected Polyplan to provide a digital shared environment between engineering and manufacturing. Details Realization Technologies announced that PPD, a provider of discovery and development services and products for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, has selected Realization's software to manage its projects in Europe. Details Tektonisk (UK) Ltd. announced the award of a £1.2 million contract to provide supply chain gathering, validation and handover services as part of AMEC's engineering and procurement activities within the multi-billion$ Sakhalin project. Details * Developments * ALGOR, Inc. announced the release of V14, an all-new version of its FEA software. Details Cadence Design Systems, Inc. announced version 3.2 of the Cadence Encounter digital IC design platform. Details CADKEY Corporation announced that it has released Version 21.5 of its MCAD product line. Details Cadopolis.com announced CADsign express from Document Flow. Details Cimage NovaSoft announced it achieved certification to the latest DoD 5015.2 - STD as determined by the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) for Cimage e3-RM. Details Dassault Systemes and IBM announced the release of Version 5 Release 12 (V5R12) of their product lifecycle management (PLM) portfolio. Details Intergraph announced it is shipping the SmartPlant Foundation 3.5.1 lifecycle information management software. Details LightWork Design announced the release of a range of material libraries based on the UNS Metals standard. Details LightWork Design released a new version of LightWorks optimized for the new range of G5 Macintosh machines from Apple. Details Oce announced the release of Version 4.0 of the Oce Power Logic Controller software. Details Open Text Corporation said it will release a new product this month called Livelink Review Manager for Acrobat, which lets users securely execute multiple, parallel reviews of legal and regulatory documents. Details Rasterex Software announced the release of RxView R6 and RxHighlight R6. Details REALVIZ announced the release of MatchMover Professional 3.0 for Mac OS X. Details SolidWorks Corporation announced SolidWorks software users will now be able to communicate 2D and 3D product designs thanks to a partnership between SolidWorks Corporation and Bluebeam Software. Details SolidWorks Corporation unveiled SolidWorks Routing, a tool that gives engineers automated tube, pipe, and cable route design capabilities in one application. Details Synchronicity announced that its Developer Suite supports the new Cadence Virtuoso custom design platform announced by Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Details Synergis Technologies, Inc. announced Synergis Adept 5.1 for AutoCAD 2004-based Design Solutions and Autodesk Inventor 7. Details Trace Parts announced a new release of Trace Parts 3D Library for CATIA V5. Details VX Corporation announced four professional bundles of CAD/CAM software for product design, mold and die development, machining, and complete design-through-manufacturing. Details 3D Systems Corp. announced the availability of Amethyst SL material, a specialized stereolithography material formulated to meet the specific needs of jewelry manufacturers. Details * Relationships * Cadence Design Systems, Inc. announced it has started a collaboration with dSPACE, a supplier of tools for developing and testing new mechatronic control systems. Details Mentor Graphics Corporation announced Avnet Cilicon has joined its FPGA Advantage Solutions Thrust Partner Program. Details PTC announced that it has signed a value-added reseller agreement with Impac Systems. Details Synergis Technologies, Inc. announced an alliance with 4D Technologies. Details * Other * According to a recent survey of 40 senior automotive executives conducted by the Global Automotive Practice of the management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, nine out of 10 executives surveyed at North American automotive manufacturers and suppliers say they intend to move certain non-manufacturing business processes to low-cost offshore locations. A.T. Kearney estimates the North American automotive industry, including manufacturers and suppliers, spends approximately $9 billion annually on business processes with the potential to be offshored, representing an enormous opportunity for cost reduction and profitability improvement. Engineering and IT are the predominant functions being sourced to offshore labor pools. The most popular destinations for the migration of business processing activities, according to automotive executives responding to the survey, are: India (24 percent) ; China (15 percent) ; Mexico (13 percent) ; Brazil (10 percent) ; Czech Republic (8 percent). Details Avatech Solutions, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has declared a two for one stock dividend on the Company's common stock. Details Cadence Design Systems, Inc. and Mentor Graphics Corporation announced they have agreed to settle all outstanding litigation between the companies relating to emulation and acceleration systems. Details EDS PLM Solutions announced it is expanding its sponsorship of the Jaguar F1 Team in Schools initiative and is collaborating with F1 in Schools Inc. to support the program as it is introduced in the U.S. Details Geometric Software Solutions announced it became one of the few Indian software companies to be awarded a US Patent (no: 6,597,355 B1) for 'Hole Recognition' algorithms developed as part of its flagship technology, Feature Recognition (FR). Details Intergraph Corporation announced that it is included in Business 2.0's second annual B2 100, the magazine's ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies. Details MSC.Software Corp. announced a relationship with Ferrari Gestione Industriale to provide MSC.ADAMS software tools for multi-body simulation and professional support services for the development of suspension systems for future Ferrari and Maserati cars. Details PDES, Inc. announced it is pleased to present the 2003 Brad Rigdon Technical Management Award to Simon Frechette. Details PDES, Inc. announced that Rockwell Collins has transitioned the international standard STEP (ISO 10303) from pilot status into production operations. Details SolidWorks announced that parts manufacturers have boosted revenue, increased sales leads, reduced sales costs by as much as 90 percent, and cut customer purchasing decision times from days to minutes with SolidWorks 3D PartStream.NET. Details 3D Systems, as a result of questions that have arisen regarding the EOS litigations, provided an update on the state of the various matters under dispute. Details PRTM PLM Benchmarking Study When fully implemented, PLM promises to provide an end-to-end solution for managing the information and decisions about a product or service from initial concept to retirement. However, realizing the full promise can be difficult. The complexity of PLM processes and systems can be daunting, and because of PLM's relative newness, no definitive benchmarking studies exist to provide a performance comparison. To capture PLM's real benefits, companies must first thoroughly assess and identify opportunities within their own critical operating and management processes, practices, and IT infrastructure. To help you understand PLM and capture its benefits, PRTM invites you to participate in the 2003 PLM Benchmarking Study hosted by its benchmarking subsidiary, The Performance Measurement Group (PMG). |
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